Blog
Notes on Technology & AI perspectives, Microsoft licensing optimisation, Copilot readiness and renewal negotiation.
Short, practical pieces drawn from enterprise negotiation and advisory work — the ideas and experiences and questions worth being clear on before you sign, renew or adopt.
Latest articles
Blog · 20 October 2026
Before You Tie AI Spend to a MACC: Five Things to Test
I've set out five things to test before you commit to AI spend in a Microsoft Azure Consumption Commitment; and linked them to my AI Spend Estimator so you can model a low, likely and high range.
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Blog · 14 October 2026
Zero Trust Privacy: Trust the Model Least, and Put the User in Control
Zero Trust Privacy - managing how your personal data (in your private and work lives) is processed and revoked in a world of Agentic AI.
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Blog · 5 October 2026
AI Transformation Is a Systems Thinking Problem, Not a Tool Problem
The AI rollout that worked, but also didn't. You will probably recognise this story. An organisation buys AI licences for a few thousand people. Adoption dashboards look healthy within weeks. 6–12 months later, or at renewal, everyone is struggling to point to the measurable business outcomes.
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Blog · 4 October 2026
Introducing the AI Spend Estimator
Spend Estimator for Microsoft AI: forecasting the cost of Microsoft AI before it arrives on the invoice
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Blog · 23 September 2026
Microsoft Licensing Terms, Decoded: EA, MCA-E, CSP, MACC, True-Up and the Rest
A short glossary of the Microsoft licensing terms senior buyers meet in renewal meetings, in plain language and with the commercial point of each.
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Blog · 22 September 2026
The Six Months Before a Microsoft Renewal: What Senior IT Buyers Should Have Ready
The internal groundwork that determines a Microsoft renewal outcome — usage truth, a defensible forecast, and an agreed position before the first meeting.
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Blog · 21 September 2026
What You're Actually Signing: The Microsoft Enterprise Agreement in Plain English
A plain-English walk through what an Enterprise Agreement actually commits you to, and which parts of it are genuinely negotiable.
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Blog · 17 September 2026
Three Ways AI Vendors Actually Charge You
Three Ways AI Vendors Actually Charge You (And Why "Per User" Doesn't Mean What You Think)
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Copilot & AI advisory · 16 September 2026
Copilot readiness: what to settle before you buy Microsoft 365 Copilot
A Copilot readiness checklist for enterprises: data governance, licence mix, Copilot Chat vs M365 Copilot, agent sprawl, cost modelling and the commercial terms to negotiate up front.
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Licensing optimisation · 10 September 2026
How to optimise Microsoft 365 & Copilot licensing before your next anniversary or renewal
A practical Microsoft licensing optimisation method: baseline real usage, right-size M365, Dynamics and Copilot SKUs, model Azure consumption and build negotiation leverage before your EA or MACC renewal.
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