Why is Microsoft withdrawing two of its most successful software? The fault lies with the cloud

Microsoft has announced the withdrawal of two of its most popular partner programs: Microsoft Action Pack and Microsoft Learning Pack, starting from January 21, 2025. This decision is part of a change in software licenses that could be much more expensive for some partners, as it forces them to opt for cloud-based alternatives with a higher cost.

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The company justifies this measure as part of its strategy to “evolve the partner benefits offering” and provide them with tools and support to face the “changing technological landscape”. The new packages that will replace the previous ones, Partner Success Core Benefits and Partner Success Expanded Benefits, focus on cloud services, leaving behind on-premises solutions, which could mean an increase in costs and less flexibility for some of the partners.

One of these partners, in statements to The Register, explained that, with Microsoft’s new offer, their expenses would increase from £390 plus VAT for the Action Pack to £735 plus VAT for Partner Success Core (almost double). Additionally, they highlighted the difficulties that this change could pose when recreating environments for clients that still rely on legacy software.

Although this change has not been well received, it is not the first time that Microsoft modifies its licensing structure. In previous occasions, the company tried to eliminate the internal use rights (IUR) from the licenses, but the negative reaction from the distributor network forced them to reconsider the decision.

Microsoft promises to add more than 20 new “highly demanded product licenses” to smooth the transition, including products such as Microsoft Copilot, Defender for Endpoint, and Microsoft GitHub. Partners who do not want to change yet will still be able to renew their current packages until the January 2025 deadline, thus obtaining an additional year of access to these programs.

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