Disclosures & Independence
Our entire value to a buyer depends on being genuinely independent of Microsoft and the Microsoft channel. This page states plainly how we are paid, what we refuse to be paid for, and the safeguards that keep our advice free of commercial conflict. If any of this ever stops being true, this page is where we will say so.
One-line summary: the buyer pays us, and only the buyer pays us. We hold no Microsoft Partner Network status, earn no Microsoft commission, and take no reseller referral fee, channel rebate, or affiliate income from any product we write about or advise on.
1. How we are paid
We are compensated directly by the client that engages us, on a fixed-fee or success-fee basis set out in a written engagement agreement. Our compensation runs in one direction: the buyer pays, and the buyer benefits. We have no second revenue stream tied to what a client decides to buy from Microsoft.
2. What we do not take
- No Microsoft Partner status. The legal entity behind Microsoft Negotiations holds no Microsoft Partner Network status of any kind.
- No Microsoft commission. No member of the team earns Microsoft commission or is in line for a Microsoft channel rebate.
- No reseller/LSP referral fees. We accept no referral fee, kickback, or revenue share from any Licensing Solution Provider or reseller.
- No affiliate income. Links on this Site, including links to Microsoft documentation and to third-party tools, are not affiliate links. We earn nothing if you click them or buy anything.
- No paid placements. We do not accept payment to feature, recommend, or rank any product, vendor, or reseller in our content.
3. Sponsored content and advertising
We do not publish sponsored articles, paid reviews, or advertorials. If that ever changes, any sponsored or paid item will be clearly and prominently labelled as such at the top of the item, and this page will be updated to reflect the arrangement.
4. Conflict-of-interest safeguards
Conflict checks are run before every engagement is scoped. We decline engagements where we hold a concurrent advisory relationship with a Microsoft channel partner that would touch the same Enterprise Agreement, and we maintain an internal conflicts register reviewed quarterly. There is a cooldown period for any candidate moving directly from a Microsoft commercial or account-team role into our practice, because residual confidentiality obligations and account-team relationships would interfere with adversarial, buyer-side negotiation.
5. Use of AI tools
Where AI-assisted tools support research, drafting, or editing of our content, every published page is reviewed, fact-checked, and approved by a senior practitioner before publication, as described in our Editorial Standards. Accountability for accuracy rests with the firm.
6. Testimonials, results, and case studies
Engagement outcomes, savings figures, and case studies we publish are drawn from real engagements and are presented in anonymized form to protect client confidentiality and the negotiation positions involved. They are illustrative of past results and are not a guarantee of future outcomes (see our Disclaimer).
7. Trademarks
"Microsoft", "Microsoft 365", "Azure", "Copilot", and related product names are trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. We use them descriptively to identify the products we advise on. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Microsoft Corporation.
8. Questions about our independence
If you want to verify any of the above before engaging us, raise it through our contact form or read more on our independence page.