Microsoft to block users from getting paid apps from the Microsoft Stores for Business, Education as of April

More than a year following plans for closing the Microsoft Shops for Business enterprise and Instruction were being mentioned internally, Microsoft is notifying shoppers of the very first techniques towards their seeming dismantling.

Microsoft Retailer for Business enterprise prospects documented acquiring an update right now, March 11, telling them that all paid apps will no extended “be obtainable for acquisition” from the Shops for Small business and Schooling as of April 14, 2021. (Thanks, @hoyty, for the heads up on Twitter.)

Customers who already have applications they bought by means of these retailers will be able to use and acquire updates to them, in accordance to Microsoft’s note to end users. But no new compensated apps will be achievable by means of these outlets as of that April day. Immediately after that day, consumers who want further apps or licenses will have to have to operate with app publishers, Microsoft suggests.

The note to consumers also states that access to the Retailer for Company and Retail store for Education and learning, heading forward, will require customers to have an current Azure Lively Directory account. No nameless browsing of these Stores will be permitted.

I asked Microsoft if today’s announcement is the first step toward the dismantling and closing of the Shops for Small business and Education. No word back again so far.

Update (March 12): Officials pointed me to the similar verbiage about the block on paid out apps that they have extra to the Docs web page. A spokesperson claimed: “We have practically nothing even more to share at this time.”

The Microsoft Retail outlet, originally regarded as the Home windows Keep, is Microsoft’s online app keep that is created into Windows 10. In 2015, Microsoft begun screening a few of companion digital suppliers: The Microsoft Store for Business and the Microsoft Shop for Instruction were intended for admins who desired to make purposes offered to their end users exterior of the usual Home windows Retailer channel in Windows 10. They enable admins to make Retailer applications accessible to their users for quantity acquisition and distribution, as nicely as give a way for custom made line-of-business enterprise distribution only inside of a certain firm

As Microsoft officers acknowledged for the past few of decades, Microsoft’s first program to check out to influence developers to develop Common Home windows System (UWP) apps that would be updatable and distributable exclusively by means of the Microsoft Keep unsuccessful to materialize. The will need for committed app shops on Home windows turned much less urgent as a consequence. 

To day, Microsoft hasn’t mentioned anything publicly about what’s heading to materialize to any of its electronic app outlets. But privately, officers throughout many teams at the firm had been attempting to arrive up with a concerted strategy, I have read. As of a 12 months ago, That approach did not phone for Microsoft to fall the Website version of the Microsoft Store. 

It does sound as although the crew that owns the electronic outlets made a decision that the Store for Small business and Store for Education and learning undoubtedly would be deprecated. There was discuss that June 2020 was the goal, but that was pre-pandemic.