ABOUT The Licensing Guide.
Who is behind this site and why does it exist? Let me try and explain the origin story of The Licensing Guide.
Hi, I’m Jukka and I love licensing. 💘
I’m a former 11x Microsoft Business Applications MVP who has been working with Microsoft technologies for over 20 years. Throughout my career, I’ve navigated the complex and often mysterious world of Microsoft licensing.
The “Spirit of The Licensing Guide” started as an inside joke but evolved into my mission to make Microsoft licensing more accessible, understandable, and visible. I believe that understanding licensing shouldn’t require arcane knowledge or secret incantations.
I act in many different roles that support my mission of making sense of Microsoft licensing:
“It’s Within the Spirit of The Licensing Guide”
The website name comes from the phrase often used by professionals working in the context of Microsoft business applications: “It’s within the spirit of the licensing guide.” This typically means that while something might not be explicitly written in the documentation, it aligns with the intended purpose and principles of Microsoft’s licensing policies.
Feel the spirit within
A year later, I found myself in London, giving a presentation about Demystifying Dynamics 365 & Power Platform Licensing. I felt like I had to open it with a disclaimer about “I am not a licensing expert”. Later on, as I kept writing more and more blog posts about licensing, I realized that I just need to own it. To be the expert that the community needs, covering an area of the ecosystem that most members are not comfortable talking about in public.
As years went by, the licensing model didn’t become “simplified” – despite many attempts from Microsoft. Their product portfolio kept growing, along with the real-world scenarios in which the low-code and BizApps products were applied in. The gap between the theory of what the official licensing guide PDFs describe and how customers out there use the software became wider and wider.
Today, generative AI is presenting a shift in Microsoft licensing models that is far greater than the merging of Dynamics 365 and Power Platform. The speed at which the technical platform changes presents a massive challenge for aligning the not-so-agile licensing terms with it. Whether it’s about launching multiple Copilot products, renaming bots to agents – the pace of change is simply too much for many MS partners and customers to digest.
My business is not in selling Microsoft licenses. As a solopreneur with a wealth of experience from both the technical and the commercial side of business apps, I simply want to help customers (and partners) to solve real problems. To reduce uncertainty and anxiety caused by the licensing aspect of Microsoft’s propucts.
I continue to share my experiences and insights in blog posts, social media channels, as well as conferences and online events. The demand for licensing answers far exceeds the supply in the Microsoft 365 and Power Platform ecosystem – both of which now must address the changes coming from the infusion of AI into every MS service.
Quite often, the specific details of a licensing scenario cannot be publicly shared. For that purpose, I am happy to provide my expertise on finding the information and answers via 1-to-1 advisory services. You can either reach out via the contact form or directly book an advisory session to tackle your problem. Please check out my Calendly link below: