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…
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…
When Your SAM Lead Is Out, Is Your Team Ready?
Vacation season exposes a SAM risk most enterprises never plan for. A vendor sent a True-Up request on a Tuesday. Moderate ask, tight window. The person who owned the software asset management position was in Costa Rica until the following Monday….
Your Microsoft EA Proposal Has a Math Problem.
A mid-size enterprise received two Microsoft EA proposals at renewal. One was built around Microsoft 365 E3, the other around Microsoft 365 E5. The M365 E5 package was quoted at roughly $8M per year. The M365 E3 package came in at…
Microsoft EA True-Up: Why Finance Called It a Budget Miss.
A large enterprise signed a three-year Microsoft EA for $6 million per year, with a purchase order totalling $18 million to cover the full term. Within the first 90 days, they restructured their license mix, adding $2 million per year to…
The Azure Agreement Terms That Aren’t in Your Contract.
A mid-market technology company was three months out from an Azure commitment renewal when its procurement team sat down to build a negotiation position. They pulled up the signed agreement. They reviewed the statements of work. They put together a summary…
Microsoft EA Renewals: The Baseline Pricing Level.
Three client conversations in a single week. Three different organizations, different sizes, different industries. One pattern that showed up in all of them. Microsoft presented a renewal proposal. The discount line didn’t look like it used to. In one conversation, Microsoft…