Deciding on an Enterprise Agreement Renewal

Customers using an Enterprise Agreement (EA) for Microsoft software purchases will eventually have several options to consider concerning whether or not to continue the agreement beyond the end of the term. Microsoft generally wants its customers to renew the EA for another three-year term. However, there might be valid reasons a customer would consider otherwise. A decision to renew or end an EA has significant implications that should not be treated lightly.

The EA Renewal Decision

An EA enables an organization to license a set of Microsoft products on a large scale for substantial discounts. Each EA includes one or more contracts called enrollments that cover the organization or one of its major business units (called affiliates) for a specific set of products. An enrollment normally licenses at least one product (called an Enterprise Product) for all PCs (called qualified desktops) in the organization or an affiliate. This type of EA is also known as a “desktop EA.” Available Enterprise Products include Windows client OS upgrades, Office suites, and suites of Client Access Licenses (CALs) for Windows Server, Exchange Server, and other products. (See the sidebar “What Is an Enterprise Agreement?“.) Microsoft-hosted online services, such as Windows Intune and Office 365, are also available through an EA.