Understanding Microsoft’s Partner Agreement negotiation Strategies

Did you know that most companies are paying at least 20% to 50% higher than they should on their Microsoft contracts? In this blog post, we will discuss the essential negotiation strategies that you need to know when it’s time to negotiate your Microsoft contract.

Negotiating Your Microsoft Contract

Microsoft has ingrained itself in almost every well-established organization worldwide. Microsoft observes new technologies and concepts being introduced in the market before investing its own resources. This strategy has always benefitted Microsoft in the past and has successfully allowed the firm to use an existing customer base.

5 Useful Tips for Negotiating Your Microsoft Contract

1. Price Benchmark Analysis

Perform a detailed price benchmark analysis on every major factor of the Microsoft partner agreement and look for flexibility by inspecting contract terminologies. Take time to analyze every discount offer or pricing strategy ahead of renewal. Make sure that you inspect every T&C governing the agreement to look for flexibility.

2. Don’t wait until the Last minute

Don’t decide to wait until the last minute to renew your contract. Microsoft goes above and beyond great lengths to persuade you into renewing your contract early in the quarter. This includes an offer with generous discounts and better pricing.

3. Don’t Just Negotiate the Price

You need to understand how the unique requirements of your business can align with the specified terms and offerings in order to lower the cost. You also need to understand which subscriptions and licensing programs can provide the best support to your budget, technology, and business.

4. Be Prepared for an Audit

Audits have now become a norm. If you have not recently been through the process of an audit, be prepared to experience one in the next 12 months. You should be prepared to bring your tools and methods to establish precise placement counts, validate compliance by comparing them with entitlements, and expertly construe the terms and conditions as well as the licensing programs.

5. Hire Experts

You need to hire experts to help keep your best interests in mind. With every vendor, you get the opportunity to negotiate once every 3 years or so. Thus, you need an expert who can guide you through the audit/negotiation process and answer questions during the contract. An unbiased expert can assist your sourcing team by structuring agreements and vetting the recommendations that drive higher utilization and lower spend.

Conclusion

As with any negotiation, you should be confident in your abilities and ask the right questions to get the best support. Microsoft negotiates with their partners and customers every day; hence, the enterprise has more experience when it comes to what customers and partners usually want. These useful tips will help make Microsoft’s contract negotiation process much simpler, and you will be able to save at least 50% of the cost.