Microsoft Teams Premium upgrades may override third-party eCDN settings

The silent reset of eCDN preferences during a Premium tier upgrade introduces a specific technical risk for large-scale enterprise video delivery. If undetected, a shift from Vbrick's specialized multicast or P2P delivery to a generic configuration could lead to immediate network congestion during high-traffic events like CEO town halls. This friction underscores a broader competitive tension between Microsoft's expanding first-party infrastructure and the third-party ecosystem. As Microsoft consolidates its 'Town Hall' feature set, enterprise engineers must prioritize auditing their technology stacks during license renewals. Watch for whether Microsoft further restricts third-party eCDN parity within the Teams admin center as it sunsets legacy 'Live Events' functionality.

The warning from Vbrick aligns with a major shift in Microsoft’s virtual event architecture. Effective September 30, 2024, Microsoft retired 'Teams Live Events' in favor of 'Town Halls,' a new experience integrated directly into the core Teams meeting platform. Per Directions on Microsoft, this transition moved large-scale broadcasts away from the aging Stream Classic infrastructure toward a unified Azure-based model. While Town Halls support third-party eCDNs, Microsoft has positioned its own eCDN as the default for Premium users, offering first-party analytics and native integration that third-party vendors must replicate via SDKs.

Further compounding the administrative burden, Microsoft implemented significant licensing changes on April 1, 2026. According to Microsoft, several features previously exclusive to Teams Premium—including real-time event analytics and eCDN support—were moved into the broader Teams Enterprise license. This move targeted organizations hosting up to 3,000 interactive attendees, while larger events now require dedicated 'Capacity Packs' for up to 100,000 participants. The licensing shift likely triggered the automated settings resets Vbrick is currently highlighting to its customers.

Market competition remains intense as Vbrick attempts to differentiate via technical versatility. Following its December 2022 acquisition of Ramp, Vbrick became the only provider to offer a 'universal' eCDN combining P2P, caching, and multicast. Per Gartner and Frost & Sullivan reports from late 2025, Vbrick maintains a leadership position in the Enterprise Video Platform (EVP) market despite Microsoft’s aggressive bundling. However, the requirement for administrators to manually opt-out of Microsoft's native eCDN creates a friction point that favors first-party adoption within the 300 million-user Teams ecosystem.