A request for information is the quiet first move in any competitive licensing process, and a well built one tells you more about your options than any account team conversation will. This template is the buyer side RFI structure we use to open a Microsoft procurement, formatted so you can adapt it to your own estate. Ask the right questions early and the answers shape every negotiation that follows.
A request for information is not a request for a price. It is a structured way to map the field before you commit to a path, and in a Microsoft context it is often the only point where you can compare a direct agreement against partner led CSP options and reseller alternatives on a level footing. Used well, the RFI gives you the raw material to design a competitive process rather than walking into a single track renewal.
The template is deliberately neutral in tone and specific in its asks. It surfaces capability, channel structure, support model, and commercial flexibility without signaling intent, which keeps your leverage intact for the stages that follow.
An RFI that lets every respondent answer in their own format hands you five sales brochures. One that fixes the format hands you a comparison.
| Situation | How the RFI helps |
|---|---|
| Pre renewal | Maps direct and partner led options so the incumbent path is one of several, not the only one. See the RFP process. |
| Channel review | Compares CSP partners on capability and margin before you commit to one. See partner selection. |
| New estate | Establishes the field of options when standing up a Microsoft agreement from scratch. |
| Before an RFP | Narrows the field to serious respondents so the formal RFP is run with the right shortlist. |
The RFI is the opening instrument. It pairs with the RFP template for the formal stage and sits inside the broader procurement playbook.
Enter a corporate email below and the template arrives as an editable document. No sales sequence is attached. Adapt it to your estate, or bring us in to run the process with you.
Tell us who you are and the full template opens immediately in your browser. No wait and no email attachment. We ask for a corporate identity because the buyer side method inside is shared with practitioners, not crawlers.
The RFI maps your options. We design and run the full competitive process around it, from RFI through signature, against the concession bands actually being signed. Two analyst calls, no pitch.