What changed in Microsoft licensing in October 2026. Eleven CSP promotions expired on September 30 and a 5% cost-of-capital uplift began on October 1, both limited to the Cloud Solution Provider channel. Five Microsoft lifecycle clocks stop together on October 13.
| Date | What changes | Applies to |
|---|---|---|
| September 30, 2026 | Eleven Microsoft promotions expired | CSP |
| October 1, 2026 | 5% cost-of-capital uplift begins, applied at renewal | CSP, annual term billed monthly |
| October 13, 2026 | Five lifecycle clocks stop together | All channels |
| December 31, 2026 | Surviving Microsoft 365 E3 promotions expire | CSP |
October 13 is the Largest Lifecycle Date of the Year, and Most Estates Are Tracking One Part of It.
Microsoft’s own end-of-support list puts an unusual amount on a single day.
On October 13, 2026, Windows 10 commercial Extended Security Updates Year 1 coverage ends. Windows 10 2016 LTSB and Windows 10 IoT Enterprise LTSB 2016 reach end of support. The entire Office LTSC 2021 family goes out of support, including Project and Visio LTSC, with no extended support available after it. Windows Server 2012 and 2012 R2 reach the end of Extended Security Update Year 3, the final year on offer.
Windows Server 2022 reaches end of mainstream support the same day. That one is a change in support type rather than a cliff. Security updates continue under extended support through October 14, 2031.
On the ESU costs, two rules do most of the damage. The price doubles every year, and purchases are cumulative, so an organization that skipped Year 1 and enrols in Year 2 pays for both. Year 1 lists at $61 per device. The cloud-managed rate of roughly $45 is about 25% cheaper for devices already administered through Microsoft Intune or Windows Autopatch. Extended Security Updates are free for Windows 10 virtual machines in Windows 365 and Azure.
Most organizations are tracking one line on that list. The exposure is the ones they are not.
Eleven Microsoft CSP Promotions Expired on September 30, and a 5% Uplift Landed the Next Morning.
Microsoft closed a promotion window at the end of the quarter and opened a price increase the day after.
Gone as of September 30: both Microsoft 365 E5 discounts, the Defender Suite and Purview Suite offers at 10%, all three Microsoft 365 E7 offers, all three Microsoft 365 Copilot discounts including 30% off at 1,000 seats, and the 20% Windows 365 Enterprise offer.
These promotion expirations affect eligible purchases through Microsoft’s Cloud Solution Provider channel. They do not represent a blanket change to Enterprise Agreement pricing. The separate 5% uplift applies to annual-term CSP software subscriptions billed monthly.
Microsoft names SQL Server, Windows Server, Client Access Licences and System Center on that uplift. Annual billing and month-to-month are untouched. It applies at the first renewal on or after October 1.
One correction worth carrying: the Microsoft 365 E3 offers did not expire. Microsoft’s own August announcements contradicted each other, and Partner Center confirmed on October 1 that both E3 discounts run to December 31.
Ask for the promotion ID on every discounted line rather than the product name. We flagged the renewal risk signals behind this in our recent LinkedIn post.
Included Copilot Credits Fell by Up to 44% When the GitHub Promotion Ended.
On September 1 a GitHub Copilot Business seat stopped including 3,000 AI credits a month and started including 1,900. Enterprise fell from 7,000 to 3,900.
The seat price did not move. Business is still $19, Enterprise still $39. The higher allowances were a three-month promotion covering June, July and August.
At a published cent per credit, each seat now returns exactly its own price in model usage. Code completions remain unmetered and unlimited, so the reduction lands only on chat, agent mode and premium models, which is the usage pattern every vendor has spent a year encouraging.
The promotional allowance ended as previously announced. The budgeting risk is that an unchanged seat price now includes fewer AI credits, increasing potential overage costs.
We set out the wider pattern on September 18.
The EU Is Asking About Oracle Licensing, Three Months After SAP Settled.
Reuters reported on September 1 that Oracle’s licensing practices are on the radar of EU antitrust regulators, with the European Commission seeking information from third parties. The Commission was explicit that at this stage there is no formal investigation into any company.
The comparison is SAP, whose case the Commission closed on July 9 by accepting binding commitments. SAP agreed to make it easier for customers to switch support providers or terminate contracts, averting a fine of up to 10% of global annual revenue.
The parallel for Oracle customers sits in the support policies, which generally require licences within a licence set to carry the same support level, allow Oracle to reprice support when a customer reduces its footprint, and attach costs to reinstating lapsed support.
Analysts covering the story were blunt that this is a multi-year outcome rather than a Q4 planning assumption.
Oracle Database Options Are Licensed by Use, Not Purchase.
Where This Lands for You
The dates are the easy part. The hard part is knowing which lines in your own estate touch them.
Which devices still run Office LTSC 2021. Which servers are sitting on Extended Security Update Year 3. Which Microsoft lines were on a promotion that expired September 30, and what the renewal quote looks like now that it has gone.
A Microsoft Spend Review answers those against your own numbers rather than a list of dates.
Watching Copilot in particular? Microsoft AI Cost Control is the narrower version of the same question.
Common Questions
What Microsoft products reach end of support on October 13, 2026?
Five lifecycle events land on October 13, 2026. Windows 10 commercial Extended Security Updates Year 1 coverage ends. Windows 10 2016 LTSB and Windows 10 IoT Enterprise LTSB 2016 reach end of support. The Office LTSC 2021 family goes out of support, including Project and Visio LTSC, with no extended support afterwards. Windows Server 2012 and 2012 R2 reach the end of Extended Security Update Year 3, the final year on offer. Windows Server 2022 reaches end of mainstream support.
Does Windows Server 2022 stop receiving security updates on October 13, 2026?
No. October 13, 2026 is the end of mainstream support for Windows Server 2022. Security updates continue under extended support through October 14, 2031.
Did the September 30, 2026 promotion expirations change Enterprise Agreement pricing?
No. The eleven promotions that expired on September 30, 2026 were offers on eligible purchases through the Cloud Solution Provider channel. They do not represent a blanket change to Enterprise Agreement pricing.
What is the 5% Microsoft cost-of-capital uplift that started October 1, 2026?
It is a 5% uplift applied to annual-term CSP software subscriptions billed monthly, naming SQL Server, Windows Server, Client Access Licences and System Center. Annual billing and month-to-month billing are not affected. It applies at the first renewal on or after October 1, 2026.
Did the Microsoft 365 E3 promotions expire on September 30, 2026?
No. Microsoft’s August announcements contradicted each other on this point. Partner Center confirmed on October 1, 2026 that both Microsoft 365 E3 discounts run to December 31, 2026.
Sources
- Partner Center announcements, October 2026, Microsoft Learn. Confirms that both Microsoft 365 E3 discounts run to December 31, 2026.
- Windows Server release information, Microsoft Learn. Windows Server 2022 mainstream support ends October 13, 2026; extended support ends October 14, 2031.
- Ending Support in 2031, Microsoft Lifecycle.
The Oracle item draws on Reuters reporting of September 1, 2026 and the European Commission decision of July 9, 2026 in case AT.40823. Figures for the GitHub Copilot credit allowances come from GitHub billing documentation.