October 2024 announcements

This page provides the announcements for Microsoft Partner Center for October 2024.

Software Price lists republished to reflect correct pricing for Japan exclusive SKUs

The initial October 1, 2024 Software Price list for Japan contained price errors. We republished the list with accurate pricing information.

• Date: October 3, 2024
• Workspace: Pricing
• Impacted audience: Cloud Solution Provider partners (both indirect providers and direct bill) in Japan market only

Download the updated October Software price list to view the corrected prices for the following Japan-only SKUs listed:

Transactable Professional Services now generally available

To support partners with more ways to service customers, Microsoft now empowers partners in Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States to sell professional services through private offers in the marketplace.

• Date: October 3, 2024
• Workspace: Marketplace offers
• Impacted audience: All partners transacting in the marketplace

For partners in eligible geographies, you can now sell your professional services as a standalone private offer or attach your professional services to a private offer alongside your software. Examples of professional services include: assessments, briefings, customer support, implementation, migration, proof of concepts, and workshops.

Next steps

• See the demo video: Unlock growth by selling professional services through the marketplace.
• To get started selling professional services, see Professional services FAQ.

What's new in System Center 2025 and updated product pricing

System Center 2025 will be generally available worldwide beginning on November 1, 2024.

• Date: October 2, 2024
• Workspace: General
• Impacted audience: Microsoft Cloud Solution Provider (CSP) Partners

Since its initial release in 2008, System Center has delivered a simplified datacenter management experience – whether on-premises, in the cloud, or across platforms.

System Center 2025 brings infrastructure modernization and enhanced security to the datacenter, enabling simplified management of complex environments and allowing users to make the most of Windows Server 2025 features immediately.

The previous release, System Center 2022, will continue to be available and supported.

What's new in System Center 2025

Support for overseeing and monitoring Azure Stack hyperconverged infrastructure (HCI) 23H2 clusters with Virtual Machine Manager (VMM) & System Center Operations Manager 2025 enables the unified control of heterogeneous infrastructure through a single management plane.

Enhanced security across System Center 2025 to ensure operations, storage, and authentication mechanisms used are secure and reliable.

Support for the latest Arc enabled capabilities of Windows Server 2025, including Hotpatching for Arc-enabled System Center Virtual Machine Manager (SCVMM). Azure Arc-enabled SCVMM also gives the ability to perform lifecycle operations such as start, stop, create, scale, resize, and delete SCVMM managed VMs that are hosted in customers' datacenters.

Recognizing the importance of safeguarding sensitive information, Data Protection Manager (DPM) 2025 introduces the capability to securely store passphrase in Azure Key Vault, significantly increasing data security by applying Azure's robust cloud infrastructure. Support for OLEDB 19 further underscores DPM 2025's commitment to security.

Updates to pricing and licensing

System Center 2025 will have new prices across all commercial channels. With this release, the price will increase by 10% compared to the previous release (2022). The new pricing supports the continued development and improvement of System Center, ensuring it remains a leading solution for managing complex IT environments.

System Center 2025 will be sold as a perpetual license. The System Center 2025 licensing model for Standard and Datacenter will be the same as 2022 with server and client management licenses. As with System Center 2022, the 2025 editions will be differentiated by virtualization rights only. Licenses are required only for the endpoints being managed. No additional licenses are needed for customers with SQL Server Standard Edition. The server management licensing of System Center 2025 will be based on physical cores. The core-based licensing will align with the Windows Server 2025 model to provide a consistent licensing metric for managed VMs.

Next steps

• Read the blog post announcing the launch of System Center 2025 to learn more about what to expect from this release.
• Learn more about the System Center 2025 purchase experience when it becomes available: Microsoft Cloud Partner Program | System Center

Store service fee discount for renewals

As of October 1, 2024, a 50% store service fee discount applies for private offer customer renewals.

• Date: October 1, 2024
• Workspace: Marketplace offers
• Impacted audience: All partners creating private offers or multiparty private offers in the commercial marketplace

As of October 1, 2024, a 50% store service fee discount applies for private offer customer renewals. Customer renewals are defined as either:

• Renewal of a current private offer
• Renewal of an existing paid agreement still in effect outside of the commercial marketplace that partners are migrating to the commercial marketplace

To receive the discount, you need to self-attest to the renewal status during private offer creation, then the discounted store service fee applies automatically. Private offers created before October 1, 2024 aren't eligible for this discounted fee.

Follow these steps to self-attest:

1. Sign in to Partner Center, and select the Marketplace offers workspace.
2. Select Private offers.
3. During private offer creation, you're asked to self-attest to the customer renewal status (see the following image). Affirming automatically enrolls you in the fee discount.