Microsoft has announced that on 1st March 2022 there will be significant changes to how you consume and pay for Microsoft products, M365 and Office 365. There will be a price increase for six of the core Office 365 and M365 Plans.
Microsoft 365 Business Basic
Microsoft 365 Business Premium
Office 365 E1
Office 365 E3
Office 365 E5 (up
Microsoft 365 E3
If you pay for your licensing on annual prepay – then the price increases won’t come into effect until your annual term renews (on or after the 1st March). If you are on an annual/ monthly plan i.e. you have committed to year but pay monthly, then your increase will come into effect when your subscription renews (you can find the date in the licensing section of the admin centre).
New Commerce Experience - NCE
NCE impacts on all cloud products -O365, M365, D365 and Power Platform – and changes for these products will take place on 30th June 2022.
Although you can continue to pay month-by-month, this will incur a 20% increase (on top of the price increase for the six afore mentioned products)
If, however you commit to an annual or multiyear agreement (available on certain products) you are not subject to the 20% increase and you can pay upfront or pay monthly. There are restrictions to be aware of.
Your partner for the subscription, whether Microsoft Direct or a CSP provider cannot be changed during the term of the commitment.
You are price-locked for the products provisioned during the term of the commitment.
You can increase license counts at any time, but you cannot reduce license counts until the committed term is up for renewal.
You can upgrade products in the committed plan at any time.
If you commit to NCE after June 30th, 2022, you are also subject to the price increase for the six O365 and M365 plans detailed above.
Enterprise Agreements
Enterprise agreement (for clients 2,400 seats or fewer) will be price levelled to match the upcoming New Commerce Experience (NCE) changes. These changes will take effect on June 30th, 2022.
We apprecitate that these changes can be complex and confusing so please contact Richard Twigger for more information and to discuss the best plan for your business moving forward.
A managed service provider is a third-party IT contractor or firm that delivers a set of services for a monthly, quarterly, or annual fee.
Managed IT Service Provision is an attractive solution for SMBs, primarily as it provides smaller organisations with a level of IT expertise and support, usually reserved for large organisations with extensive internal IT teams.
Reasons SMBs prefer a MSP solution
Nowadays businesses cannot function without robust IT infrastructure. Having skilled professionals on hand to develop IT strategies to support the development of the business, whilst also having access to helpdesk support for day-to-day problems, is essential for business efficiency and productivity.
MSP offers a straightforward and cost-effective solution from businesses who don’t have an IT team or who have limited IT resources. Services are tailored to specific business requirements, including IT infrastructure, support, and software licensing - in effect all your IT needs are wrapped into one service solution, from one partner, with one monthly or quarterly bill.
Budgeting becomes simpler as all IT costs are spread across the year, taking away the need for capital expenditure to renew IT equipment, and businesses have access to up-to-date technology.
IT security can be the Achilles’ heel of a small business. Hackers are increasingly targeting smaller businesses and the consequences can be devastating. Increased remote and hybrid working has opened up more system susceptibilities so keeping up with the latest security protocols is absolutely essential. A managed service provider will take care of IT system security and protect against emerging threats.
Finally, business owners are busy people. Outsourcing IT support is one easy way to free up their time so they can concentrate on the business at hand.
How Conformedia helps Small and Medium Sized Businesses
Conformedia provides a flexible MSP solution. Your IT will be secured, up-to-date and proactively supported. Systems are constantly monitored, with any issues automatically logged and dealt with. Our flexible package means that your IT infrastructure can accommodate any changes in your business – we provide all the support you need as your business grows.
Conformedia’s Tech as a Service (TaaS) plan allows you to enjoy technology, services, and maintenance through a low-cost monthly or quarterly subscription. Alternatively, we can facilitate more traditional finance through leasing and lease purchase.
If you’d like to learn more about how we are helping businesses like you, contact Richard Twigger.
T: 0113 234 1548
BCDR – or Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery doesn’t cost the earth, but not having it could cost you your business. Protecting your IT systems is essential.
Cyber-attacks are rising, and hackers are increasingly attacking small and medium sized businesses, with devasting results. Organisations that are not prepared with robust business continuity plans and systems in place to deal with the unexpected, can be subjected to huge financial losses, brand damage, loss of customer trust and in some cases may result in closure of the business.
WHAT IS A CYBER-ATTACK?
A cyber-attack, or hacker attack, is when a network or application is targeted with malicious intent. This attack could be targeted at a specific victim or indirect, where the attacker uses a scattergun approach, in the hope that one or several will fall victim to the attack. It is a criminal activity which usually aims to steal, destroy, or hold data for a ransom fee.
WHAT IS PHISHING?
Phishing activity is designed to trick the victim into revealing personal information. This could be a fraudulent message or scam which is designed to make the recipient respond by revealing sensitive information, for example a password or bank information, or encourage them to click a link which then downloads malware onto their computer. Small businesses are particularly susceptible to Phishing as they don’t have the internal IT infrastructure and IT teams to advise and support them.
HOW TO PROTECT YOUR BUSINESS AGAINST PHISHING
Defence against phishing attacks should be multi-layered. In addition to educating users on how to spot phishing emails, there are a number of technical measures that can be taken to protect your employees, customers, and business.
Anti-Virus
Malware and Ransomware Protection - check incoming emails for scams, phishing and stop malware from installing
Email Spam Filtering and Security – automatically send dubious emails to junk folders or block suspicious content
Firewalls
Device Encryption
Conformedia works with clients to mitigate the risks of losing valuable data and production downtime by assessing the risks and then tailoring a package of protective measures.
BUSINESS IT CONTINUITY PLANNING
The consequences of a data breach from any cyber-attack can be extremely damaging to a business, both financially and to the business’s reputation. Having the correct protection, systems and protocols in place is therefore essential to ensure a business experiences minimal disruption and downtime. Your IT strategy is integral to business continuity planning.
Conformedia works with a range of organisations, from micro businesses to SMEs, providing solutions to ensure maximum protection against a hacker attack. We constantly monitor systems, and any issues are automatically logged and dealt with, however should an attack get through, being able to respond quickly to the problem and limit damage is essential.
Many of our clients chose cloud backup and data replication as a fail-safe. Having automatic backup in place means that we can restore files and data quickly and easily, minimising downtime.
It’s worth noting that cyber insurance policies may ask for evidence of measures being taken to protect, restore and access business data.
For more information on how we will work with you to ensure you have the backup system in place to keep your business, your customers, and your employees safe, please get in touch with Richard Twigger
T: 0113 234 1548
