I caught this yesterday, reviewing an Oracle Fusion role assignment report for a client ahead of their usage true-up. The numbers on the page did not match what the client had actually purchased, and the gap was large enough that I…
Microsoft Visio License Optimization: How 15 Minutes Found $15K.
I have spent most of this summer on six-figure problems. AI consumption meters, credit overage letters, renewal commitments that moved after they were signed. That work is genuinely urgent, and it deserves the attention it gets. Today, I spent fifteen minutes…
Azure VMware Solution Retirement Doesn’t Free You.
Your Azure VMware Solution renewal came up this month. It was priced as always: license included, one line, nothing to negotiate. Then a trade press headline about the Azure VMware Solution retirement appeared, and the quote no longer looked simple. Microsoft…
Microsoft Copilot “Co-Work” Consumption Billing Shock.
A feature that used to ship inside the Microsoft 365 Copilot subscription now carries a separate, consumption-based bill. Microsoft gave organizations days of notice, not months. Multiple unrelated organizations discovered this the same week, after usage had already started accumulating. One…
You’re Not Ready for Your Microsoft EA Negotiation.
A large organization was three months from their Microsoft EA negotiation when Microsoft called first. They wanted to come in early. They were there to help the team navigate the coming price increases. Volume discount levels were going away. A market…
Oracle Java “Security Patch” Call Is a Licensing Audit
I count software for a living. So when a client forwards me an Oracle Java quote, the first thing I do is ask how they got to the number. The answer is almost always the same, and it is almost always…
Microsoft’s AI Bundles Have a Value Problem.
Microsoft’s latest AI bundles revive a familiar enterprise challenge: paying for capabilities that only a subset of employees will use meaningfully. The dynamic itself is not new. For decades, Microsoft has expanded its position inside the enterprise by combining high-demand capabilities…
The EA Renewal Deadline Isn’t Your Deadline.
Last week I sat in on a renewal review with a procurement team. A Microsoft proposal was open on the screen. In the corner sat an expiry date, a few days out. The room had already shifted around that date. Every…
Microsoft True-Up: Enterprise FAQs
Understanding Microsoft True-Up, True-Down, and Contract Basics Can I reduce (true down) my Microsoft 365 subscriptions, and when? Yes. On your Enterprise Agreement anniversary, you can true down: Additional Online Services (e.g., Visio, Project, Power Apps, Dynamics, M365 F3) to as…
Microsoft’s July 1st Pricing Changes Means More Than Higher Costs.
Beginning July 1, 2026 Microsoft will increase pricing across several commercial plans: Office 365 E3, Microsoft 365 E3, Microsoft 365 E5, frontline licensing, and business plans. Microsoft attributes the increases to expanded capabilities tied to AI integration, security tooling, Intune management,…