Most enterprises engage on a Microsoft contract too late, under time pressure, with no defined process. We run every engagement through three deliberate phases, discovery, negotiation, and closeout, with an optional retainer for organizations that treat Microsoft as a continuous negotiation. The phases are sequential for a reason. Each one builds the leverage the next one spends.
Every engagement runs the same arc. Discovery builds the factual baseline and the leverage. Negotiation spends that leverage against Microsoft's deal desk. Closeout locks the structure into language that survives the next cycle. Skipping a phase does not save time. It moves the cost downstream.
Entitlement and consumption baseline, benchmark positioning, and a defined target. The phase that decides what is possible.
Posture, anchor, and the live negotiation with Microsoft. Where the leverage built in discovery becomes a lower number.
Final structure, contract language, and the handover. Ramp protection, exit terms, and future use rights locked down.
On call counsel across the lifecycle. Renewal cycles, audit notices, true ups, and policy changes as they happen.
You cannot negotiate a number you have not benchmarked, and you cannot benchmark a footprint you have not discovered. The sequence is the strategy.Microsoft Licensing Experts · Engagement process
Each phase has its own page with the specific deliverables, the timeline, and what we need from your team. Start with the full flow, or go straight to the discovery phase where every engagement begins.
Two analyst calls. We scope the engagement, agree the target, and tell you which phase matters most given your timeline.