Negotiation tips for tough economic times: part 1

We hear about cost-cutting and layoffs now on an hourly basis. Many of our clients are coming to us asking how they can re-negotiate their licensing contracts to cut costs. Since we are sure everyone reading this blog right now is in need of some cost cutting, here are some tips to help you negotiate with your software vendors. Know your stuff – make sure you know your contracts inside and out, so you know what has been working for […]

Solaris Support

It’s official! Oracle has extended Solaris 11.4 support until 2037. In the latest update of their Oracle Lifetime Support Policy Oracle and Sun System Software and Operating Systems, dated January 23, 2024, there was an update. Release GA Date Premier Support Ends Extended Support Ends Sustaining Support Ends Solaris 8 Feb 2000 Mar 2009 Mar 2012 Indefinite Trusted Solaris 8.x Sep 2002 Mar 2012 Not Available Indefinite Solaris 9 Mar 2002 Oct 2011 Oct 2014 Indefinite Solaris Legacy Containers Dec […]

Home Goods Manufacturer Saves 23% on Salesforce Contract Renewal & Cloud Swap

The company hired Miro in Nov 2022 to assist with a complex Salesforce Contract Renewal & Swap Negotiation The company also engages Miro for help managing their Oracle Contracts, Licenses and audit defense With Miro’s help, the company team successfully swapped out unused products, maximized their discount, saved on costs, and achieved the best possible terms and conditions In the Fall of 2020, the company team was faced with a difficult but not uncommon situation with their Salesforce renewal, the [...]

Publicly Owned Electricity Supplier Saves 34% on AWS Costs with Miro Consulting

Publicly Owned Electricity Supplier Saves 34% on AWS Costs with Miro Consulting They’d already tried to find DIY savings for their AWS usage but failed to find any significant ways to cut costs AWS internal cost control mechanisms showed how they were spending money, but not how to save on those costs Miro’s solution found significant cost savings without the need to connect any tools or spend any significant amount of time The organization was spending more money than it [...]

8 Microsoft Audit Triggers

Microsoft Audits – Learn what 8 things are likely to trigger a Microsoft Audit in 2023 Don’t be fooled by Microsoft’s announcements on reducing their audits.  They have continued to audit their customers throughout the pandemic and beyond. While the recent COVID pandemic may have altered things a little, audits continue as usual. Despite Microsoft’s return on investment falling off in their 2022 fiscal year, their revenue, gross margin, and operating income all increased in the 17%+ area. So why […]

Microsoft’s Bundling Strategy: Amassing Market Share While Hobbling Government IT

The new report addresses the question that nearly every IT professional must answer: Should my organization purchase a bundle of solutions from a single vendor or mix-and-match the “best-of-breed” services from multiple providers to meet our needs? Miro examined Microsoft, one of the IT industry’s most widespread software providers, and found a best-of-breed approach is superior, particularly when it comes to cost savings and security posture. This was particularly true for public sector customers (government agencies and departments), a major […]

Microsoft Extended Security Updates for Windows Server and SQL Server

For those organizations who still have legacy deployments of Windows Server and/or SQL Server, time is running out. Microsoft has published its schedule for Extended Security Updates or “ESUs”. Products End of Extended Support/ESU Start Date ESU End Date Year 1 ESU End Date Year 2 ESU End Date Year 3 Type of Security Update SQL Server 2008/R2 (Enterprise, Standard, Datacenter, Web, Workgroup)* 7/9/2019 7/14/2020 7/13/2021 7/12/2022 Critical SQL Server 2012 7/12/2022 7/11/2023 7/9/2024 7/8/2025 Critical Windows Server 2008/R2 (Datacenter, […]

Microsoft Azure Integration Services

By now, the ideas of virtualization, the cloud, and connected applications are mature. While the providers of these solutions try to get you to come to them, there is something holding this endeavor back. Perhaps, it’s security. And we’ve covered that. To recap, many cloud-based services are even more secure than your own set up. They must be. Because beyond the financial harm that could come their way, there is ever present risk to their reputation should their services be […]