The advisor who sits across from you during your Microsoft EA renewal has an agenda. The question is whether that agenda is yours or Microsoft's. Most enterprise procurement teams are advised by people with structural financial incentives to increase your Microsoft spend. That conflict is built into their business model — and it costs you millions.
Every advisor type claims to act in your interest. The table below shows where the money actually flows — because that is what determines the advice you receive.
| Advisor Type | How They're Paid | Microsoft Relationship | Conflict Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| Microsoft Customer Success / FastTrack | By Microsoft. Their job is to grow your deployment. | They are Microsoft. | Extreme |
| Microsoft Reseller / CSP Partner | Commission on Microsoft licences sold. More spend = more revenue. | Microsoft channel partner. Revenue depends on Microsoft cooperation. | High |
| Big 4 / Large Consulting Firm | Project fees — but often runs Microsoft-funded practices and joint go-to-market programmes. | Microsoft Alliance Partner. Partnership revenue creates structural conflict. | Moderate–High |
| Microsoft-certified SAM Tool Vendor | Software licence plus professional services — often Microsoft-funded compliance programmes. | Microsoft CSAM or similar. Audit work sometimes funded by Microsoft. | Moderate |
| Independent EA Advisor (us) | Client advisory fees only. No channel commissions, no Microsoft funding, no referral income. | No alliance, no partnership, no co-selling. Fully independent. | None |
A reseller or Big 4 Microsoft alliance partner cannot credibly advise you to put Google Workspace, AWS, or Zoom on the table as genuine alternatives. Their relationship with Microsoft depends on Microsoft cooperation. An independent advisor has no such constraint — and competitive pressure is one of the most effective levers in EA negotiations.
Advisors paid on Microsoft revenue have no financial incentive to recommend eliminating redundant SKUs, downgrading licences, or dropping underused Software Assurance. We charge a fixed advisory fee. Our recommendation to reduce your spend costs us nothing and reflects what actually serves your interests.
We know what discount level requires a Microsoft regional vice president to sign off versus what a local account team can approve. That intelligence — built from 500+ engagements since 2016 — tells you exactly how hard to push and at what tier of Microsoft leadership to direct your request.
Microsoft's account team will present Copilot, Azure MACC commitments, and E5 upgrades as efficiency investments. An independent advisor calculates the 3-year TCO of each recommendation, identifies the licensing traps, and shows you the scenarios Microsoft does not model for you.
A reseller or Microsoft-aligned consultant will not aggressively dispute a true-up calculation — they need the Microsoft relationship to sell the next deal. We have no Microsoft relationship to protect. We build the strongest possible defence of your position and dispute inflated counts on the data, not the relationship.
An advisor earning commission on your Microsoft spend will always find a reason to close the deal. A fixed-fee independent advisor benefits from you getting the best possible contract — including, when the economics are right, waiting out Microsoft's fiscal quarter-end pressure and negotiating from a position of time rather than urgency.
Why not use Microsoft's own advisory team?
Microsoft's Customer Success and FastTrack teams are paid by Microsoft to maximise Microsoft revenue. Their job is to expand your deployment, accelerate your cloud commitment, and increase your EA value. That is directly opposed to your objective of minimising cost. Using Microsoft's advisory team to negotiate with Microsoft is structurally the same as asking the opposing party's lawyer to draft your contract.
Why not use the Big 4 or a large consulting firm?
Most Big 4 firms run Microsoft-funded practices, maintain Microsoft Alliance Partner status, and participate in joint go-to-market programmes. These relationships create real constraints on the advice they can give. A firm cannot credibly advise you to use Google Workspace as a competitive lever against Microsoft when their Microsoft partnership revenue depends on that relationship. We have no such partnership and no such constraint.
Why not use our Microsoft reseller?
Microsoft resellers earn margin on what they sell you. The more Microsoft licences you purchase, the more revenue they make. Even a competent, well-intentioned reseller cannot provide genuinely independent advice because their compensation model punishes them financially for recommending cost reduction. This is not a moral failing — it is a structural conflict built into the channel model.
How do you charge for advisory services?
We charge fixed advisory fees based on engagement scope — no commission on Microsoft spend, no success fee tied to deal closure, no recurring revenue from Microsoft channel participation. Our financial interest is in delivering the best outcome for you, not in closing the largest possible Microsoft deal.
Do you work against Microsoft?
No. We help you negotiate the best possible outcome within the commercial framework Microsoft operates. Our goal is a contract that reflects fair value for both parties — not adversarial disruption. We have deep knowledge of Microsoft's commercial structure, approval hierarchies, and negotiation playbook. We use that knowledge to ensure you negotiate from an informed position, not from a position of manufactured urgency and information asymmetry.
Renewal strategy, pricing benchmarking, and deal structure for enterprise EA negotiations.
The internal approval structure, discount authority tiers, and how to use them.
How to know whether your current discounts reflect your actual leverage position.
We have advised 500+ enterprise procurement teams since 2016. No Microsoft channel revenue. No alliance partnership. Our only financial interest is your outcome.
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