Our October 2026 Microsoft licensing update covers two Microsoft price increases due in early 2027, for Azure and Power Apps Premium, plus new Copilot and Azure promotions, the latest Copilot changes and end-of-support dates for Office LTSC 2021, Windows 10 Enterprise LTSC 2021, Exchange Server and Skype for Business Server.
Microsoft to increase Azure prices from February 2027
From 1 February 2027, Microsoft will raise prices for specific Azure Virtual Machine series and Azure Storage services in seven regions, by between 8% and 17%. Dublin (North Europe) has the largest increase at 17% and Singapore (Southeast Asia) the smallest at 8%. The other regions affected are West Europe (Amsterdam) and East and West Norway at 9%, and France Central and France South at 11%. Contact us to understand the impact on your estate, or see how Azure optimisation can offset it.
Excluded Azure Storage services: Container Storage, Managed Lustre, NetApp Files Cross Region Replication SKU, Blob Features, Change Feed, General Block Blob, Import/Export, Queues, Queues v2, Standard Page Blob, Storage Actions, Storage Bandwidth, Storage Discovery, Tables and the Transaction Optimized SKU.
Power Apps Premium price increase from January 2027
Microsoft have announced a price increase for Power Apps Premium, taking effect from 1 January 2027.
Power Apps Premium will rise 10% from £18 per user per month to £20 while the 2,000 seat minimum bundle rises from £10 to £12 – an increase of 16.7%.
For US Government, price rises are capped at 10% per year so the bundle increase will be phased over the next 2 years.
Azure Future Capacity Reservations added to the Product Terms
Azure Future Capacity Reservations have been added to the Product Terms – these “allow Customers to request capacity for specified Microsoft Azure resources in a specified region, with a scheduled start date and reservation term“.
This seems a way of alleviating concerns over lack of capacity in certain regions and giving Microsoft more information with which to make resource and capacity increase decisions.
Contact us to understand how this will work.
Microsoft 365 Copilot discounts for nonprofits
Microsoft have finally launched some nonprofit customer Copilot discounts. With new transactions for Microsoft 365 Copilot, eligible nonprofits can now combine promotional offers of 15%, 20%, 30%, or 40% on top of the existing 15% nonprofit promotional offer included in the Microsoft 365 Copilot SKU, making Copilot adoption more attainable. Promotions are available until 31 December 2026. Microsoft Copilot funding may also help.
Azure consumption promotions
These promotions go live in Partner Center on 2 November. For the first time, Expert Azure partners can offer eligible customers limited-time percentage-off discounts on Azure consumption, including pay-as-you-go usage, to accelerate Azure Database modernisation, Microsoft Fabric adoption, and other Data & AI projects.
Work with Transparity to identify eligibility, understand available promotions and Microsoft funding, and determine where to apply.
Exchange Online auto-expanding archives increase to 3 TB
Microsoft have announced that the maximum auto-expanding archive capacity for eligible Exchange Online mailboxes will increase from 1.5 TB to 3 TB.
Auto-expanding archives grow beyond the standard 100 GB as more email is archived, giving users additional capacity when they need it.
The rollout is planned to start in mid-October 2026 and finish by the end of the month.
Copilot FAQs: Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat becomes Microsoft Copilot Chat
Microsoft have updated their Copilot FAQs for October.
The changes include renaming Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat to Microsoft Copilot Chat and adding the new Microsoft 365 A7 to the list of eligible licences.
Office LTSC 2021 end of support: Microsoft 365 or Office LTSC 2024
Support for Office LTSC 2021 ended on 13 October 2026.
After this date, Microsoft no longer provides updates, security fixes or technical support. Microsoft recommend moving to Microsoft 365 or, if you need a perpetual licence, Office LTSC 2024. Support for Office LTSC 2024 runs until 9 October 2029.
Azure Virtual Desktop Hybrid now generally available
Azure Virtual Desktop Hybrid is now generally available.
This lets you run Azure Virtual Desktop session hosts on your own on-premises hardware, or hardware provided by an Authorised Outsourcer, while keeping Azure’s cloud management features. It is an option for organisations with regulatory or compliance requirements. The key licensing difference is that users need an Azure Virtual Desktop Hybrid licence as well as the qualifying licence required for traditional AVD.
Apps in Copilot Studio and Copilot Cowork
Microsoft have announced app building in Copilot Studio and Copilot Cowork, adding to the existing options for agents and workflows.
Rollout started in September for users in the early-access Frontier Program. Users can create, edit and publish apps using natural language, with the option to include organisational data. This uses the GitHub Copilot Harness. The key cost point is that both building and running the apps consume Copilot Credits. Admins can manage app policies and view usage statistics in the Microsoft 365 Admin Centre.
Windows 10 Enterprise LTSC 2021 Extended Security Updates
Extended Security Updates (ESUs) are now available for Windows 10 Enterprise LTSC 2021. Support ends on 12 January 2027.
Extended Security Updates provide security updates for eligible devices for three years after support ends, until 8 January 2030. They are available through CSP or Volume Licensing. Pricing doubles each year, but a lower-cost licence is available for devices managed with Intune or Windows Autopatch.
Exchange Server and Skype for Business Server End of Support
Microsoft have confirmed that paid support for Exchange Server 2016/2019 and Skype for Business Server 2015/2019 ends at the end of October 2026.
The original support deadline was 14 October 2025. Two rounds of ESUs extended this by a total of 12 months. Microsoft have confirmed there will be no further extension and recommend upgrading existing Exchange Server and Skype for Business Server installations to a supported version. For many organisations the better route is Microsoft 365: Exchange Online and Microsoft Teams remove the need to run these servers at all.
