Here’s a quick rundown of the key updates every MSP should know from Microsoft’s latest announcements for October — including changes to promotions, pricing, naming, and Partner of Record (POR) validation.
POR Validation Changes – Effective 1 December 2025
New POR validation rules will apply to all new subscription orders and changes to existing ones.
This includes adjustments to:
- License count
- Billing plans
- Term changes
- Partner-to-partner (P2P) transfers
- Legacy-to-new commerce migrations
Subscriptions that automatically renew won’t be impacted.
What indirect resellers need to do now:
- Verify your PLA ID – In Partner Center under Account Settings > Identifiers.
It must be a valid PLA ID (not a Partner Global Account ID).
- Ensure your PLA ID is linked to an active CSP indirect reseller tenant.
If not, enrol for CSP reseller authorisation.
- Check your business address – It must match your distributor’s CSP region.
If it doesn’t, you’ll need to create a new tenant in the correct region.
Global Changes to M365/ O365 and Teams Licensing
As part of Microsoft’s recent European Commission Settlement (announced 6 October 2025), key licensing and pricing updates are coming into effect on 1 November 2025
What’s changing:
- Microsoft will reintroduce Microsoft 365 and Office 365 Enterprise suites with Teams back into general availability.
- Pricing adjustments will ensure clear deltas between suites with and without Teams:
- Prices for suites without Teams (including Microsoft 365 F3) will decrease.
Prices for Teams Enterprise standalone will increase.
The updated prices will appear in the on the Leader Cloud from 1st November. Partners will have flexibility in how they pass these changes to customers.
Read more in the Microsoft Partner Blog.
New & Extended Promotions for Microsoft 365
Extended: Microsoft 365 E5 15% Off Annual Promo
Now running until 31 December 2025.
- Perfect for MSPs driving E5 adoption conversations — advanced security, compliance, and productivity all in one bundle.
- Refer to the Global Promo Readiness Guide and Offer FAQ for full details.
New: Targeted Microsoft 365 E3 Annual CSP Promo – 20% Off
Runs from 13 October to 31 December 2025.
- 20% off for eligible customers:
- With 500+ existing O365/M365 base licenses, or
- Purchasing 250+ Microsoft 365 E3 annual licenses.
Great for scaling customers into full-featured M365 E3 with core security and compliance built-in.
Product Renames – Microsoft 365 E5 Mini-Suites
From 1 October 2025, Microsoft is renaming its E5 mini-suites:
Microsoft 365 E5 Security → Microsoft Defender Suite
Microsoft 365 E5 Compliance → Microsoft Purview Suite
Microsoft Defender Suite brings together:
- Entra ID P2 (risk-based conditional access, identity governance)
- Defender for Identity (on-prem AD threat protection)
- MDO P2 (advanced email and collaboration security + phishing simulation)
- MDE P2 (endpoint security, EDR, and expert-led investigations)
- Defender for Cloud Apps (SaaS app discovery and protection)
Microsoft Purview Suite includes:
- Information protection & DLP across apps and devices
- Insider risk management and adaptive protection
- Compliance Manager templates (EU AI Act, ISO, etc.)
- Audit retention, insights, and advanced eDiscovery workflows
Protection for Copilot data to prevent leaks or compliance issues
