O365: differences between direct purchase and via a partner
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To date, I've only purchased O365 directly from Microsoft. But I now want to create a new account, and figured it would be better to go via our MSP for a bit of extra love and support and stuff. I'm just wondering what the key differences are.
What I know so far, and correct me if I'm wrong on anything here:
- We can't select a monthly subs, only annual. This isn't really a problem.
- Billing is from our MSP. This is a cool feature, as Microsoft will currently only bill us via credit card as we don't spend enough with them and there is a lot of overhead and admin involved in managing this.
- We can only order additional subscriptions via our MSP.
The last issue is a potential problem for me. Currently, if I want to add a new subscription at 2am I can do that on the O365 portal and the subscription is immediately available to allocate to a user. If I have to go via the MSP, I can see there being a delay - not least because they aren't open at 2am. This seems to work differently to Adobe, where I place new orders direct with Adobe but they then pass that on to my reseller who then invoices me. Which is pretty cool.
In terms of managing the accounts - creating users etc etc, is it identical? In other words, is the only difference related to billing? Does my MSP have access to my account to make changes on my behalf (if I so wish him to)?
Anything else I should be aware of before I send them a purchase order?
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Looking into this a bit more, I see that what I'm talking about is purchasing O365 subscriptions via Open Licence. Is this the best way to purchase?
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I'm pretty sure you could purchase licenses the same way. They just get credited to the MSP. @Minion-Queen would probably know more about this though.
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When you buy via a partner, you often get fringe benefits, like migrations, etc you can get either free, cheap or bundled in. Also, MSPs get a spiff of the sale, and often get a recurring monthly portion of what you pay. It's a pretty good percentage too. I like buying via partners for a lot of things.
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I personally would buy everything direct.
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Why?
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There are a couple of ways to do things. When you purchase through an MSP you can go month to month. You can still pay direct through Microsoft and they can do monthly billing that can be paid via a check run and not credit card.
We do not accept payments from our customers for Office365. This limits the customers interaction with their admin panel etc. The customer should always have complete control of their licensing.
That also means the we do not make a profit on your individual licenses, yes we do make margins for selling them to you but that is paid to us by Microsoft not by you in anyway.
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@Minion-Queen said:
We do not accept payments from our customers for Office365. This limits the customers interaction with their admin panel etc. The customer should always have complete control of their licensing.
Yikes. I must have complete control. In what way would I be limited?
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You also can often get better pricing via partners.
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@Carnival-Boy said:
@Minion-Queen said:
We do not accept payments from our customers for Office365. This limits the customers interaction with their admin panel etc. The customer should always have complete control of their licensing.
Yikes. I must have complete control. In what way would I be limited?
Nothing limiting at all by going this route. If you need help in anyway that is what we are here for. As a MS Partner we have dedicated account and technical account managers to reach out to if we aren't able to answer your questions. We have direct numbers and emails to contact them not an 800 number.
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@Minion-Queen said:
@Carnival-Boy said:
@Minion-Queen said:
We do not accept payments from our customers for Office365. This limits the customers interaction with their admin panel etc. The customer should always have complete control of their licensing.
Yikes. I must have complete control. In what way would I be limited?
Nothing limiting at all by going this route. If you need help in anyway that is what we are here for. As a MS Partner we have dedicated account and technical account managers to reach out to if we aren't able to answer your questions. We have direct numbers and emails to contact them not an 800 number.
And there is that.
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So there aren't any downsides with purchasing with an open licence via a reseller/MSP?
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Maybe a bit off topic, but what is the process to moving to a VAR/MSP if you already have a O365 domain setup?
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It is as simple as putting in our partner number and name.
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@coliver said:
Maybe a bit off topic, but what is the process to moving to a VAR/MSP if you already have a O365 domain setup?
You'd have to contact them then you can change the partner of record in office 365.
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Nope you don't have to contact them it can all be done via the control panel. We have done this many times,as unfortunately there are lots of shady MSP's out there and we have had to rescue migrations more than once.
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@thecreativeone91 said:
I personally would buy everything direct.
I would never do that. There are no upsides. Going through an MSP can add value, going direct cannot. If you go direct you voluntarily take the lowest level of service.
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@scottalanmiller said:
@thecreativeone91 said:
I personally would buy everything direct.
I would never do that. There are no upsides. Going through an MSP can add value, going direct cannot. If you go direct you voluntarily take the lowest level of service.
From my experience, I agree.
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@thanksajdotcom said:
You also can often get better pricing via partners.
Pricing is always the same, it can't change.
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@Carnival-Boy said:
So there aren't any downsides with purchasing with an open licence via a reseller/MSP?
Can't get the upgraded MS service or the partner services if you go direct. Going direct guarantees the lowest common denominator of services.
