We love it at The SAM Club when we start working with a new client and our first task is to review their Microsoft CSP renewal. It’s usually the fastest way to prove the value of independent software asset management – and this time was no exception.
Reviewing the Microsoft CSP Renewal
Using our new Microsoft 365 Report, we reviewed this client’s upcoming renewal in detail and immediately found savings. Their Microsoft renewal was heading for around £460,000 per annum. After our review, we brought that down by over £11,000 – a saving of just under 2.4%.
On its own, that 2.4% might not sound dramatic. But look at it in cash terms and the picture changes: over £11,000 back in the client’s budget, found before we’d done anything beyond the initial review. That saving alone has more than covered the cost of The SAM Club’s service for this client for the entire year – everything else we do from here is pure additional value.
Locked-In Licences, Spare Capacity
Truth be told, we could have found more. This client is in the second year of a three-year Microsoft 365 E5 commitment, which limits how far we can optimise the licensing mix until that term is up. But there’s a genuine upside even here: the review has left them with spare E5 licences sitting unused, ready to be assigned to new starters or growing teams – rather than the client needing to add more licences to their CSP agreement for the reseller to invoice. It’s optimisation by reallocation rather than by renegotiation, and it’s money that simply won’t need to be spent.
What’s Next: Software Asset Management with Licenseware
And we’re not stopping there. We’re now moving into the next stage of the engagement: documenting this client’s software estate in far more detail, using Licenseware to build a clear, accurate picture of exactly what they own, what they use, and where the next opportunities lie.
If your Microsoft CSP renewal hasn’t been reviewed line by line recently, it’s worth asking what a Microsoft 365 Report like this might find for you.
Get Your Own Microsoft 365 Report
Want to know what’s hiding in your own Microsoft renewal? Get in touch with The SAM Club today for a Microsoft 365 Report of your own – it could pay for itself before we’ve even finished the review.