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Microsoft Edition

July 14, 2022

Connection’s All-new Microsoft FastTrack Pilot Program

Happy July! We have exciting news to share! Connection—your trusted advisor for all things Microsoft—is now a FastTrack partner. Are you a business with 150+ Exchange Online and Teams subscriptions? If so, you may qualify for our no-cost, hands-free FastTrack Pilot Program.

What Is FastTrack?
FastTrack helps organizations with eligible subscriptions deploy Microsoft Cloud Solutions. You will receive expert guidance from your Connection team—and Microsoft engineers—throughout the entire migration process. FastTrack is imperative in gaining user adoption and transforming your business to meet its goals.

What Will You Gain by Joining the Pilot Program?

Access to FastTrack Specialists throughout your eligible subscription period
Remote guidance and assistance during FastTrack Center business hours
Best practices, self-service tools, resources, and remote workshops to assist your deployment
Guidance on email and file migration

We’ll also be deploying surveys to gather feedback to help us further shape this new program.

Interested? Have questions? Please reach out to your Account team to learn more about FastTrack and how you can sign up for the Pilot Program!

Learn How

IN THE SPOTLIGHT

Important Microsoft Legacy Renewal Reminder

It was previously announced Microsoft was planning to interrupt service for any legacy CSP subscriptions expiring on or after July 11, 2022. This is no longer the case.

Microsoft announced that doing so was not in the best interest of their customers. You can now continue auto-renewing existing legacy CSP subscriptions—until further notice—without having to worry about service disruptions.

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Microsoft Autopilot for Education

Listen to how Connection used Microsoft Autopilot and Intune to help transform the education experience for teachers, students, and administrators. It’s all in this episode of Connection’s TechSperience Solutions.

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Azure Virtual Desktops

Thinking about utilizing Azure Virtual Desktop to aid in the hybrid transformation of your business? Let the experts at Connection help you to design, implement, and manage your AVD (Azure Virtual Desktop) environment.

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Microsoft Cloud Adoption Framework

Make your move to the cloud easier and see for yourself why Connection is a trusted cloud expert and a certified Microsoft Azure Expert Managed Services Provider.

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IMPORTANT PRODUCT UPDATES

Microsoft Entra Showcased at the 2022 RSA Conference

Microsoft Security recently had the opportunity to showcase Entra—the new solution focused on the future of cybersecurity—at the 2022 RSA Conference! See the highlights here.

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Azure Firewall Manager Is Now Generally Available

With the release of Azure Firewall Manager users can now manage network security policies and resources in one central place to provide Level 7 application security.

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Microsoft 365 Apps Activation Error

Have you experienced the Trusted Platform Module (TPM) error when trying to activate Microsoft 365 apps? Try these troubleshooting methods.

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Microsoft Defender for Business Coming in March

Starting in March 2022, Microsoft Defender for Business will be included with Microsoft 365 Business Premium or as a standalone product for $3.00 per user / month.

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Security Products Renamed

Microsoft has renamed several of their security products:

Microsoft Defender for Cloud—formerly Azure Security Center and Azure Defender
Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps—formerly Cloud App Security
Microsoft Defender for IoT—formerly Azure Defender for IoT
Microsoft Sentinel—formerly Azure Sentinel

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Windows Server 2022: Now Available in CSP

Windows Server 2022 is now available CSP. Windows Server 2022 comes in two editions:—Standard and Datacenter—with advanced capabilities for hybrid cloud scenarios and enhanced security.

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Intune Per-device Plan for Enterprise: Now Available in CSP

Intune per-device plans for Enterprise are now available only through CSP. Intune per-device for Enterprise also leverages Azure Active Directory and Exchange Foundation. It is offered as a five-year subscription.

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Microsoft Defender for Endpoints Plan 1

Microsoft has introduced a new Microsoft Defender for Endpoints plan called Plan 1. This will be included with Microsoft 365 E3/A3 licenses. It contains a functionality subset of the current Microsoft Defender for Endpoints. Additionally, the current Microsoft Defender for Endpoints offering will be renamed Microsoft Defender for Endpoints Plan 2.

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Power App Pricing Changes

Starting in October, the Power Apps per-user plan will be priced at $20 per user/month, a decrease from $40 per user/month. Power Apps per-app plan will be $5 per user/app/month, a 50% savings from the previous $10 per user/app/month. This new pricing will be available across traditional VL channels and CSP.

For more information on these product update and more, reach out to your Account Manager today.

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Intune and EMS E3 Price Increase

During the last 18 months, Microsoft has been adding a bunch of new management and security capabilities to Intune and Enterprise Management and Security (EMS)—with more features coming soon. Given the new capabilities, Microsoft is increasing their prices effective July 1, 2021. The stand‑alone version of Intune will increase from $6 to $8 per month, per user. EMS E3 will increase from $9 to $11  per month, per user. The price for Microsoft 365 E3 will not change.

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New and Expiring Offers

Dynamics 365 Cloud Migration

Want predictability during your migration to the cloud? Receive a 40% discount on Dynamics 365 Online Services with a three-year subscription. You’ll also receive:

Dual-access rights (concurrent on-premises and cloud use), to bolster user access prior to on-premises solution sunset (when cloud migration is complete)
Support for phased cloud migrations, allowing organizations to add new users through the term of the promotion
Support for businesses who have already started their digital transformation journey under legacy migration promotions

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Discount on Education Insights Promo

K–12 and Higher Ed customers can receive a 75% discount on the Education Insights Premium—Microsoft's data-driven collaboration tool to improve student outcome. This offer applies to EES, CSP, and Web direct. Discount expires January 31, 2023.

Reach out to your Connection Account Manager to learn more about these and other promotions.

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New Microsoft Teams Rooms Promo for CSP Customers

Microsoft now offers a 30% discount on Microsoft Teams Rooms Standard and Premium Licenses for CSP customers. This deal expires December 31, 2021.

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Power Apps Portals Login Capacity Offers

Microsoft announced limited time offers for Power Apps capacity tier 4 (25,000+ logins/month) and tier 5 (100,000+ logins/month). This means, Power Apps portals login capacity is available for a price as low as $12 per unit/month for tier 5 capacity.

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Azure Virtual Desktop Discount for New Customers

New Azure Virtual Desktop customers can save up to 30% on Azure Virtual Desktop in D and Bs-series VMs for up to 90 days when using the Microsoft native solution. This offer must be redeemed before December 31, 2021.

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Azure Virtual Desktop for External Users

Microsoft is now offering an Azure Virtual Desktop promo that includes free access to Azure Virtual Desktop for streaming first- and third-party applications to external users. This deal expires December 31, 2021. Starting January 1, 2022, monthly pricing for access will be $5.50 per user, per month (app only) or $10 per user, per month (app and desktop).

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Cloud Migration for Dynamics 365 On-premises Customers

Cloud migration promotion offers are available for customers who want to migrate from expiring on-premises version of Dynamics 365 (Dynamics AX, CRM, Government partner, NAV, subscription licenses, and more) to the cloud. The new offer includes:

Dual-access rights (concurrent on-premises and cloud use), supporting user access prior to on-premises solution sunset when cloud migration is complete.
25% off one year of Microsoft 365 Business Voice with Calling in CSP

The new offer will run August 1, 2021 to June 30, 2022.

Please reach out to your Connection Account Manager to learn more about any of the above offers.

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