May is a busy month on the Microsoft calendar. There are pricing changes to consider, new products to start having conversations about and some administrative updates that affect how you manage customer subscriptions and permissions.
This post pulls together the updates from Microsoft’s May announcements that are most relevant to MSPs. We’ve organized them by category so you can quickly find what applies to your business.
Pricing changes
July 1 pricing updates for commercial Microsoft 365 suites
Microsoft has confirmed that price increases will apply to new and renewing customers on commercial Microsoft 365 suites starting July 1, 2026. This is worth flagging to your customers now. Existing customers will see the new prices at their next renewal after that date.
Here’s a look at the list price changes:
| Microsoft 365 suite | Current list price | List price as of July 1, 2026 |
| Business Basic | $6 | $7 |
| Business Standard | $12.50 | $14 |
| Business Premium | $22 | $22 |
| Office 365 E1 | $10 | $10 |
| Office 365 E3 | $23 | $26 |
| Microsoft 365 E3 | $36 | $39 |
| Microsoft 365 E5 | $57 | $60 |
| Microsoft 365 F1 | $2.25 | $3 |
| Microsoft 365 F3 | $8 | $10 |
Pricing shown is for annual, paid yearly commitment. Monthly and annual paid monthly will have an equivalent increase. Prices apply globally with local market adjustments for certain regions.
A few things to keep in mind as you approach renewals ahead of July 1:
- Customers who renew before July 1 can lock in current pricing.
- The upcoming changes make a reasonable case for upsell conversations around Microsoft 365 E3/E5 or Business + Copilot before the deadline.
- Nonprofit pricing will adjust in line with commercial rates, since it’s calculated as a fixed percentage discount off commercial prices.
Learn more on Microsoft Learn and on Microsoft’s blog.
Dragon Copilot pricing reduced as of May 1
Microsoft has lowered the per-user list price for Dragon Copilot across all geographies where it’s currently available, including the US, Canada, Ireland, the UK and several European markets. The simpler, more competitive pricing structure should make it easier to position Dragon Copilot with healthcare and other professional services clients. Learn more.
Microsoft Purview Suite promotion extended through July 1
The 50% promotional offer on Microsoft Purview Suite for Business Premium has been extended to July 1, 2026. If you weren’t able to take advantage of the offer before the original March 31 deadline, you now have more time to build the business case for advanced data security and compliance capabilities at the SMB level. Learn more.
Dynamics 365 Contact Center: 40% off through June 30
Microsoft has announced a limited-time offer for Dynamics 365 Contact Center, with 40% off list price on eligible SKUs:
- Contact Center (Digital + Voice)
- Contact Center Voice
- Dynamics 365 Customer Service Premium
The offer is available through CSP and Enterprise channels (EA and MCA-E) and does not apply to GOV or EDU. There is no seat minimum, no Teams Phone licensing requirement and it can’t be combined with other discounts.
If you have customers looking at contact center modernization, this offer is worth bringing up before the June 30 deadline. Learn more about pricing here.
Partners also have access to Dynamics 365 Contact Center licenses and trials through the Microsoft AI Cloud Partner Program (MAICPP) to run demos and proof-of-concept work. Explore the free trial or purchase discounted sandbox licenses.
Windows 365 Business prices drop 20% as of May 1
Microsoft has reduced list prices for Windows 365 Business by 20%, effective May 1, 2026. The goal is to make Cloud PCs more accessible for small and medium businesses, and it opens up a good conversation with clients who may have been on the fence.
Alongside the price drop, Microsoft introduced an on-demand start experience. Cloud PCs now stay powered on for one hour after sign-out or disconnect. Reconnects within that window are unchanged, but reconnects after more than an hour may take slightly longer as the Cloud PC resumes from hibernation.
New subscriptions get the lower pricing immediately. Existing subscriptions will see the updated pricing at their next renewal, depending on purchase channel and terms. Learn more.
New products and capabilities
Microsoft 365 E7 is now generally available
Microsoft 365 E7 became generally available on May 1, 2026. It’s a premium suite that combines Microsoft 365 E5, Microsoft 365 Copilot, Microsoft Entra Suite and Agent 365, all grounded in Work IQ shared intelligence.
Microsoft is positioning E7 around what they’re calling the “agentic moment,” meaning it’s designed for organizations that want to go deeper on AI and autonomous agent capabilities. If you have enterprise clients who are further along in their Copilot adoption, E7 could be worth putting on their roadmap.
Microsoft has also released go-to-market resources to support partner readiness for E7 and Agent 365. You can access the readiness resources here.
Admin and licensing updates
GDAP default permissions simplified
Based on partner feedback, Sherweb has updated the default GDAP template applied to new organizations in the Sherweb portal (Cumulus). New tenants will now use the Microsoft Default GDAP template (previously called Cumulus Only) rather than the full Sherweb GDAP template.
This change reduces default GDAP roles from 44 to 11, which better aligns with Microsoft’s recommendations and addresses concerns about over-permissioning. The new default template includes these 11 roles:
- Application administrator
- Cloud application administrator
- Directory readers
- Directory writers
- Global reader
- Helpdesk administrator
- License administrator
- Privileged authentication administrator
- Privileged role administrator
- Service support administrator
- User administrator
Existing organizations are not affected. This only applies to new tenants created after the update.
Extended service terms (EST) enforcement now active
As of May 4, 2026, partners can update subscriptions to renew to term, move to EST or cancel. EST is the flexible, month-to-month, paid continuation option for customers with expired license-based subscriptions. It’s designed to help partners avoid immediate service disruption while they sort out longer-term plans.
A “Download EST” feature in Partner Center, available since February 27, lets you pull a list of all subscriptions set to EST across your customers. It’s a useful way to identify which subscriptions you may want to reevaluate. Learn more about downloading EST subscriptions here.
Teams Premium and Teams Events SKU renaming
Microsoft is renaming a subset of Microsoft Teams Premium and Microsoft Teams Events SKUs in Partner Center to fix a naming inconsistency. The new names appeared as of May 1. The only change is to the names, and there are no changes to functionality, pricing, eligibility, service plans or customer entitlements. Learn more.
Certification updates
New Dynamics 365 Contact Center certification coming in June
Microsoft announced AB-250 – Microsoft Certified: Dynamics 365 Contact Center AI Engineer Associate. It’s a new role-based certification for partners delivering Copilot-first, agentic contact center solutions. The beta launches in June 2026, with general availability targeted for August 2026. Read more on Microsoft’s blog.
Upcoming events
Sherweb’s MSP Masterclass: AI readiness and Microsoft 365 Copilot
This one-day event covers AI readiness strategy, barriers to secure Copilot adoption and how to position your business for long-term growth. It’s happening in Calgary on July 7, and you can register here.
Microsoft technical and sales training
Here are a few upcoming Microsoft sessions worth putting on your calendar:
- MCP & AI agents across Dynamics 365 Sales & Service (Multiple dates in May)
- Agentic AI Hackathon (May 26-27)
- Microsoft Fabric Sales Accelerate for Partners (May 27-28)
- Teams Partner Technical Bootcamp (June 9-11 in-person or June 23-24 virtual)
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- Note: Attendees must have registered by May 22 for in-person (Event Code: TPTB2026)
Stay on top of Microsoft changes
Microsoft moves quickly, and keeping track of what affects your customers and your margins can be a full-time job on its own. Sherweb puts these updates together each month so you don’t have to go digging for them.
If you have questions about how any of these changes affect your Sherweb account or your customers, reach out to our team. We’re here to help!
You can also find our previous monthly updates here: April 2026 | March 2026.
