Azure Lighthouse is a Microsoft solution that enables seamless multi-tenant management. It allows administrators to manage multiple environments in one place without switching between accounts.

At SoftwareOne, we use Azure Lighthouse to deliver consistent and efficient management across all Azure environments. By leveraging automation and standardized operational processes, our teams can manage an unlimited number of client environments, regardless of size or complexity.

Why is Azure Lighthouse crucial for your business?

Azure Lighthouse enables you to maintain full control and complete visibility over your Azure environment, while allowing SoftwareOne to provide expert management and support.

• Full access control – You define which users can access your environment, what resources they can manage, and what actions they are authorized to perform.

• Complete transparency – All actions performed by SoftwareOne are logged in the Azure Activity Log. This provides full visibility into what changes are made, when, and by whom.

• Enhanced security and governance – SoftwareOne engineers have read-only access by default, unless elevated permissions are granted through your explicit approval.

Azure Lighthouse enables SoftwareOne to deliver a streamlined and secure management experience, optimized for performance at every scale.

• We provide top-tier managed services without the complexity of managing each tenant separately. Our focus is on delivering the best service faster.

• We manage multiple customers effortlessly, reducing operational costs and improving service consistency.

• We follow strict role-based access protocols, ensuring that our team only gets elevated access with your explicit approval, minimizing any potential risks.

• We prioritize transparency; every action is logged and fully visible to both you and SoftwareOne, ensuring complete visibility and peace of mind.

Not activating Azure Lighthouse might result in significant drawbacks for you and SoftwareOne.

For you

• Limited visibility and control – You'll have less granular control over which service providers can access your environment and the actions they can perform.

• Higher costs – Removing Azure Lighthouse access leads to increased Azure charges due to the lack of optimized management capabilities.

For SoftwareOne

• Inefficient management – Without Azure Lighthouse, SoftwareOne faces increased complexity when managing multiple customers, reducing the efficiency of service delivery.

• Security risks – Without built-in governance and role-based access controls, there's a higher risk of unauthorized actions within customer environments.

If you have any technical questions or concerns about the Azure Lighthouse activation process, contact our Services Support team. For details, see .

The Microsoft Accounts page provides a centralized view of your CSP tenants.

If you have Microsoft agreements through the SoftwareOne Marketplace, you can use this page to monitor tenants, agreements, subscriptions, GDAP relationships, and special qualifications from a single location.

Access Microsoft Accounts

To access this page, select Microsoft Accounts from the main navigation menu.

You can then view a consolidated list of your CSP tenants, including:

• Microsoft tenant ID and primary domain.

• The number of agreements and subscriptions associated with each tenant.

• The market associated with each tenant.

• Health indicators that highlight actions required to manage subscriptions or create orders, such as:

  • MCA – The Microsoft Customer Agreement (MCA) must be signed before new subscriptions can be created or existing subscriptions updated.

  • Partnership – The Microsoft partnership must be accepted before orders can be created.

  • GDAP – The required Granular Delegated Admin Privileges (GDAP) relationship has not been accepted.

From the Microsoft Accounts page, you can select a tenant to view additional information.

The tenant details page provides access to subscription, GDAP, and account information for the selected tenant.

From the details page, you can also:

• Access the Microsoft 365 admin center directly.

• View subscriptions by type, including License-based, Azure, Software, and Perpetual.

• View GDAP relationships for the CSP tenant, including the relationship name, requested roles, expiration date, auto-extend setting, and relationship status. You can also manage the relationship directly in the Microsoft 365 admin center.

To indicate that your organization is a state-owned entity:

1. On the Account tab, select Edit.

2. In the Special qualifications dialog box, select I confirm the company is a state-owned entity.

3. Select Save.

SoftwareOne requires Granular Delegated Administrative Privileges (GDAP) in your tenant to manage your Microsoft products and services. Without these privileges, we are unable to provide all the services associated with your purchase.

After you have placed an order, you must accept our GDAP invitation. This invitation is provided as a URL on the order details page. When you select the link and log in as a Global Administrator, you are redirected to the Microsoft 365 admin center to complete the GDAP setup.

To accept a GDAP relationship request:

1. Open the Orders page.

2. Select the required purchase order.

New Commerce Experience (NCE) is Microsoft's licensing and purchasing model for cloud subscriptions sold through the Cloud Solution Provider (CSP) program.

NCE introduces standardized subscription terms, billing options, and lifecycle management capabilities for Microsoft cloud services. It's designed to provide greater flexibility, transparency, and predictability when purchasing and managing subscriptions.

With NCE, you can:

• Choose from different subscription terms and billing options.

• Manage subscription renewals through auto-renewal settings.

This topic describes how to start your Government Community Cloud (GCC) journey with SoftwareOne.

The process depends on whether you are a new customer just starting with GCC or an existing GCC customer looking to move to SoftwareOne.

If you are a new GCC customer, you must verify your eligibility to gain access to the government community cloud set of products. To do this:

1. Complete the .

2. Provide SoftwareOne's Partner Tenant GUID: 141e07d1-6f28-4169-b951-316d5a941d88.

The Marketplace Platform allows you to explore a Microsoft product before committing to a paid version. This means you can order a free trial subscription and try it out for 30 days.

The following restrictions apply to NCE trial subscriptions in the Marketplace:

• Trial subscriptions don't automatically renew. When the trial ends, the subscription expires.

• Trial subscriptions can't be converted to a paid subscription at the end of the trial period. If you decide to order the paid version, you must place a new order for the corresponding paid product.

Microsoft Government Community Cloud (GCC) is an elite, purpose-built cloud environment designed exclusively for US federal, state, local, and tribal governments, and contractors managing data on behalf of the US government.

GCC delivers a completely segregated instance of Microsoft Cloud services, including Microsoft 365 and Dynamics 365, engineered to meet the rigorous compliance and security standards that government entities demand.

Unlike standard commercial offerings, GCC environments are physically isolated from commercial cloud infrastructure, providing enhanced security measures, specialized compliance certifications, and robust controls tailored to government requirements.

GCC was strategically developed to address the unique regulatory landscape and advanced security requirements facing government organizations today. With GCC, you can:

• Achieve FedRAMP Moderate compliance with confidence.

The Microsoft Customer Agreement (MCA) is Microsoft's contract for purchasing and using cloud services. It defines the terms and conditions that govern Microsoft cloud subscriptions and services.

Before Microsoft cloud services can be provisioned, customers must review and accept the MCA.

Customers purchasing Microsoft cloud services through the Cloud Solution Provider (CSP) program must accept the MCA before subscriptions or services can be provisioned.

This requirement applies to:

• Organizations purchasing Microsoft cloud services, such as Azure, Microsoft 365, Dynamics 365, and more for the first time through a CSP partner must also accept the MCA.

The Microsoft CSP program is designed to provide businesses with easy access to Microsoft's cloud services, such as Microsoft 365, Dynamics 365, and Azure, through certified partners.

Working with a CSP provider like SoftwareOne offers numerous benefits and ensures a smooth onboarding process, including:

• Tailored solutions – SoftwareOne can bundle Microsoft cloud services with additional offerings and services, creating customized solutions that meet specific business needs.

• Expert support – Gain access to dedicated support from SoftwareOne's experts, who can help with everything from initial setup to ongoing management and technical issues.

Microsoft Azure is a cloud computing platform that lets you access and manage cloud services and resources provided by Microsoft. With Marketplace Platform, you can easily order an Azure plan subscription.

Browse the following topics to learn about Microsoft Azure Plan subscriptions.

If you face an error when onboarding subscriptions to Azure Lighthouse, it could be due to your role within Azure.

Ensure you are the owner of the subscription to onboard and the first subscription onboarded to Azure Lighthouse.

Subscription owners have the Owner role, listed on the Role Assignments tab in Azure.

To complete the Lighthouse onboarding, you must also meet the following requirements for your primary domain/tenant or Azure subscription:

• Role - Any

If your application for Microsoft Education is denied due to a lack of information or incompleteness, you can resubmit the application. Microsoft allows up to three verification attempts.

To request a reverification:

1. Read the specific reasons provided in your denial notification.

2. Gather the required documents to support your eligibility.

3. Sign in to the Microsoft 365 Admin Center and update the inaccurate details under Settings > Organization Information.

4. Request a reverification.

After resubmitting the request, allow 3–5 business days for Microsoft to review your submission.

To track the status of your request, visit the Microsoft 365 admin center.

If your request is unsuccessful after three attempts, you must engage with Microsoft Support directly. You can also contact SoftwareOne.

To access Microsoft CSP nonprofit benefits, your organization must first be validated as an eligible nonprofit organization through Microsoft’s nonprofit eligibility process.

This involves registering on the Microsoft Nonprofits Portal, where Microsoft will review and approve your status. It's important that your organization's legal name and tax ID used during registration match the information submitted for the nonprofit validation.

Once your status has been approved, your CSP partner can create your customer account in Partner Center, ensuring that the organization type is set correctly as a nonprofit.

After your nonprofit status is confirmed, you can access charity-specific offers and pricing.

Yes. When your Azure subscription is transferred to SoftwareOne, your existing Azure Lighthouse configuration does not carry over.

This is because Azure Lighthouse permissions are linked to the partner managing the subscription. When the billing relationship changes, these permissions are removed and must be re‑established. As a result, you must complete a new onboarding process for Azure Lighthouse after the transfer.

The onboarding is handled directly through the Marketplace. Your purchase order includes an activation link and guided workflow to help you complete the process.

For detailed instructions and Azure role requirements, see Complete Azure Lighthouse onboarding.

Related topics

Granular Delegated Admin Privileges (GDAP) is Microsoft's latest innovation in cloud security management, and it's transforming how organizations collaborate with service providers.

GDAP is a sophisticated security framework that allows you to grant SoftwareOne precisely controlled access to your Microsoft cloud environment. This ensures we can support your business needs while maintaining the highest security standards.

Why is GDAP important?

In today's digital landscape, traditional all-or-nothing access approaches no longer suffice. GDAP addresses this challenge by introducing a nuanced permission system that aligns with modern security best practices. By implementing role-based access control (RBAC), GDAP ensures that service providers like SoftwareOne can only access the specific resources needed to support your operations, nothing more. This granular control significantly reduces security risks while maintaining operational efficiency.

What are the benefits for your organization?

GDAP transforms your cloud security posture through several key advantages:

For your business

• Enhanced and efficient support – GDAP empowers SoftwareOne’s support teams to respond to your technical needs faster, tackling incidents swiftly and with the precision your business deserves.

• Precision-controlled access – Rest assured, our access is limited strictly to what’s necessary and only for as long as needed. You set the rules with flexible, time-bound control that can be revoked at your discretion. It’s support on your terms.

• Ultimate flexibility – Maintain full command of your cloud environments, like Azure or Microsoft 365, by setting the boundaries for scope and access duration. With SoftwareOne, you’re always in control.

• Streamlined issue resolution – GDAP accelerates our ability to resolve your issues, turning potential downtime into uptime and ensuring smooth, reliable operations that drive your success.

• Enhanced compliance and security – As advocates of least-privileged access, GDAP ensures that our support activities align with stringent security protocols, reinforcing your trust in our commitment to safeguarding your cloud resources.

• Seamless support aligned with your policies – GDAP enables us to adapt to your specific access controls, reinforcing your security policies and fostering a relationship built on trust and transparency.

GDAP implementation requires collaboration between your organization and SoftwareOne. Global administrators from your organization can approve GDAP relationships.

Operating without GDAP exposes your organization to several challenges:

• Incomplete support capabilities – Unlock SoftwareOne’s full suite of capabilities and expertise by enabling GDAP, ensuring your platform and support configurations are fully optimized.

• Delayed support response – Each support request requires manual access approval, potentially extending resolution times from minutes to hours.

• Business continuity risks – During critical incidents, delays in granting access could lead to extended system downtimes.

• Restricted support ability – Without GDAP, our teams face limitations in delivering prompt support, reducing the quality of service we are dedicated to providing.

• Reduced operational efficiency – Continuously requesting access permissions takes time that could be spent solving your issues, impacting customer satisfaction, and the support experience.

Completing the Azure Lighthouse onboarding enables SoftwareOne to fulfill your Microsoft transactions, helping you streamline procurement and support.

To complete the onboarding, you must have the Owner role on the Azure subscriptions being onboarded. For details, see Assign subscription owner role.

Completing Azure Lighthouse onboarding

To complete the onboarding:

1. Go to Marketplace > Orders.

2. Select the required purchase order.

3. On the General tab, select the Lighthouse activation link.

1. On the Azure Lighthouse Onboarding page, select Start activation.

1. On the Microsoft sign-in page, enter your Azure Subscription Owner credentials.

2. Review the requested permissions, then select Accept.

3. In the guided Azure Lighthouse flow, do the following:

   1. Review the onboarding details, then select

After completing the activation, return to the order details page in the Marketplace and select Process.

This updates the order status from Querying to Processing, allowing SoftwareOne to process it further.

You can align subscription end dates when creating a new agreement or by updating an existing agreement.

Align subscription end dates when creating a new agreement

To align subscription end dates when creating a new agreement:

1. Open the Products page, then select the required product.

2. Select Buy now.

3. Under Select agreement, select Create agreement.

4. Complete the order process until you reach the Microsoft details step.

5. Select I would like to align subscription end dates within this agreement.

1. Complete the remaining steps to place your order.

All future eligible subscriptions added to the agreement will be automatically aligned to the subscription end date established during the initial purchase.

To enable coterminosity for an existing agreement, contact and provide the subscription end date that should be used for alignment.

The date must belong to an active subscription in the same tenant.

To find the date:

1. Sign in to the .

2. Go to Billing > Your products.

3. Identify the renewal or expiration date of an active, license-based subscription that future subscriptions should align with.

After the alignment date is configured, all new eligible subscriptions added to the agreement will use the specified end date.

You can view the configured alignment date in the End date alignment field on the agreement details page.

Subscription coterminosity (renewal alignment) allows multiple Microsoft subscriptions within an agreement to share the same renewal date.

When coterminosity is enabled, new eligible subscriptions are aligned to an existing subscription end date instead of receiving their own independent renewal date. This helps simplify subscription management, billing, and renewals.

Benefits of subscription coterminosity include:

• Add-on alignment – Terminate or renew add-on subscriptions together with the existing subscription.

• Align subscription renewals with the fiscal year – Align subscription renewals with your organization's fiscal year.

• Consistent invoicing – Simplify billing by aligning subscriptions to a consistent renewal schedule.

• Flexibility renewal dates – Different groups of subscriptions can use different coterminous dates.

In Marketplace Platform, the following rules apply:

• Only license-based Microsoft NCE subscriptions support coterminosity.

• Azure, Perpetual Software, and Software subscriptions don't support coterminosity.

• Annual and triannual term subscriptions can't be coterminated with monthly subscriptions.

• Add-on subscriptions can be aligned to existing subscription end dates only if they belong to the same partner.

The following example shows how coterminosity works.

An agreement is created on 14 March 2025 with an annual subscription. On 25 April 2025, a second annual subscription is added to the same agreement.

• Without coterminosity, the second subscription renews on 25 April 2026. The monthly date will be 24 May 2025.

• With coterminosity, the subscription renews on 15 March 2026, aligning its renewal date with the existing subscription in the agreement. The monthly date will be 15 May 2025.

Error - "The agreement includes an option to align all subscription end dates. However, the date currently stored in the 'End Date Alignment' parameter is invalid. To provide a valid date, you need to contact support."

Cause - This error appears when your order is querying for a valid subscription alignment date or when you are trying to create a new change order. It's related to the date specified in the End date alignment parameter of the agreement and could mean any of the following:

• The end date is invalid.

• The information in the parameter doesn't match an active subscription within that tenant.

• The date either refers to a terminated subscription or was entered incorrectly.

Resolution - To resolve this issue, provide a valid end date to , who will update it in the system.

To find the cotermination date, in the , go to the Billing > Your products page. Check the renewal or expiration date of an active, license-based subscription to determine the end date and provide this date to the Support team.

Error - "The agreement includes an option to align all subscription end dates. However, the date currently stored in the 'End date alignment' parameter is invalid, as yearly subscriptions cannot be aligned with monthly subscriptions. You can either provide a valid date or proceed with the order, in which case the subscription end dates will not be aligned. If you wish to modify the End Date Alignment, please contact our support team."

Cause - This error appears when the coterminosity feature has been enabled with a monthly term subscription, but a new annual subscription is being ordered as part of a change order.

Resolution - To resolve this issue, provide a valid end date to so that the cotermination dates can be aligned. If you choose not to align the end dates, you can proceed with the order, however, the subscription will be created without any coterm.

Error - "Required action: Subscriptions end date alignment is not valid."

Cause - This error occurs for orders that are in the Querying state when the date provided for coterminosity is invalid.

Resolution - To resolve this issue, provide a valid end date to . See the first error message on this page for details on how to determine a valid cotermination date.

A software subscription is a modern approach to accessing software solutions where customers pay for usage over a period rather than owning the software outright. This model allows businesses to stay updated with the latest versions, updates, and security features.

With Microsoft’s CSP Software Subscription, you gain access to a range of essential tools like SQL and more, through a flexible, monthly, or annual subscription. This model ensures your organization has the right software to meet evolving business needs, without the upfront costs and complexities of traditional software licensing.

Why should you transact Microsoft software subscriptions?

Whether you are a growing business or a large enterprise, the Microsoft CSP Software Subscription offers unparalleled flexibility. Key benefits include:

• You can add or remove users, scale your resources up or down, and easily adjust to your changing requirements.

• You receive consolidated, predictable billing that enables you to manage budgets. You pay for what you use, on a schedule that suits your business needs.

• You get automatic access to the latest features, updates, and security patches. Microsoft ensures you always have access to the most current software versions to streamline workflows and enhance productivity.

Choosing SoftwareOne as your Microsoft CSP Software Subscription provider allows you to partner with a trusted expert to optimize your IT strategy.

With a global presence and localized support, SoftwareOne understands the nuances of your regional market, making us an ideal partner for organizations around the world.

• Our team of certified professionals brings extensive expertise in Microsoft solutions. We simplify the complexity of licensing and tailor the subscription to meet your specific business requirements.

• From initial consultation to ongoing optimization, we provide comprehensive lifecycle management for your software subscriptions.

• We help you unlock cost-saving opportunities by leveraging deep knowledge of Microsoft’s licensing and cloud offerings. Our tailored advice ensures that you pay only for what you need.

• We ensure seamless integration of Microsoft solutions into your existing IT infrastructure, ensuring minimal disruption and a smooth transition to the cloud.

To complete Azure Lighthouse onboarding, you must have the Owner role in Azure.

A Global Administrator can assign the owner role to the user who will complete the onboarding.

Assigning the Owner role

To assign the role:

1. Sign in to the Microsoft Azure portal as a Global Administrator.

2. Verify that you have permission to add role assignments. To verify permissions:

   1. In the Search bar, type Microsoft Entra ID.

   2. Go to the Properties tab.

   3. Under Access management for Azure resources, set the toggle to Yes. Your global admin username should be visible.

   4. Select Save.

1. In the Search bar, type Subscriptions. Then, on the Subscriptions page, select the required subscription.

2. In the left pane, select Access control (IAM).

3. Select the Role assignments tab to view the role assignments at this scope. Then, select Add > Add role assignment.

1. On the Conditions tab, select Allow user to assign all roles (highly privileged) and then select Next.

2. On the Review + assign tab, select Review + assign.

The Owner role is assigned to the user and displayed on the Role assignments tab in Azure:

After assigning the role in Azure, open the Orders page in the Marketplace to complete the onboarding steps. For details, see .

SoftwareOne helps partners of all types and geographies grow their business by reaching new markets around the world.

Our partner programs help software vendors, resellers, system integrators, and other businesses grow revenue and scale market presence. See Marketplace for Partners to learn about partner management in the Marketplace Platform.

For a list of Frequently Asked Questions, see Partner FAQs.

Cloud Solution Provider Partner Program

The Cloud Solution Provider Partner Program allows you to partner with SoftwareOne as your indirect CSP provider. It means you'll purchase Microsoft products and services through SoftwareOne, but continue to maintain your relationship with Microsoft.

Partnering with SoftwareOne gives you access to valuable tools, resources, and support to manage your customer relationships efficiently. We also assist with customer support, billing, and help you scale your business.

For details on how to enroll in the Cloud Solution Provider Partner Program, see How to Enroll in the CSP Partner Program.

SoftwareOne CSP Partner Program

The SWO CSP Partner Program is a program designed for SoftwareOne partners to ensure compliance with our established terms and conditions.

All SoftwareOne partners must enroll in this program to obtain a compliance certificate, which is linked to all CSP products in the Marketplace. This enrollment is required before any purchases can be made.

Once you have completed your enrollment in the program, a compliance certificate will be automatically generated for you. You'll need to select this certificate when ordering CSP products and services.

For details on how to enroll in the SWO CSP Partner Program, see .

Microsoft subscriptions can be canceled by placing a termination order. The cancellation policy depends on the type of CSP product or service.

For Microsoft Azure

You can place a termination order for an individual subscription or an entire agreement containing multiple subscriptions. Azure usage is billed in arrears, meaning charges are based on usage from the previous month.

For all other Microsoft products

For all other Microsoft products, such as Microsoft Dynamics, Microsoft 365, and software subscriptions):

• Cancellation within 7 days of purchase or renewal – If a termination order is submitted within 7 days of the subscription purchase or renewal, the subscription is canceled in Microsoft systems and terminated in Marketplace. A prorated refund may apply as per the New Commerce Experience Cancellation Policy.

• Cancellation outside the 7-day window – Termination orders cannot be placed for NCE subscriptions after the 7-day window. Any termination orders outside this window will automatically fail, and the subscription will remain active until the end of its commitment term. If the subscription is no longer required, disable automatic renewal to prevent it from renewing at the end of the commitment term.

For step-by-step instructions, see the following links:

To ensure seamless management of your Microsoft 365, Dynamics 365, and Azure subscriptions, you must establish a partner relationship with SoftwareOne.

This allows SoftwareOne to fulfill your Microsoft transactions and manage products and services on behalf of your organization.

To review and accept a partner relationship request:

1. Go to Marketplace > Orders.

2. Select the required purchase order.

3. Do one of the following:

• If the order is Querying, navigate to the General tab. The partner relationship request URL is displayed within the message.
• If the order is in Draft, select Edit. Then, in the Select items step, select Next.

1. Select the URL.

2. Sign in to the Microsoft 365 Admin Center using your Global Administrator credentials for the primary domain or tenant.

3. Review the SoftwareOne partner information, then select Next.

1. Select the link for the Microsoft Customer Agreement and read the agreement.

2. Select the checkbox to acknowledge that you read the agreement, then select Accept.

1. Return to your purchase order in the Marketplace and select Process.

Offer attestation is a process that requires clients purchasing through the Marketplace to acknowledge certain terms and conditions before buying.

Currently, the only offer requiring attestation before purchasing is Windows 365 Business with Windows Hybrid Benefit. It means that when you are ordering Windows licenses with Hybrid Benefit, you must acknowledge that each person using the software has a valid copy of Windows 10/11 Pro installed on their primary work device.

This verification step ensures compliance with Microsoft's licensing requirements and must be completed before placing the order.

How to acknowledge an offer attestation

When ordering an item that falls under the Hybrid Use category, the following message appears on the Items page in the Purchase Wizard:

"By proceeding with this order, I acknowledge that each person using Windows 365 Business with Windows Hybrid Benefit must have a valid copy of Windows 10/11 Pro installed on their primary work device."

The message is displayed for both purchase orders and change orders that include items requiring attestation.

By selecting Next on the Items page, you confirm that you accept the attestation.

After your order has been placed, the Attachments tab on both the and the will display a PDF file. This file contains the details of the person who confirmed the attestation, along with the date and time of the attestation. The following image shows an example:

You can also see the attestation details through the .

This tutorial explains how to reduce the quantity of your licenses in a subscription by submitting a change order. If you want to cancel the subscription completely, see Terminate 365 subscription.

Downsizing a subscription reduces the number of licenses while keeping at least one license active.

Prerequisites

Ensure that both the agreement and the subscription you want to downsize are active.

Reduce licenses for a Microsoft 365 subscription

Your change order is submitted to SoftwareOne for processing.

In the Marketplace, the subscription and agreement status change from Active to Updating. While the order is being processed, you cannot make additional changes to the subscription.

• If the license reduction is requested within 7 days of the original order, the change is applied in both the Marketplace and Microsoft.

• If the license reduction is requested outside the 7-day window, the change is applied on the renewal date. If you do not want the subscription to renew, so that the subscription expires at the end of the commitment period.

The Marketplace Platform lets you purchase perpetual licenses to Microsoft software, such as Skype for Business and SQL Server, within the Cloud Solution Provider (CSP) program.

Browse the following topics to learn about ordering new perpetual software subscriptions by creating an agreement, or adding more one-time items to an existing agreement.

Perpetual software tutorials

This topic describes the key points to keep in mind when establishing a GDAP or a partner relationship request with SoftwareOne.

To establish a GDAP admin relationship, make sure that your primary domain name or tenant ID in the purchase order matches the details in the Microsoft 365 Admin Center or Microsoft Azure Management Portal.

There are a few ways you can verify your domain name and ID:

• Using the Marketplace Platform – You can verify your domain name and ID by navigating to the Parameters tab on the order details page.

Microsoft for Education provides your institution with special access to Microsoft’s education-focused services, tools, and pricing. This allows you to unlock benefits designed specifically for educational environments, including:

• Discounted pricing on Microsoft 365 Education licenses.

• Access to specialized educational tools and features, along with SKUs for Microsoft 365, Dynamics, and Intune.

• Enhanced security and compliance tools designed specifically for educational institutions.

A perpetual software order is a one-time purchase. You pay upfront and keep the license indefinitely.

Perpetual software orders are not subscriptions. They do not renew, and they do not require recurring payments.

You can order perpetual licenses for these products:

• Microsoft Perpetual Software - Commercial

• Microsoft Perpetual Software - Education

Follow our step-by-step guides to order Microsoft subscriptions from the SoftwareOne Marketplace and manage them through self-service.

A perpetual license is a software licensing model that allows indefinite use of the software after a one-time payment.

Once purchased, the license holder can continue using the software without recurring fees or renewal costs. This model differs from subscription-based licenses, which require ongoing payments to maintain access to the software. This licensing model is perfectly suited for organizations that:

• Require strict data sovereignty, necessitating on-premises software deployment.

• Operate in regulated industries where cloud adoption faces compliance challenges.

This tutorial describes how you can order additional subscriptions for Microsoft Azure using an existing Marketplace agreement.

Before starting this tutorial, make sure that the agreement you want to use is in the Active state. Agreements in any other state cannot be used for ordering additional items.

SoftwareOne Marketplace allows you to transfer your existing Microsoft subscriptions from another channel or partner to SoftwareOne. Subscription transfers are available for both user-based and pay-as-you-go subscriptions.

Currently, the following transfer scenarios are supported:

• CSP to CSP - Allows you to transfer subscriptions between different CSP partners.

• EA to CSP - Allows you to move from an Enterprise Agreement to CSP (direct or indirect Microsoft business agreements).

Starting 7 October 2025, Microsoft is implementing a policy requiring customers to review and accept the latest version of the Microsoft Customer Agreement (MCA).

This acceptance is necessary for customers whose CSP partners attested to the MCA on their behalf before 1 April 2023.

While existing online services will remain uninterrupted, customers who don't accept the updated MCA won't be able to make new purchases, modify license quantities, including seat increases or decreases, make upgrades, or change their billing plan. To learn more about this update, see the official .

To comply with this Microsoft policy, the Marketplace Platform automatically processes MCA acceptance when the order is placed. The method depends on the tenant type and the individual placing the order.

For self-consumption tenants

• Client-placed orders - If you are a SoftwareOne client placing an order directly, the MCA is automatically accepted using the details of the individual who placed the order. This applies to both new purchases and change orders.

Once your order is complete and your license is successfully set up, you can download your license keys from the . You'll need these keys to activate the software.

For instructions on downloading your keys, see in Microsoft documentation.

You can cancel your software subscription within 7 days from the time your order is placed and receive a prorated refund. This cancellation period consists of 7×24 hours (7 days a week; 24 hours a day). Cancellations aren't accepted after this period for either new purchases or renewal orders.

For details on how to cancel a subscription, see .

By default, auto-renewal is enabled for all SoftwareOne Marketplace subscriptions.

If a subscription is set to renew, it's processed the day after the subscription's term ends.

For example, if the term end date is 2023-03-01T00:00:00Z UTC, it includes the whole day. The renewal will start after the term ends (2023-03-02T00:00:00Z UTC) and can take up to 24 hours.

Partners have a 7-day window (except where otherwise required by law) to cancel or reduce seats after the renewal is completed. The 7-day window starts at the date and time of renewal completion.

The Renewal information tab within subscription details shows how a subscription is configured to renew and any changes that are scheduled to take effect at the next renewal date.

To view renewal information:

1. Go to Marketplace > Subscriptions.

2. Select the subscription you want to review.

This tutorial explains how to order additional licenses for an existing Microsoft 365 subscription by submitting a change order.

Ensure that the agreement you want to use is active.

When you purchase Microsoft licenses or Azure cloud services through SoftwareOne's Microsoft CSP agreement, you automatically gain access to SoftwareOne Services Support. This support starts immediately after your license is activated and continues throughout your subscription period.

SoftwareOne Services Support provides 24/7 technical assistance for all Microsoft products in your portfolio. With a team of over 730+ Microsoft-certified professionals across 12 global delivery centers, you receive expert support for various technical scenarios, including:

• Office 365 application issues and troubleshooting.

• Azure infrastructure and service challenges.

If you see Microsoft Azure Reserved Instances and Microsoft Azure Savings Plan items appearing in your order, it's important to understand what they mean and how they benefit you.

We add these items to your order with specific permissions granted to your cloud account. This lets you access and manage these cost-saving options directly through the Azure portal.

When these items are added, no extra charges are applied to the account unless you choose to purchase Azure Reservations or Savings Plans using the Azure portal. If you decide to purchase these cost-saving options, the charges will be billed on the date associated with your Azure plan.

With Azure reservations and savings plan items, you can leverage Microsoft's self-service capabilities for cost-saving provisioning. This self-service approach allows you to:

• Make purchasing decisions at your own pace.

This tutorial explains how to disable automatic renewal for your subscription by placing a configuration order.

Ensure that both the subscription and its associated agreement are active.

This tutorial explains how to add new Microsoft items to your existing CSP agreement in the SoftwareOne Marketplace.

This scenario focuses on finding and adding an item called Microsoft Power BI.

Prerequisites

Make sure that the agreement you want to use is active.

Add new items to an agreement

You can check the status of your new order on the Orders page or in the Orders tab on the agreement details page.

Once you place the order, the agreement status changes from Active to Updating. You won't be able to place any additional orders under this agreement until your current order has been processed and the agreement status is changed back to Active.

This tutorial explains how to cancel a subscription by submitting a termination order.

Terminating a subscription cancels the service completely. If you want to reduce the number of licenses while keeping the subscription active, see Downsize Microsoft 365 subscription.

Prerequisites

Ensure that both the subscription and its associated agreement are active.

Terminate Microsoft 365 subscription

After the termination order is submitted, the subscription and agreement status change to Updating while the order is being processed. During this time, you cannot submit additional orders for the agreement.

When processing is complete, the subscription status changes to Terminated.

This tutorial explains how to upgrade a subscription.

Upgrading means moving licenses from an existing subscription to an eligible higher plan. You can upgrade all licenses in a subscription or only a selected number of licenses.

Depending on your upgrade, the licenses can be transferred to a new or existing subscription.

Prerequisites

Ensure that the subscription you want to upgrade and its corresponding agreement are active.

Upgrade a Microsoft 365 subscription

Your change order is submitted for processing. When the order is complete, the selected licenses are upgraded according to the upgrade option you chose.

This tutorial describes how you can order a Microsoft 365 subscription by creating a new Marketplace agreement.

When setting up a new agreement, you can either create a new Microsoft account or use an existing one. This tutorial focuses on how to set up a new Microsoft account.

Before starting this tutorial, make sure you have the following:

• A licensee in the active state, or permission to if you don't want to use an existing active licensee. Licensee selection is required when setting up a new agreement.

• Your company details, including the company name, registration ID, and address. These details are required for creating a new Microsoft tenant.

This tutorial describes how to order a Microsoft 365 subscription by creating a new Marketplace agreement.

When setting up a new agreement, you can either create a new Microsoft account or use an existing one. This tutorial focuses on how to connect your existing cloud account.

Before starting this tutorial, make sure you have the following:

• The name of your existing Microsoft tenant.

• An active licensee or permission to in the Marketplace. Licensee selection is required when creating a new agreement.

This tutorial describes how you can order a subscription for Microsoft Azure by setting up a new agreement and a new Microsoft tenant.

Before starting this tutorial, make sure you have the following:

• A licensee in the active state or permission to (if you don't want to use an existing licensee). You'll need to select the licensee when setting up the new agreement.

• Your details, such as company name, registration ID, and address. You'll need to provide this information when creating the new Microsoft tenant.

If you face errors during the certificate creation process or when submitting orders, use the information on this page to validate your partner information in Microsoft Partner Center before retrying certificate creation or CSP orders.

A Partner Location Account (PLA) ID represents a specific partner location and is required for CSP transactions. Only a PLA ID can be used for CSP orders.

Therefore, it's important to verify that this ID is both correct and valid. You can check the ID in the Identifiers section of Partner Center.

To verify the PLA ID:

1. Sign in to using your global admin credentials.

This tutorial shows how you can order a Microsoft license by setting up a new tenant.

Perpetual licenses involve a one-time payment. You pay upfront for these licenses and then use the software indefinitely. In the Marketplace Platform, perpetual licenses can be ordered by creating a purchase order.

Before starting this tutorial, make sure you are familiar with . You will also need:

• A licensee in the active state. Licensees are required to set up a new agreement.

• Your company details, like the company name, registration ID, and address. These details are required when setting up a new Microsoft tenant.

This tutorial describes how you can order a subscription for Microsoft Azure by setting up a new agreement and connecting your existing tenant.

Before starting this tutorial, make sure you have the following:

• An existing licensee in the active state or permission to (if you don't want to use an existing licensee). You'll need to select the licensee when setting up the new agreement.

• The name of the Microsoft tenant you want to connect.

This tutorial explains how to terminate a Marketplace agreement by submitting a termination order.

When you terminate an agreement, all subscriptions associated with that agreement are also terminated.

Ensure that the agreement you want to terminate is active. Agreements in any other state cannot be terminated.

If you already have an agreement for a perpetual software product and want to add more one-time software items to the same agreement, you can do so by creating a change order.

This tutorial describes how to create a change order by adding a one-time item called Windows Server 2025.

Make sure that the required agreement is currently active.

The SoftwareOne Marketplace provides self-service options for managing your CSP subscriptions. This topic describes what you can do when a subscription reaches its term's end and how to handle renewals in the Marketplace.

Renewal options

Your subscription renewal options in the Marketplace include renewing to a new term before the existing term ends, canceling at expiration, or moving to an Extended Service Term (EST).

Renew to a new term - This option allows you to renew your subscription for a new fixed term. This works like it always has, supporting scheduled changes as needed or renewing as is. For details on how to renew, see Renewing to a new fixed term.

Cancel at expiration - This allows you to stop your services at the end of the subscription term. Once a subscription is cancelled, it can't be recovered or reactivated. For details on how to cancel, see Canceling a subscription at expiration.

Move to EST - This converts your subscription into a monthly term that continues until you cancel or convert it to a regular subscription. Once a subscription is converted to EST, no changes can be made. You can move a subscription to EST if it meets the following criteria:

• It's in the commercial or public sector (Education, Nonprofit, or Government Community Cloud).

• It falls under specialized offers.

• It includes end-of-sale items with conversion SKUs.

• It was purchased or renewed between April 1, 2025, and May 4, 2026, and has a term end date after May 4, 2026.

Trial subscriptions and end-of-sale SKUs are not eligible for EST. Additionally, EST bills monthly at the current monthly term rate plus a 3% uplift (or 23% if no monthly plan exists). For details on how to convert to an EST subscription, see .

The following example illustrates how the subscription start and end dates affect the outcome, including renewal, EST, grace period, and cancellation:

To renew your subscription for a new fixed term:

1. On the Subscriptions page, select the required subscription.

2. Select the dropdown arrow , then choose Configure.

3. Choose Enabled, then select Next.

To cancel your subscription at the end of its term:

1. On the Subscriptions page, select the required subscription.

2. Select the dropdown arrow , then choose Configure.

3. Choose Disabled, then select Next.

1. Enter any required reference details and select Next.

2. Review the order and select Place order.

3. View the order details or close the summary page.

To move your subscription to an extended service term:

1. On the Subscriptions page, select the required subscription.

2. Select the dropdown arrow , then choose Configure.

3. Choose Enabled, then select Next.

1. Enter any required reference details and select Next.

2. Review the order and select Place order.

3. View the order details or close the summary page.

This topic describes the subscription states for license-based New Commerce and Legacy subscriptions. It also describes how these subscription states are represented within the Marketplace Platform.

NCE subscriptions can be in one of these states: Active, Suspended, Expired, Disabled, or Deleted.

Active is the default state for an NCE subscription. When the subscription is active, you can access and use the services. Additionally:

• Administrators can access service data and properties.