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Virtualization Policy Errors- Mistake – Virtualization polices can affect licensing for Microsoft products such as SQL Server, when moving instances in a cluster (“License Mobility”), or if hardware features such as hyperthreading are turned on.
- Example – A large multi-market media company was using hyperthreading without realizing it doubled their licensing needs. Miro showed them how to fix the problem and the solution saved them $10 million over three years.
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Lacking a Software Compliance Policy
- Mistake – Not having a Software Compliance Policy – many organizations do not have a strong software compliance policy, and others make the mistake of not executing it properly.
- Example – Miro worked with a multi-national manufacturer who allowed end users to download / install / update themselves out of compliance. Their employees assumed that because they could install software, they were allowed to. They were flabbergasted at the high cost of their True-up
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Trusting a Microsoft Reseller
- Mistake – thinking your Microsoft Reseller is on your side and will keep your information confidential. (Miro is NOT a Microsoft Reseller and always keeps client information completely confidential)
- Example – an IT executive at an international financial services organization had grown quite comfortable with their Microsoft Reseller, and was leveraging their expertise to scope out a new project. While evaluating existing hardware for use for their project, the Reseller discovered that the organization had inadvertently left a workload running that was now unlicensed. The Reseller reported it to Microsoft as required by their contract, and Microsoft audited the financial services organization, who hired Miro to help defend them from this costly mistake.
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Cloud Migration Miscalculations
- Mistake – Getting the Cloud Costs Wrong – When moving to a cloud service such as Azure, an organization can quickly see cost increases if they do not adequately prepare and understand how costs are totaled for the move. It is vital to know the tools available for an organization. These tools can help prepare for costs and help the organization better understand why they are choosing different pricing models.
- Example – Miro helped an education services company estimate their Azure usage, but at the last minute a local IT manager changed the purchase order to half of what was needed. Their licensing was adjusted for the next billing cycle. The adjustment did not only apply to the next billing cycle but doubled their Azure spend every month until Miro helped the customer adjust their billable usage.
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Microsoft Support Errors
- Mistake – Signing Up for the Wrong Support Level – Microsoft will change the policies of their paid support options and these changes can become very costly if not understood completely. Many customers have renewed their support agreements only to find they are no longer getting the support options from a previous agreement and are also spending much more than they spent in previous years.
- Example – A customer was renewing their agreement and Microsoft sent the renewal forms to the customer. The renewal agreement had increased the customer’s support incidents when the customer had actually used less incidents during the expiring agreement. Miro helped the customer not only reduce the support contract but helped the customer negotiate a discount over the total agreement renewal.
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Microsoft Fake Deadlines
- Mistake – Falling for Microsoft’s Fake Deadlines – Microsoft will often show fake deadlines to an organization regarding their contracts and licensing. Microsoft will often place a false sense of urgency on these dates and make the customer feel they do not have time to continue negotiating the terms of their contract.
- Example – Miro has seen customers being told their agreement would expire and all of their Microsoft subscription products would expire and they would no longer be able to access the software. Miro has worked with customers to extend the subscription expiration dates to cover the extended negotiation times with Microsoft.
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Microsoft Roadmap Misdirection
- Mistake – Not paying attention to it. Microsoft’s software roadmap affects a customer’s licensing and is vital to controlling costs. New versions often have new licensing terms and missing a simple point can become extremely costly.
- Example – When Microsoft recently changed the license terms of Windows Server, Miro worked with many customers to make sure their virtualization of Windows Server would best reflect the new license terms. As a result customers were able to reduce the amount of Windows Server licenses and use the changes to benefit the customer’s actual usage.
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Neglected Active Directory
- Mistake – 365 Active Directory can often show false users when an organization moves to a subscription-based licensing model like Microsoft 365. Keeping the Active Directory managed and using the correct data for subscriptions is service Miro can offer to an organization.
- Example – Many subscriptions will pull the Active Directory as a source for determining the amount of licenses needed. Miro has seen where these numbers have sometimes increased the user count by 3X or more of the actual employee count. Determining which users need to be included will help an organization purchase the correct amount of licenses.
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Not Checking Software Assurance Benefits
- Mistake – Assuming something’s included that isn’t anymore. Microsoft has been dropping many of the features they once included as a Software Assurance benefit. These changes are not always communicated to the customer by Microsoft or the reseller. Miro can help customers understand which benefits are being dropped and if they can use these changes to their benefit when negotiating a new agreement with Microsoft.
- Example – Currently Microsoft has been dropping the support options included in Software Assurance Benefits. Some customers were surprised the options were dropped and did not have support available when it was needed. Miro has helped customers prepare for this change by ensuring the customer has the support option ready so their IT departments can address issues when they arise.
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Confusing IT terminology and Microsoft legal licensing terminology
- Mistake – Quite often Microsoft will use licensing terminology that is similar or the same as other terms in IT. This confusion can often lead to expensive mistakes with Microsoft. Miro can help explain these terms and help the IT and purchasing teams better understand the licensing requirements from Microsoft.
- Example – One example was the use of cores and threads. The organization Miro helped thought the technical limitation of the cores and threads prevented the organization from licensing requirements. The customer was able to adjust the hardware so when Microsoft reviewed their environment the customer was properly licensed and did not experience a large renewal with extra licensing.