Originally published at Telefonica Tech
Renewing your Microsoft agreements – whether it’s an Enterprise Agreement (EA), Microsoft Customer Agreement (MCA), or Cloud Solution Provider (CSP) subscription—requires strategic planning to ensure cost optimisation, compliance, and alignment with business needs. Here are some best practices to follow:
Start Early
Don’t wait until the last minute to review your Microsoft agreement. Ideally, start discussions 3-9 months before renewal to assess your usage, server estate, and explore all licensing options. Microsoft has made significant changes to its licensing agreements, meaning the options available at your last renewal may have changed considerably.
Evaluate Current and Future Technology Needs
Analyse your current Microsoft services and evaluate whether your organisation’s future IT roadmap aligns with your current licensing model:
- Are you fully utilising your licences?
- Do you need additional security or compliance features?
- Is Copilot or other AI-driven functionality relevant to your business?
Use this evaluation to determine if you should renew as-is, optimise, or even switch to a different agreement type that may better suit your needs.
Review Licence Usage and Assignments
The renewal period is the perfect time to reset your licence quantities based on actual usage. Review your current licence assignments to identify any unused or underutilised licences. If your organisation has reduced headcount or shifted workloads, you can adjust your renewal quantities accordingly, avoiding unnecessary costs.
Remember, you can always add more licences during the agreement term if needed, so there’s no need to overcommit upfront.
Assess Your Server Estate
If your organisation maintains on-premises servers, review your server estate and software assurance (SA) renewals. If certain servers are scheduled to be decommissioned during the next agreement term, it may be pointless to renew SA on licences you won’t be using.
Instead, consider whether a cloud migration or a flexible, subscription-based model that aligns with short-term infrastructure needs could offer better value.
If these workloads are to be migrated into Azure, it may be worthwhile maintaining Software Assurance in order to take advantage of Azure Hybrid use Benefits.
Review Pricing and Incentives
Microsoft frequently updates pricing and incentives, so check for:
- Upcoming price increases (e.g. Teams Phone and Power BI changes)
- Commitment discounts (such as Azure savings plans)
- Promotional offers for CSP customers (such as first-time purchases of M365 Business Premium and M365 E5)
- Longer commitment terms (such as 3-year commitments with price protection)
Consider a Hybrid Approach
You may benefit from mixing different agreements:
- EA for large, long-term commitments
- CSP for flexible, monthly consumption-based licensing
- Open Value or MPSA for ad-hoc transactional purchases for server licenses and Software Assurance.
Work with Telefónica Tech
Telefónica Tech can provide insights into licensing changes, assist you with cost optimisation, adoption strategies, and transition planning for new Microsoft solutions.
A well-planned renewal ensures you’re not overpaying or under-licensing critical Microsoft services. By starting early, assessing your needs, and working with Telefonica Tech, you can make informed decisions that align with your business strategy.
As a leading Microsoft partner, we offer a comprehensive CSP programme that’s specifically designed to support businesses with Microsoft cloud subscriptions and provide ongoing guidance. We can work closely with you to demystify your renewal options and maximise the value of your Microsoft investments.
If you would like to find out more, please contact us for a free of charge Licensing Advisory service to analyse your current Microsoft licensing agreement in preparation for your renewal.
