Category: Microsoft

Written by Gabe Vos, Software Asset Management (SAM) Specialist at MetrixData 360. When we’re asked to review Microsoft 365 licenses, the request usually sounds straightforward: look at usage, group users, and recommend cheaper licenses where appropriate. On the surface, that’s exactly…

Written by Gary Arseneau, Project Delivery Specialist at MetrixData 360. Microsoft licensing optimization often appears complete long before it is tested. Enterprises sign agreements, activate tenants, and keep paying invoices. From that view, the environment looks compliant. Leadership sees spend, assumes…

If you need board-ready numbers before Microsoft that will give you discount clarity, you have to build your budget from your own defensible baseline, not Microsoft’s proposal. The most reliable way to do this is to break Microsoft into four negotiations…

Written by Sharon Idaraji, SAM Specialist/Consultant at MetrixData 360. Every time I walk into a Microsoft true-up or an enterprise license position exercise, I’m reminded how often the biggest risk isn’t Microsoft. It’s the customer’s confidence in their own tooling. Not…

Negotiating a Microsoft Enterprise Agreement (EA) renewal is rarely simple — and it is never neutral. For most organizations, the process begins six to nine months before renewal, when Microsoft presents an initial proposal packaged with a dense slide deck outlining…

Most Microsoft cost overruns don’t come from bad decisions. They come from questions that go unasked — until Microsoft asks them first. As enterprises move through 2026, Microsoft licensing, cloud spend, and renewal outcomes are being shaped long before formal negotiations…

Microsoft licensing and cloud spend have crossed a line. In 2026, the difference between controlled and exposed enterprises won’t come down to intent — it will come down to data, timing, and leverage. At MetrixData 360, we’re seeing a clear pattern…