Before April, the Dynamics 365 Customer Engagement storage model was very simple – everything was classed as ‘Database Storage’ and as you ran low, you purchased more. However, with Dynamics 365 being used in increasingly diverse ways, this could have proved costly. To combat this problem, Microsoft have announced pricing structure changes, which were introduced on April 1st, 2019.
How were storage costs previously calculated?
By default, every new Dynamics 365 customer received 10GB of storage and for every ten users with full licences, an additional 5GB of storage was granted. This space was used to hold all database records, attachments and log files. If this proved insufficient, additional storage could be purchased at £3.80 per GB per month. If a customer required an additional Instance, this would then have incurred an additional monthly charge of £113.10 for a Sandbox or £414.70 for a Production Instance.
How has this changed from April 1st?
The allowances, including costs for additional storage are now as follows –
- Database Storage – 10GB, and for every fully-licensed user*, an additional 250MB is granted. Additional database storage can be purchased at £30.20 per GB per month.
- File Storage – 20GB, and for every fully-licensed user*, an additional 2GB of file storage is granted. Additional file storage can be purchased at £1.50 per GB per month.
- Log Storage – 2GB. Additional log storage can be purchased at £7.50 per GB per month.
* A fully-licensed user refers to Sales or Customer Service Enterprise or Customer Engagement Plan. Sales Professional, Customer Service Professional do not count towards accruals.
There will no longer be additional charges for add-on Instances. Instead, as long as there is at least 1GB of Database Storage available, a new Production or Sandbox Instance can be created.
I already have an existing subscription. How will I be affected?
Your costs will only change when it comes to your annual licence anniversary. If your annual anniversary date is after April 1st, but before the end of the year, you will be able to stay on your existing storage pricing model (for a further 12 months) or switch to the new one. This way, you’ll be able to choose the option that suits your business model. However, for typical Dynamics 365 users, the new model will be far more beneficial. Please note that from 2020, only the new pricing model will be available.
Can I switch to the new model now?
Unfortunately, you can only switch to the new model at your next licence anniversary. If you currently purchase your licences via Strategy 365, please contact us to find out the date of your next licence anniversary.
If you have concerns about how the pricing change will affect your storage costs and would like to discuss it with us, please get in touch.
