Partner Licensing Updates
Partner Licensing Updates
Microsoft Product Highlights and Updates
Unified Microsoft Copilot app — new URL, broad rollout mid-September
Worth an admin-action callout. From August 18, 2026, Microsoft began updating the Copilot web, desktop, and mobile experiences to help users distinguish work from personal accounts — clearer account indicators, a simplified app name and icon, and a move of the web app URL from m365.cloud.microsoft to copilot.cloud.microsoft, with automatic redirection unless the new URL is blocked.
An early preview of the Windows and Mac desktop experience landed August 18, with broad deployment beginning mid-September.
Action for customers: confirm copilot.cloud.microsoft isn't blocked by network, proxy, firewall, or access policies, and add *.cloud.microsoft to allow lists. Schedule time with your PDM to review.
Build apps by prompt in Copilot Cowork (September 10)
Microsoft announced full-stack business app building through conversation in Copilot Cowork and Copilot Studio — described as creating full-stack business apps through conversation, grounded in your data.
Users describe the app, Cowork generates a first version to refine and test, apps connect to org data through approved connectors under existing governance, and admins will be able to publish finished apps org-wide via the Microsoft 365 admin center.
The experience is in preview for Frontier program customers with an eligible Microsoft 365 Copilot license.
Schedule time with your PDM to review.
Microsoft Price Updates
5% cost-of-capital uplift on monthly-billed annual CSP software — effective October 1, 2026
This one needs proactive customer comms. Starting October 1, 2026, Microsoft applies a 5% cost of capital uplift for CSP software subscriptions (such as SQL Server, Windows Server, Client Access Licenses, and System Center) with annual-term commitments billed monthly, aligning pricing treatment across sales channels while preserving monthly billing flexibility.
There is no change to annual billing or month-to-month subscriptions, and for existing annual-term subscriptions billed monthly the uplift takes effect at renewal on or after October 1, 2026.
Note that an earlier Microsoft communication carried an incorrect effective date — October 1, 2026 is the confirmed one.
No Partner Center or system changes are required, but any customer renewing on or after that date should hear it from you first. Schedule time with your PDM to review.
Growth margins arrive October 1 — new economics on M365 growth
From October 1, 2026, growth margins give eligible partners incremental margin on qualifying Microsoft 365 growth opportunities, built on partner feedback to allow more flexibility to structure deals, compete for new business, reward reseller performance, and reinvest in capabilities.
Technical guidance is available for the related API changes affecting data export and billing automation.
Pair this in the newsletter with a reminder that the July 1, 2026 Microsoft 365 list price increases now hit customers at their first renewal on or after that date.
Schedule time with your PDM to review.
Programs and Compliance
New badge names, retired certifications, and a sharper ASPX
Customer-facing Solutions Partner badges now align to the three commercial solution areas. Business Applications and Modern Work become Solutions Partner for AI Business Solutions, the three Azure paths become Solutions Partner for Cloud and AI Platforms, and Security keeps its name.
Attainment paths, capability score metrics, benefits, and specializations are unchanged, so the only work is refreshing customer-facing materials and pulling the updated names from Logo Builder.
Two certifications retired on August 31, 2026 as part of the shift toward AI-focused skilling. Azure Security Engineer Associate was replaced by Cloud and AI Security Engineer Associate, and Power Platform Functional Consultant Associate by Intelligent Applications Builder Associate.
Skilling completed before retirement stays valid for one year, which affects the Security and AI Business Solutions designations along with the Agentic Business Solutions, Azure Virtual Desktop, Cloud Security, and Infra and Database Migration specializations.
On the demand side, ASPX has shifted from a reporting tool to an action engine. It now surfaces free-to-paid signals including license requests and users reaching free usage limits, Microsoft 365 E7 targeting based on telemetry and licensing data, Cowork usage signals, and Frontier account readiness, with an API reduced from more than 80 endpoints to four so the data can feed your CRM.
Two calendar items close the section. The first Partnering for Success Together skilling session runs on September 23 on the Microsoft Partner Skilling Hub. And roadmap content for Dynamics 365, Power Platform, and Dataverse is moving to the AI at Work roadmap: there is no September 2026 Release Wave 2 announcement, Release Plans are being archived on Microsoft Learn, and Release Planner retires by November 15, 2026. Update any customer-facing references that point at the old resources.
| Date | What happens | Partner action |
| September 23, 2026 | First Partnering for Success Together monthly skilling session | Register on the Microsoft Partner Skilling Hub |
| September 30, 2026 | Microsoft 365 E3 and E5, Defender and Purview Suite promotions stop accepting new transactions | Transact before quarter end; verify promotion IDs at checkout |
| October 1, 2026 | 5 percent cost of capital uplift on annual-term CSP software billed monthly | Notify every customer renewing on or after this date |
| October 1, 2026 | Growth margins begin on qualifying Microsoft 365 growth opportunities | Review readiness resources and the API transition guidance |
| November 15, 2026 | Release Planner retires and Release Plans are archived | Repoint references to the AI at Work roadmap |
| December 31, 2026 | 50 percent off Purview Suite for Business Premium ends | Attach to Business Premium and Copilot deals before year end |
| March 31, 2027 | The Microsoft Sentinel experience in the Azure portal retires | Migrate secondary workspace content for managed customers |
Microsoft Promos
The September 30 promo cliff — lock quotes in now
A large block of CSP offers stops accepting new transactions at the end of this month. The bundled offer of 10% and 15% discounts on Microsoft 365 E3 and E5 (three-year and one-year terms) plus 10% off the Defender Suite and Purview Suite — for new-to-E5/Defender/Purview customers, with no offer stacking — is available only through September 30, 2026.
Microsoft 365 E7 and several Copilot term promos share the same deadline, and the deadline is the purchase date, not the subscription start.
Practical guidance for readers: a quote built in Q1 and signed in Q2 loses the discount, so validate promotion IDs and eligibility in Partner Center at checkout.
Schedule time with your PDM to review.
| Date | What happens | Who it affects |
| September 30, 2026 | Microsoft 365 E3 and E5, Defender Suite and Purview Suite CSP promotions stop accepting new transactions | Customers new to Microsoft 365 E5, Defender, or Purview |
| October 1, 2026 | 5 percent cost of capital uplift applies to annual-term CSP software subscriptions billed monthly | SQL Server, Windows Server, CAL, and System Center subscriptions |
| December 31, 2026 | 50 percent off Microsoft Purview Suite for Business Premium ends | Business Premium customers with Copilot or Copilot Business |
| Mid-September 2026 | Broad deployment of the updated Copilot desktop app; web moves to copilot.cloud.microsoft | All Copilot users; network and proxy administrators |
| September 2026 | Automatic onboarding to the unified Microsoft Sentinel experience in the Defender portal begins | Microsoft Sentinel customers not yet migrated |
| March 31, 2027 | The Microsoft Sentinel experience in the Azure portal retires | Microsoft Sentinel customers |
50% off Purview Suite for Business Premium — extended to year-end
Microsoft extended the 50% discount on the Microsoft Purview Suite for Business Premium to customers who license Business Premium together with Microsoft 365 Copilot Business or Microsoft 365 Copilot, available through December 31, 2026 as a limited-time offer.
Position it as the data security and governance layer that makes a Copilot rollout defensible — it's the strongest attach play in the SMB motion right now.
Schedule time with your PDM to review.