About the firm

An advisory practice that only works one side of the table.

Microsoft Licensing Experts is an independent advisory firm that represents enterprise buyers in their Microsoft contract negotiations and audit defense engagements. We do not resell Microsoft products. We are not a Microsoft partner. We earn nothing from licenses sold or renewed. Our entire revenue comes from outcomes delivered against contracts that exist between our clients and Microsoft.

Contact the practice Read the independence statement →
What we do

Three priorities. In strict order.

The practice runs against a deliberate hierarchy. EA renewal negotiation leads the firm because it is the largest single commercial event most enterprises will negotiate with Microsoft. Audit defense follows because the financial exposure on a single audit can exceed a year of optimization savings. Cost optimization rounds the practice out because it compounds across the term once the contract is signed.

Priority 01

EA renewal negotiation.

The flagship engagement. Posture through signature on Microsoft enterprise renewals. Anchor pricing, ramp protection, structural language, future product use rights. The work that determines what your next three to five years of Microsoft commitment will look like.

Priority 02

Audit defense.

Formal Microsoft audits, SAM engagements, and third party auditor letters. Pre audit posture, response strategy, settlement negotiation. Median exposure reduction across the practice is 79 percent against initial finding.

Priority 03

Cost optimization.

Azure consumption posture, M365 license rationalization, and the ongoing right size work that compounds across the contract term. The optimization work that lands inside the renewal amendment rather than running in parallel to it.

How we work

One side. No reselling.

The practice operates on a strict buyer side mandate. We do not hold a Microsoft Partner Network relationship of any kind. We do not earn margin on licenses, renewals, or new product sales. We do not refer customers to resellers in exchange for fees. Every dollar of practice revenue comes from advisory engagements paid by the customer, and the engagement scope is documented in writing before any work begins.

Why this matters

Incentive alignment.

Resellers earn margin on the volume they sell. Microsoft partners earn co op funding and rebates tied to specific product placements. Both incentives can create a bias toward more licensing rather than less, more product attach rather than less, and faster renewals rather than better ones. Buyer side advisory has no such structural bias. Our incentive is exclusively the customer’s outcome on the contract.

What we are not

Not a reseller. Not a partner.

We do not transact Microsoft licenses through any indirect or direct partner channel. We do not hold Microsoft sales targets, Microsoft funding agreements, or Microsoft incentive contracts. If your engagement requires reseller services for actual transaction execution, we will advise on reseller selection and the contract terms but we do not earn anything from the reseller relationship the customer ultimately selects.

The numbers

What the practice has done.

Firm level credentials only. We do not name individuals on the site. References are available to qualified prospects under mutual NDA and are drawn from the practice’s active client roster.

Cumulative savings

$420M+ recovered.

Aggregate documented savings across Microsoft renewals, true ups, audit settlements, and consumption optimization engagements. Each engagement’s savings figure is calculated against the seller’s opening proposal at the start of negotiation.

Engagement count

340+ delivered.

Active and completed engagements across Fortune 500, mid market, regulated, and public sector clients. The practice does not publicly disclose client names but provides reference calls to qualified prospects under mutual NDA.

Audit exposure

−79% median reduction.

Median reduction in formal audit financial exposure across the practice’s audit defense engagements, measured against the initial finding letter and the final negotiated settlement amount.

More about the firm

Where to read next.

Each of the following pages goes deeper on a specific aspect of the practice. The independence statement and the buyer side positioning page are the two we recommend if you are considering a first engagement.

Initiate engagement

Write before the quote becomes a position.

Two analyst calls. No pitch. We tell you what we would do, what the leverage actually is, and whether we are the right firm for this engagement.

Who we work for.Buyer side only. No reseller relationship with Microsoft. No partnership of any kind. We earn nothing from products sold or renewed, only from outcomes delivered against the contract.