Microsoft began cancelling EA renewals

As of now, we cannot disclose our sources, but we trust them.?

Also, considering that it aligns with what?Microsoft?announced in November, we have no reason to doubt this information.

This is what we have learned so far:

Resellers don't provide renewal quotes

Large licensing resellers (LSPs) were instructed not to provide Enterprise Agreement renewal quotes but to refer clients to?Microsoft?to discuss transitions to alternative agreements:?CSP?and?MCA-E.

Who is affected?

So far, we've only seen this move affecting small customers below 2,400 licenses. It doesn't mean there aren't larger affected organisations.

There was hope that it would only affect "Cloud-only Enterprise Agreements." Unfortunately, it seems that all EAs are affected.

Is there any chance of keeping an EA?

EA may be "considered" for renewal if you convince?Microsoft?that you'll start spending significantly more or transition to the so-called "scorecard products" like E5, which will satisfy the sales reps and increase your?Microsoft?budget, sometimes significantly.

Why is it a problem?

You've been preparing to renew your EA, and now you need to learn how CSP or?MCA-E works.?

Plus, you probably have zero relevant negotiation experience. This is the first time such a forced switch is happening.

In addition, the negotiation landscape has drastically changed. If previously you had to deal with your reseller and?Microsoft?unless your EA was direct,?which is extremely rare, now the alternatives are:

1. MCA-E, which is direct with?Microsoft, so you will be balancing between the old supply chain and a different?Microsoft?department and the new directly engaging?Microsoft?MCA-E team.?
2. CSP, which is indirect, via a different kind of?Microsoft?partner than LSPs (EA resellers).?Microsoft?will be excluded from that conversation. And in this scenario, too, there is a delicate balancing act with additional moving parts.

CSP and?MCA-E licensing and financials are fundamentally different from EA, and it will ("will", not "may") increase your?Microsoft?expenses and may make some of your currently perfectly working solutions non-compliant.

And if you use Azure, your Azure tenant may have to be practically recreated from scratch. We have heard from a few Microsoft partners that this is changing, and Azure via MCA has more and more features of Azure via EA, but we cannot confirm that. Our clients still have to undergo a painful transformation when switching to MCA.

What to do?

As soon as possible—don't delay—learn about the risks of transitioning to?MCA-E and CSP.

See if you actually want to increase your spending with Microsoft. Of course, don't do it just to keep EA; assess and benchmark all scenarios.

If you haven't spoken to your reseller yet, ask them proactively; don't wait until it's 30-90 days before renewal.

In addition to working with your reseller, engage with an independent specialist advisory firm that is not a?Microsoft?partner or at least not influenced by selling you?Microsoft?licenses and services.

If you're unsure how to approach it,?contact us, and we'll help.

Beware of misleading messaging from?Microsoft

We wish there was a more polite way to say it, but the claim that?MCA-E is "the digital evolution of the traditional EA" is... inaccurate.

MCA-E is not an evolution of EA in any regard.?

• It's an entirely different agreement with different financials.?
• There are no programmatic discounts based on your size. You'll have to negotiate from the RRP regardless of your enterprise's size.
• It is is OPEX-dominant. Most licences and services are subscription-only.?
• There is no renewal of Software Assurance so you'll lose your investment in EA licenses and will have to resubscribe anew.
• It has different licensing rules, some of which may be critical.

A direct transition will undoubtedly have a significant cost increase and require operational changes.

If you don't want to wait and get familiar with the fundamental differences, we published?an article a while ago. Most of it is still relevant today.

Got more questions??

We help organisations reduce and optimise?Microsoft?costs. As we don't sell?Microsoft's licences and cloud services, our advice is unaffected by?Microsoft's agenda.

Email us at?[email protected]?or visit?our website.