Published: 09 July 2024
Renewing a Microsoft enterprise agreement is challenging, due to rising costs, licensing complexity, new products and possible vendor lock-in. Sourcing, procurement and vendor management leaders should use this five-phase approach to optimize renewal preparation and increase leverage for negotiation.
Microsoft’s products and services are often deeply embedded and widely deployed in many organizations, which drives up the time and effort needed to prepare for enterprise agreement (EA) contract renewals. Compromised planning can result in missed cost savings, disengaged stakeholders, unanticipated costs and buyer’s remorse for unused products.
Microsoft’s ever-changing product landscape and complex licensing terms make it challenging for sourcing, procurement and vendor management (SPVM) leaders to fully identify licensing impacts. This can result in poorly optimized licensing positions, which impedes planning for future technologies and can ultimately lead to an unfavorable pricing and product mix in
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