PowerBI Premium per capacity SKU retirement

Transition Timeline

The article highlights Microsoft’s announcement regarding the retirement of these SKUs. Additionally, Microsoft has outlined a Transition Timeline for both new and existing customers, based upon their current agreements.

• For new customers, the Power BI Premium per capacity SKUs (P-SKU) will be removed from the purchase flow on July 1st, 2024.
• Existing customers without an EA agreement will be able to renew their Power BI Premium capacity until January 1st, 2025. Which means customers who have a renewal date after January 1st, 2025, will need to replace their P-SKU purchase with the purchase of an F-SKU at the end of their agreement.
• Customers with an existing EA agreement can continue to renew their P-SKU purchase annually until the end of their EA agreement. If the end of the existing EA agreement is after January 1st, 2025, they will have to transition to an F-SKU once the agreement has ended to continue using Microsoft Fabric.
• Customers on a sovereign cloud will not be impacted by this retirement as they do not currently have access to Microsoft Fabric. We will provide additional information as soon as it’s available.

The retirement of Power BI Premium per capacity SKUs signifies a strategic realignment within Microsoft’s licensing landscape.

Read the full article here: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/licensing/news/power-bi-premium-sku-retirement

Implications for Customers

Advantages

The flexibility is significantly increased. The PAYG model allows for quick scaling up and down of capacity. It is now possible to acquire a much smaller capacity. The cost for an F-2 license is approximately €300 per month.

Additional Azure-specific functionality is included, such as Trusted Workspace and Managed Private Endpoints.

Disadvantages

If you do not have capacity licenses in your contract before July 1, 2024, or if your agreement ends in 2024, you will not be able to order Power BI capacity licenses anymore. The alternative then consists of Microsoft Fabric capacity licenses. These offer more functionality but can also turn out to be more expensive. Additionally, Fabric is billed in Azure, not in CSP or Enterprise Agreement. Getting discounts in Azure is harder than in CSP or Enterprise Agreement.

Power BI Premium capacity licenses are often chosen to avoid the need for a Power BI Pro or Power BI Premium license for each consumer of Power BI content. In the new Fabric solutions, this right is only included from the F-64 license onwards. This costs approximately €9,500 per month with PAYG. A Power BI Premium P1 license currently costs around €4,000 per month, with often the possibility of negotiating discounts. So, the price for “covering” the consumption of Power BI content is more than double!

The Fabric licenses can be purchased on a PAYG basis, meaning payment is only required for the hours the license is used. If the environment, for example, is turned off on Saturdays and Sundays, the costs are lower. In the case of an F-64 license, the costs would then be approximately €6,800 per month.

The Fabric licenses can also be purchased as a 1-year reservation. This reduces the costs by approximately 41%. In the case of the F-64 license, it would then be approximately €5,600. Still significantly more expensive than the Power BI Premium P1 license…

Power BI Report Server is not included. If there is a need for it, SQL Enterprise with active Software Assurance is required, or a SQL Enterprise rental license.

Stay informed

It’s crucial for organizations to stay informed about changes in Microsoft’s product terms, as these can impact how they use and manage their Microsoft products. By understanding and anticipating these changes, organizations can ensure they fully comply with the new terms and optimize their IT resources accordingly.

For more detailed information about these changes, feel free to reach out to our team.

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