EA to MCA and CSP: Costs and Risks

• Midsize customers are being forced out of Enterprise Agreements and steered toward Microsoft Customer Agreements and Cloud Solution Providers.
• Compared to the EA, this channel will cost more and impose more audit risk.
• Shopping for the right provider can offset some of the costs.

The Enterprise Agreement (EA) was once Microsoft’s preferred contract for customers with over 500 users. Now the company refuses to renew some EAs, and sends smaller, less strategic customers to buy through the Microsoft Customer Agreement (MCA) using Cloud Solution Providers (CSPs). Compared to the EA, this channel raises costs by taking away purchase options and audit protections. But what the MCA takes, the right CSP may help get back—up to a point.

This report is for customers who are losing their traditional EAs and their Microsoft direct sales team. Customers who still have a Microsoft direct sales team will be offered other purchase options, including the Enterprise Direct Services (MS-EDS) program, which is not discussed further in this report. More MCA options might be coming, but not yet public. (See “The Launch of Software Assurance in the Microsoft Customer Agreement”.)