When Should We Move to the MCA?

Small EA customers (under 15,000 PCs) and Azure-only EA customers will have to move to the Microsoft Customer Agreement (MCA) when their EAs expire. In contrast, the largest (level D) Enterprise Agreement custom ers can influence the timing of the move:

Early. A customer may offer to move to the MCA earlier than strictly necessary but fight for negotiated discounts or other concessions from Microsoft to make the move. This strategy can give the customer a competitive advantage, but it may have to give up other valuable concessions to get the terms it wants.

Late . Customers can try to evade the effects of the MCA for as long as possible, hoping that its legal terms will eventually improve under the influence of early adopters. Evasion could include a non-standard, longer EA term (such as five years), and custom language ensuring that legal terms stay fixed during that period. Either strategy will require hard negotiation and strain the customer’s relationship with Microsoft. The customer will be most successful if the CIO, CEO, and other senior stakeholders support the strategy chosen.