Collection: Azure New Commerce Experience (NCE)

The cloud landscape is always changing and businesses need to be nimble to take advantage of new opportunities and efficiencies. Microsoft’s Azure New Commerce Experience (NCE) is a big step forward in how you buy and manage your Azure services. The Azure NCE is designed to simplify and streamline the purchasing process, offer more flexibility, cost management and value for organisations that use Azure cloud services.

What is Azure New Commerce Experience (NCE)?

Azure New Commerce Experience (NCE) is Microsoft’s new purchasing model for Azure services, that brings together and simplifies the buying experience across all Microsoft cloud products. NCE builds on Microsoft’s commitment to delivering a more consistent and flexible buying experience, so you can manage your subscriptions, forecast costs and align your cloud spend with your business needs.

Under NCE you can choose from various purchasing options, pay-as-you-go, one year and three year term commitments, each with different pricing and flexibility. This is part of a broader effort by Microsoft to simplify its commerce platform across its entire product set, including Microsoft 365, Dynamics 365 and Power Platform.

Azure NCE Features

• Simplified Purchasing and Management: NCE consolidates purchasing options, so you can choose the right plan and manage your Azure services. It reduces complexity by having a single buying experience across Microsoft’s cloud products.
• Flexible Term Options: With Azure NCE you can choose pay-as-you-go, monthly, annual or multi-year commitments. This gives you more flexibility to align your cloud spend with your financial planning and operational needs.
• Cost Savings and Predictability: Committing to longer term contracts (one year or three year) under NCE can give you big cost savings compared to pay-as-you-go. NCE also gives you more cost predictability which is essential for budgeting and financial planning.
• Better Management Tools: NCE integrates with Microsoft’s existing management and billing tools, so you have a single view of your cloud spend and usage. This helps you to monitor and optimise your cloud resources better.
• Transition Support: Microsoft will support you as you move from your current purchasing models to NCE. This includes guidance on what plan to choose and tools to help with the migration.

Azure NCE Benefits for Businesses

• More Flexibility: NCE lets you choose the right subscription model for your business. Whether it’s pay-as-you-go for a short project or a 3 year commitment for long term stability, you can tailor your cloud strategy.
• Cost Savings: NCE offers discounts for longer term commitments, so you can reduce your overall cloud costs. This is particularly useful for businesses with predictable workloads that can commit to a usage pattern.
• Simplified Cloud Management: NCE’s streamlined purchasing and management process reduces the administrative burden on your IT teams. This simplification lets you focus on strategic initiatives rather than managing complex cloud contracts.
• Better Budgeting and Forecasting: With term based subscriptions you can forecast your cloud costs more accurately, and improve your financial planning and budgeting processes.
• Alignment with Microsoft’s Cloud Ecosystem: NCE is part of Microsoft’s broader effort to unify its cloud commerce platform. By moving to NCE you’ll be aligned with Microsoft’s cloud strategy and remain competitive and supported in the future.

Things to Consider when moving to Azure NCE

• Commitment Levels: Before moving to NCE, review your cloud usage patterns. Longer term commitments can give you cost savings but require you to have a clear view of your future cloud needs.
• Migration Planning: Moving from an existing purchasing model to NCE may require some planning to avoid disruption. Talk to Microsoft or your cloud partner to develop a migration plan that aligns with your business goals.
• Cost Implications: Analyse the cost difference between pay-as-you-go and term based options under NCE. Consider workload variability and future cloud growth when choosing your commitment level.
• Use Management Tools: Use the enhanced management tools in NCE to monitor and optimise your Azure usage. These tools will help you find cost saving opportunities and ensure you’re getting the most out of your Azure investment.
• Stay Informed: As Microsoft evolves its cloud offerings, staying up to date with NCE and related services is important. Regularly review Microsoft’s announcements and talk to your cloud partner to ensure your cloud strategy is aligned with best practice.