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Microsoft Licensing Consulting

Our Microsoft licensing consultants help you understand your license options to maximize the value of your investment.

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Microsoft is phasing out Enterprise Agreement renewals for organizations under 2400 users. Is your Microsoft EA expiring soon?

As of 2025, organizations with 500-2399 users currently under Microsoft Enterprise Agreements (EAs) have two license renewal options:

A direct Microsoft agreement (MCA-E): you contract with Microsoft directly, with no partner in the room to advise you or advocate on price.
A Cloud Solution Provider (CSP): partner-managed licensing with no minimum seat count, often with discounted pricing and dedicated support.

And the agreement isn’t the only thing that changed. The price did too. Two shifts have reset the math for most commercial customers:

On November 1, 2025, Microsoft removed the programmatic volume discounts (Levels B, C, and D) on Online Services across the EA and other programs.
On July 1, 2026, Microsoft 365 list prices are also set to rise, applied at renewal.

While renewals may cost more, what you can control is the mix: paying only for the licenses your users need, under the agreement that fits your organization. But many companies struggle with the complexity of Microsoft licensing, leading to overspending, stranded licenses, and compliance exposure, with a license verification arriving on average every two years.

A Microsoft licensing consultant with decades of experience is worth having in the room. When you work with Centric Consulting as your Microsoft licensing partner, we start with an assessment of your current licensing mix against your actual needs to identify cost-savings, whichever agreement you land on.

Maurice Faison

Director

Microsoft Partnership

Michael Maryo

Microsoft Licensing & CSP Manager

Maximize the value of your Microsoft Licenses with a Tier-1 Direct Cloud Solution Provider (CSP)

We’re a Tier-1 Direct Cloud Solution Provider (CSP Tier-1) with the expertise and resources to guide you through the intricacies of various agreement types, such as the New Commerce Experience (NCE), Open Value (OV), Enterprise Agreement (EA), Microsoft Customer Agreement for Enterprise (MCA-E), Microsoft Products and Services Agreement (MPSA), Select, and Service Provider License Agreement (SPLA) for Microsoft Hosting Partners.

We’re not just another reseller. We’re a full-service Microsoft licensing partner, equipped to optimize and manage your licensing mix while ensuring compliance with Microsoft’s complex programs and rules. Our goal is to assist you in dialing in and managing the right licensing model for your organization to ensure maximum value and efficiency.

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CLIENT STORY

Streamlining Microsoft Licensing Saves $44K Annually

A major insurance organization was struggling with fragmented Microsoft licensing management across multiple billing profiles. Different departments were using separate credit cards and billing systems, creating administrative headaches and making it nearly impossible to track their overall licensing spend.

Despite initial hesitancy around resellers, we demonstrated the value of consolidating their licensing under our Cloud Solution Provider (CSP) program. Our Microsoft licensing specialists migrated their multiple billing profiles into a unified system while conducting a comprehensive audit that identified duplicate licensing bundles and optimization opportunities.

The consolidation delivered immediate results – $44,000 in annual savings and streamlined administration. We now manage approximately $180,000 in annual CSP licensing for the organization and continue to explore opportunities to provide ongoing managed services support for their complex licensing needs.

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Our Microsoft Licensing Capabilities

We help organizations evaluate their current state Microsoft 365 licensing and provide cost analysis recommendations to help maximize their ROI with Microsoft. Our main focus is user-profiling and license right-sizing based upon each user group’s requirements, usage, needs and available subscription bundles.

We identify inactive users, Office app installations, online services utilization, and other factors to remove or reassign licenses. We also provide future-state scenarios based on vendor consolidation for things like Microsoft security, compliance, and communication.

Contact us to schedule an initial Microsoft licensing discussion that will provide you with valuable information and recommendations.

Microsoft Licensing Experts Embedded Across Every Engagement

In addition to Microsoft licensing consultation, we provide Microsoft implementation services around Modern Work, Security, Dynamics, and Azure. Many of these projects require Microsoft licensing consultation. Microsoft licensing is an integral part of these projects, and our seasoned subject matter experts deliver valuable insights, ROI and TCO analyses, and optimizations that account for your organization’s industry, size and complexity.

Microsoft Licensing FAQs

Microsoft licensing has become more complex as agreement options, pricing and renewal requirements continue to evolve. These frequently asked questions explain what Microsoft licensing consultants do, how different licensing agreements compare, why renewal costs are increasing and how organizations can optimize their Microsoft investments while staying compliant.

What does a Microsoft licensing consultant do?

A Microsoft licensing consultant evaluates your current license mix against how your people work, then finds the gap between what you’re paying for and what you need. That includes right-sizing licenses, modeling your agreement options at renewal, keeping you compliant ahead of Microsoft’s verifications, and managing the renewal itself. The goal is straightforward: pay for what delivers value and drop what doesn’t.

What’s the difference between a Microsoft licensing partner and a reseller?

A reseller sells you licenses. A Microsoft licensing partner evaluates whether you need them, which agreement fits your organization, and where you can cut cost, then works that math on your behalf. Centric is a Tier-1 Direct Cloud Solution Provider (CSP), so we can transact your licenses, but the assessment comes first. If a renewed Enterprise Agreement is still your best value, we’ll tell you that.

Is a Microsoft Enterprise Agreement still an option if I have fewer than 2,400 users?

Increasingly, no. Microsoft has grown selective about EA renewals below 2,400 users and is steering organizations in the 500 to 2,399 range toward a Microsoft Customer Agreement for Enterprise (MCA-E) or a Cloud Solution Provider (CSP) instead. For most organizations in this range, the real decision is CSP versus MCA-E. A Microsoft licensing specialist can model both against your seat count, usage and support needs before you commit.

Why is my Microsoft renewal more expensive?

Two changes drive it. In November 2025, Microsoft removed the programmatic volume discounts (Levels B, C, and D) on Online Services, so most commercial customers now pay list price at renewal. On top of that, Microsoft 365 list prices rise on July 1, 2026, applied at your first renewal after that date. Together they raise your cost at renewal even with an unchanged estate, which is why reviewing your mix with a Microsoft licensing expert before you sign matters.

EA, CSP, or MCA-E: which agreement is right for my organization?

It depends on your size, your commitment, and how much you rely on Software Assurance benefits. With above 2,400 users, a negotiated Enterprise Agreement is sometimes still the best value. Below that, the choice is usually CSP versus MCA-E. Some organizations land on a hybrid: stable, company-wide licenses in one agreement, and volatile or pilot licenses where they can be adjusted annually. Our Microsoft licensing experts model these paths against your actual estate rather than defaulting to one.

How do Microsoft licensing consultants reduce our costs?

Mostly by removing what you’re paying for and not using. That starts with user profiling and license right-sizing: identifying inactive users, redundant bundles, and services no one has adopted, then reassigning or removing those licenses. From there, it extends to modeling the agreement path that fits your renewal and flagging cost exposure before it reaches your budget. On one recent engagement, Centric consolidated a client’s licensing under a single CSP program and surfaced $44,000 in annual savings.

How often does Microsoft check our license compliance?

Most organizations undergo a Microsoft license verification roughly every two years, and the cost of being out of compliance can be significant. A Microsoft licensing specialist keeps your assignments documented and audit-ready year-round, so a verification is a confirmation rather than a scramble. This matters most during agreement transitions, where rights differ between EA, CSP, and MCA-E and gaps are easy to create.

Learn more about optimizing your Microsoft licensing options to reduce costs and ensure compliance.

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Contact us to schedule an initial Microsoft licensing discussion that will provide you with valuable information and recommendations.

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