Microsoft licensing consultant
An independent Microsoft licensing consultant, on your side of the table.
Enterprise agreements, Copilot and Azure commitments are negotiated once and lived with for three years. I advise enterprise leadership teams on the commercial levers available before they sign — with no reseller margin, no vendor quota and nothing to sell you.
Where independent advice changes the outcome
Enterprise agreement renewal
Structure before discount
Most renewal conversations start at percentage off list. The larger commercial levers sit in term length, commitment shape, true-up treatment and what is bundled — decided long before the discount is discussed.
Copilot & AI licensing
Commit to adoption you can evidence
Copilot, Copilot Chat and agent licensing overlap with entitlements you already hold. Modelling realistic adoption first is what keeps an AI commitment proportionate to the value it returns.
Azure & MACC
A forecast you can defend
An Azure commitment is only as good as the consumption plan behind it. A credible forecast changes what concessions are reasonable to ask for over the term.
Licensing optimisation
Pay for what is used
Licence mix drifts from actual use over three years. Establishing a usage baseline reveals where entitlement is duplicated, over-specified or dormant ahead of renewal.
Why conflict-free matters
Nearly everyone advising on Microsoft licensing is paid on what you buy. Resellers and licensing solution providers earn margin on the transaction; Microsoft's own teams carry revenue targets. Both can be excellent partners — neither is neutral.
My advisory work carries no product, no margin and no quota. That means the recommendation can genuinely be to commit less, commit later, or walk away from a bundle — and it means the advice is shaped by your position rather than someone else's quarter.
The experience behind it comes from years inside Microsoft, on the other side of these negotiations, which is where the useful instinct for what is genuinely movable comes from.
How engagements run
- 01Confidential briefingA short call on your renewal, timeline and where the pressure is.
- 02Position reviewWhat you hold, what you use and what is being proposed, read together.
- 03Advisory counselThe levers worth pursuing, and the ones not worth the political cost.
- 04Through the negotiationSupport to leadership and procurement as the discussion develops.
Common questions
What does a Microsoft licensing consultant actually do?+
An independent Microsoft licensing consultant reviews what you own, what you actually use and what you are about to commit to, then advises on the commercial levers available before you sign. That covers enterprise agreement structure, Copilot and M365 licence mix, Azure consumption commitments and the concessions worth pursuing at renewal.
How is independent advice different from using a reseller or LSP?+
A reseller or licensing solution provider earns margin on what you buy, and Microsoft's own teams carry revenue targets. Independent advice carries neither. There is no product to place and no quota to hit, so the recommendation can be to buy less, buy later, or not buy at all.
When in the renewal cycle should I bring in a consultant?+
Six to nine months before your enterprise agreement or MACC anniversary is ideal. That leaves time to establish a usage baseline, build a defensible consumption forecast and shape a negotiation position before commercial discussions narrow to discount percentages.
Do you cover Copilot and AI licensing?+
Yes. Copilot, Copilot Chat and agent-based licensing are where most enterprises are currently over-committing. Advice covers entitlement overlap, realistic adoption modelling and how AI spend is best positioned inside a wider Microsoft commitment.
What size of organisation do you work with?+
Typically enterprises and larger public sector bodies with an enterprise agreement, a material Azure commitment or a Copilot rollout under consideration — the situations where a small change in contract structure is worth a great deal.
Describe your renewal
Tell me where you are in the cycle and what is being proposed. Response within one business day.