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Microsoft Hikes Action Pack Price by up to 44 Percent

One of the best not-for-resale software deals in the channel is getting a hefty price hike, although it's still a relative bargain.

Microsoft this week unveiled the long-awaited changes to the Microsoft Action Pack, one of the most popular components of the Microsoft Partner Network.

One of the biggest changes is the price, which is going up by as much as 44 percent.

Starting Feb. 24, the Action Pack subscription will cost $475 in the United States. The new subscription price consolidates pricing from what was previously two packages -- the $329 per year Action Pack Solution Provider (APSP) and the $429 a year Action Pack Development & Design (APDD). The new cost is a 44 percent increase for former APSP subscribers and an 11 percent bump for APDD subscribers.

Next month, all partners will subscribe to one universal Action Pack, and choose among five tailored business model packages: application development and design, device design and development, hosting, managed services, professional services or reselling.

The core value of the Action Pack is internal-use Microsoft software licenses to support a 10-person partner business. Those include full licenses for Windows desktops and servers, as well as other server products, such as SQL Server, Exchange Server, SharePoint Server and Lync Server.

At the same time, the Action Pack will soon replace Cloud Essentials as the least expensive way for partners to get internal-use seats of Office 365, Dynamics CRM Online and Windows Intune and Windows Azure usage credits. In that case, the Action Pack is an even bigger price jump because Cloud Essentials, which will be discontinued June 30, was free.

Where the on-premise default in the Action Pack is for 10 seats, Microsoft is being slightly stingier with cloud licenses. Subscribers get five seats each of the E3 SKU of Office 365 and of Windows Intune. Dynamics partners are also eligible for five seats of Dynamics CRM Online. The subscription also includes $100 in monthly Windows Azure credits.

However, Microsoft offers a few ways for subscribers to increase their seat counts for Office 365. One is to trade some of the on-premise core benefits for Office 365 seats. Another way is an incentive -- partners are eligible for another five seats of Office 365 if they've sold 25 seats of Office 365 to customers in the last 12 months.

Other benefits included in the Action Pack include technical support, developer tools, marketing campaign materials and services and $100 in Bing advertising credits for the subscriber and $500 for the subscriber's customers.

Posted by Scott Bekker on January 31, 2014


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