This is the third of three posts I’m sharing on Microsoft's recent licencing changes for the Education sector.
Microsoft’s Education licencing changes present institutions with decisions that go beyond cost. Once you’ve understood the impact and reviewed your options, the next question is what these capabilities could enable for your institution. In my first article, we explored what’s changing. In the second, I looked at how to optimise your licencing environment. This final article considers where AI, security and modern workplace capabilities could support meaningful innovations in teaching, learning and institutional operations.
Microsoft's case for this licencing overhaul is simple: the new portfolio reflects years of investment. That investment covers teaching and learning tools, AI built into the apps people already use, and security and management tools like Intune and Defender, which it has spent the last 10 to 15 years improving. Add to this successive development of solutions in trust, compliance and data sovereignty, and it is perhaps clear why Microsoft has now taken the decision to adjust pricing plans to cover some of these enhancements.
Costs will therefore change.
The question for the Education sector now must be: “Where can we find the best value within this new licencing portfolio?”
In my view, many will find much of the added value in the way AI permeates these licencing plans.
The goal here isn’t adding AI for its own sake or to create hype. It’s to reliably deliver the right level of AI for differing needs across the Education sector.
At one end of the spectrum, the goal is to offer the appropriate level of intelligence so teachers in a school get more time for teaching. Think about where a teacher's week actually goes. Planning lessons. Grading. Writing feedback. Answering the same admin questions over and over. AI built into the tools they already use can take on some of that, drafting materials and helping with grading, so teachers get time back for their students. Learners get help with a tricky idea, explained a different way and at their own pace. And for administrators, information gets quicker to find, and services get easier to use.
At the other end of the scale sits the new AI-focused top tier, Microsoft 365 Education A7 (MA7). With Microsoft Copilot and Microsoft Agent 365, it gives universities and research institutes agentic capabilities to work across research and operations.
AI adoption in universities is not simply a larger version of school deployment. Institutions have research governance, specialised data environments, complex administrative structures and different stakeholder requirements.
In higher education, AI and agent-based workflows could also support administrative services, helping staff navigate institutional policies, retrieve information and coordinate routine processes.
Research institutions may see opportunities in knowledge discovery and research administration, provided data access, governance and research integrity requirements are addressed.
For most institutions, though, I think the bigger story sits lower down. There's a phrase I keep using with our customers because I’m passionate about it: democratising access to AI.
With Copilot Chat included in Microsoft 365 Education from A2 upwards including paid student editions, institutions have an opportunity to provide governed AI access more widely, rather than limiting it to specialist teams or individual departments.
Access remains subject to age, licencing and institutional policies, but this creates a foundation from which schools, colleges and universities can develop their own approach to AI adoption.
Access alone isn't enough. Secure access with effective governance is absolutely essential.
Schools and universities hold some of the most sensitive data there is: student records, health and welfare information, unpublished research. You can only use AI with that data if you trust the platform underneath it. That means protected identities, managed devices, clear governance and compliance you can prove. AI tools that sit outside your controls can't give you that. Governed AI can.
The new plans will support that imperative because they will offer a graded portfolio of identity, device and compliance controls so that even small institutions can build a secure environment that’s right for them.
St Peter's School in York, which I mentioned in my last post, is a good example. Its IT team is small, so it needed security it could depend on. We helped move around 1,700 students and staff onto Microsoft 365 A5 and built a zero-trust model around it, with managed devices, multi-factor authentication and data loss prevention. What I didn't say last time: the same move opened up Minecraft Education and extended accessibility features for students. So, better security and better learning came hand-in-hand from one smart decision—with help from SoftwareOne.
What examples like this demonstrate is that innovation starts with understanding where your institution has a genuine need, not simply identifying which new technologies are available.
Begin with the challenges your staff, students and IT teams face today. Identify capabilities already available within your environment, assess whether additional functionality would provide value, and consider the investment needed to implement and adopt it.
For AI in particular, a focused pilot can help establish whether a proposed use case delivers meaningful improvements before committing to wider deployment.
The most effective approach is to combine licencing decisions with your institution's existing teaching, learning, operational and security priorities.
At SoftwareOne, we work with education institutions to connect licencing decisions with their wider technology priorities.
As the largest Microsoft Education partner globally, our role extends beyond licencing and procurement. We bring together software asset management, security, AI and adoption expertise to help institutions understand their options, assess the implications and plan how to introduce new capabilities.
This matters particularly when institutions are balancing new investment against existing budgets, operational requirements, and the need to demonstrate value.
These changes create an opportunity to reassess what your institution needs from its technology investment.
For some, that may mean improving the use of capabilities they already own. For others, it may mean introducing new AI, security, or productivity tools where there is a clear institutional benefit.
The important thing is to make those decisions deliberately, with a clear understanding of the costs, dependencies and expected outcomes.
Start reviewing your environment ahead of the licencing transition. Understanding your renewal dates, current entitlements and future requirements will give you more time to evaluate your options.
SoftwareOne can offer you a practical first step forward.
Our Impact Assessment Report compares your current Microsoft Education environment with the future licencing model and shows where costs, coverage and capability could change, including where there's room to reinvest. It's open to everyone, whether you're a SoftwareOne customer or not, so get in touch and we’ll get working on yours today.
Ask SoftwareOne to compare your current Microsoft Education estate with the future model and identify the decisions needed before renewal.
Ask SoftwareOne to compare your current Microsoft Education estate with the future model and identify the decisions needed before renewal.
