Updates to Microsoft 365, Office 365, and Microsoft Teams subscription rules: The same method used in Europe and Switzerland is now being applied all over the world.

Microsoft has expanded its updated licensing model for Microsoft 365, Office 365, and Teams to a global scale. 

This expansion introduces a new suite lineup that excludes Teams, as well as a standalone Teams option for Enterprise customers. Existing subscribers with Teams can maintain their current plans. 

Further details are provided below:

Enterprise Suite Changes:

Office 365 E1/E3/E5 and Microsoft 365 E3/E5 with Teams will not be available to new subscribers. Existing subscribers can continue or switch to the new lineup at renewal.

- Existing suite subscribers have options to retain or adjust their plans, with changes possible at contract renewal.
- New subscribers outside the EEA and Switzerland must buy a Microsoft 365 or Office 365 suite without Teams, plus a separate Teams Enterprise SKU.

*This pricelist pricing is subject to change and may vary by country and currency.

Frontline suites changes:

The existing Frontline suites, including Microsoft 365 F1, Office 365 F3, and Microsoft 365 F3 with Teams, will remain available alongside new versions without Teams. Customers have the option to select from either lineup.

This pricelist pricing is subject to change and may vary by country and currency.

Microsoft 365 Business suites changes:

Microsoft 365 Business suites, including Business Basic, Business Standard, and Business Premium with Teams, will be available alongside new versions without Teams. Customers can opt for either the existing or new suite options.

This pricelist pricing is subject to change and may vary by country and currency.

For more information, you can visit Microsoft website: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/licensing/news/Microsoft365-Teams-WW

2. Introducing slash commands in the compose box

Slash commands in Teams make your work faster and you don’t need to remember anything. Just type a forward slash (/) in the message box to see the list of slash commands. Here are some things you can do with them:

• /code: Add a code block to your message

• /mute: Mute the chat you’re in

• /loop: Incorporate a loop component into your message

• /settings: Navigate to settings

• /away: Set your presence to away

* This will start in the middle of June 2024 and should be finished by the end of June 2024.

 3. Classic Teams Timelines for end of support and end of availability:

• Starting in April 2024, users will see messages and warnings that Classic Teams will soon be outdated.

• From July 1, 2024, Classic Teams won’t be supported anymore. If you’re still using Classic Teams, you’ll get messages telling you it’s out of date. You can close these messages, but they will keep showing up now and then.

Classic Teams end of availability (blocked from using classic Teams)

• Starting on October 23, 2024, the old version of Teams won’t work on Windows 7, 8, 8.1, and Mac OS Sierra (10.12). After this date, you won’t be able to use the old Teams on these systems. You’ll see messages that you can’t close, telling you it’s not available anymore, but you can use the new Teams on the web instead.

• From July 1, 2025, the old Teams app won’t be available for anyone. You can use the new Teams on the web as a replacement.

4. Microsoft Teams (work or school) application on Windows will be renamed to Microsoft Teams:

Starting in May 2024, the Microsoft Teams app for Windows will just be called “Microsoft Teams,” and the version for personal use on Windows 11 will be named “Microsoft Teams – personal.

5. Microsoft Outlook and Microsoft Teams: Respond to meetings with Follow:

From May 2024, when you get a meeting invite in Teams, you can choose the “Follow” option if you can’t make it but still want to know what happens. This is what “Follow” does:

1. Let organizers know: By choosing “Follow,” you tell the person who set up the meeting that you won’t be there, but you’re still interested and want the info after the meeting.

2. Keep your schedule open: “Follow” will show the meeting time as available on your calendar, so you can plan other things. You’ll still be able to get into the meeting and chat if you need to.

3. Get updates: “Follow” will remind the person running the meeting to record it and write notes with others. After the meeting, you’ll get a message when the summary is ready to check out (this part will start working a bit after the feature is first released). Once this is all set up, you can reply to invites with Yes, No, or Follow. If you want to say Maybe, you’ll find it under the three-dot menu.

* This will start at the beginning of June 2024 and is planned to finish by the start of July 2024.

6. Explicit transcription consent to transcribe meetings:

You’ll be able to have a Microsoft Teams meeting where you need everyone to agree before the meeting can be written down. If your group has chosen to ask for permission to record and write down meetings, then every meeting will need a clear ‘yes’ from everyone when you start writing it down.

This will start around the middle of May 2024 (it was going to start in late April) and should be all done by the end of May 2024 (it was first planned to finish in early July).

7. Tenant-wide policy for permission to download meeting transcription:

Soon, there will be a new rule for Microsoft Teams: IT admins will be able to control who can download the written records of meetings (which are kept in Microsoft OneDrive) for everyone using Teams. Admins can let certain people, like those in charge of rules or records who need to download these records, not follow this rule. This new rule will be for Teams on Mac and the regular Teams app.

This is expected to start at the end of May 2024 and should be finished by the beginning of June 2024.

8. Meeting recordings are now saved in organizer’s Microsoft OneDrive:

This update will make sure that recordings follow the rules set by the person who arranged the meeting, just like other meeting items (like the invite and written notes). If the person who set up the meeting doesn’t have OneDrive set up, if their OneDrive is full, or if there’s a problem uploading the recording, you can still get to the recording through a link in the meeting chat. This is how it works now if there’s a problem.

This is planned to start in the middle of May 2024 and should be finished by the end of May 2024.

Ctelecoms, as a Microsoft Gold Partner, is ready to help Saudi businesses of all sizes make the most of the new features. We’re experts in Microsoft Teams and we’re dedicated to helping Saudi companies work better as a team, achieve more, and reach new levels of success. Let’s begin this journey and improve how we communicate and work together!

Contact us today!