Microsoft Licensing Challenges
- Microsoft’s software licensing rules are complex, nuanced, and change frequently due to technological and non-technical developments
- Conducting infrequent enterprise wide license review projects can be costly in both time and resources
- Organizations that use Microsoft software can expect to be audited every few years, and penalties for non-compliance can range into the tens of millions of dollars
- Internal IT, Procurement and Executives have many responsibilities within the organization and limited ability to maintain their expertise in Microsoft Licensing rules and policies
- Internal resources of an organization would not deal with Audits or contract renewals at the same frequency of external entities who work on it all the time
Managed Services Opportunities
- Managed Services is a comprehensive set of services and guidance for an organization to meet software asset management needs
- Engaging specialized outsourced experts to manage the organization’s software assets greatly reduces the risk of non-compliance and associated unbudgeted expenditures
- Internal resources can make better and faster decisions with the help of trusted advisors who are subject matter experts in all aspects of software asset management
- Managed Services does not require the organization to purchase, install, integrate or train staff to use expensive new tools on their networks
1. Microsoft Software License Review
Miro will engage in a continuous review of an organization’s Microsoft software licenses and subscriptions to ensure the organization maintains compliance, and does not need to engage in periodic ad hoc reviews which can be time and resource intensive. This would keep the organization’s inventory and deployments known to both Miro and the organization via the report. Further, it would establish the requesting of a Microsoft License Statement (MLS) as well as reports from Cloud Service Providers (CSP) and/or other cloud providers (including Microsoft), Independent Software Vendors (ISV) who use Microsoft products, and retention of License Confirmations for purchases outside a volume license agreement.
How we support you
- Tracking changes to the organization’s environment as they are communicated to Miro, like upgrades, new deployments and new purchases
- Analyzing deployment changes, including moving to Cloud platforms, to determine licensing and cost impacts
- Reviewing the software licensing impact of proposed changes, to ensure any potential concerns or issues are addressed and mitigated in the planning stages
- Answering inquiries on how many licenses an organization has of a specific software product
2. Cost Containment Options
Miro will identify opportunities for cost containment which will be presented to the organization to ensure the optimal usage of resources and assets on new, existing and theoretical licensing and deployment scenarios. This would help to defray costs by reviewing the usage of the various products or by allocating them more correctly. Example: it would pinpoint whether it is more cost effective to license a bundled product or to use add-ons.
How we support you
- Proactively searching and reviewing for ways to save on the cost of licensing, such as altering the plan for a new deployment so it represents the smallest possible licensing footprint
- Finding opportunities to drop unused licenses or migrate unused licenses to useful licenses
- Ensuring that new solutions do not require a special form of licensing and if they do, to identify the best way to obtain those licenses for proper software license compliance
- Staying aware of changes in Microsoft policy that might be useful to the organization’s particular environment, or cause an out-of-compliance finding in an audit
3. Licensing Help Desk
Miro’s Licensing Help Desk is an on-demand live-person resource for licensing information, rules, costs, and requirements, which ensures that the organization’s leadership and front-line staff have the knowledge to stay in compliance and avoid audit failures. Any time an organization has a question regarding Microsoft licensing, we are available. This would include hardware or software upgrades, the expansion of the user base or just general questions stemming from possible evaluations.
How we support you
- Providing easy access to confidential Microsoft licensing experts at Miro who can answer any questions the organization may have
- Helping the organization with planning the implementation of new solutions and with understanding the software licensing requirements
- Verifying licensing requirements of a particular Microsoft software product that the organization has not used before
- Providing information on pricing for a Microsoft or alternative software product
4. Microsoft Audit Preparedness
Miro will assist the organization if it is audited by Microsoft, including preparation, negotiating, managing communications, reviewing deliverables and guiding staff to optimize audit outcomes. When Microsoft decides to audit the organization – be it a formal audit or simply a sales inquiry – Miro will advise on how to communicate with the auditor, instructions for the staff, the scope of the audit and more.
How we support you
- Keeping the organization “audit ready” by continually maintaining the organization’s software compliance as part of the Managed Services suite of products
- Being on call to support the organization through an Microsoft Audit at any time
- Miro supports Microsoft clients with all types of audits including questionnaires, sales audits, and audits involving an audit partner (e.g., Ernst & Young or Deloitte)
- Providing guidance on how to navigate an Microsoft audit from start to conclusion, including how to form an internal audit response team
- Reducing large exposures (This requires that the audit not commence and the organization involves Miro as soon as the intent to audit is announced, either by letter or declaration)
- Continuous MSLR is required for Audit Preparedness – Miro’s involvement in the planning of changes to the environment enables them to review and verify the software licensing compliance status of any proposed changes
5. New Procurement Analysis
Miro experts can ensure the organization gets the best pricing, terms and conditions on any agreement. If an organization already knows what they wish to license, Miro can review the proposal as a set of eyes that are outside the company, but with eyes that that are expert and experienced. Miro can even cite some other avenues for procuring the licenses.
How we support you
- Negotiating customized pricing, terms and conditions that best address the current and future needs of the organization
- Determining the best method and contract to facilitate a license purchase so that it properly addresses an organization’s current and future needs
- Miro is 100% independent of Microsoft, has no contractual obligations, receives no monetary benefits from the results of the procurement analysis and does not share information with Microsoft in any way without client approval
6. Agreement Renewal / Anniversary True-Ups
When renewing an Enterprise Agreement or going through a True-Up process, Miro can review the current and planned situation to offer some customized strategies for the future. All these services are designed for a) compliance; and, b) cost reduction.
How we support you
- Miro can reduce the spend during the period preceding the agreement renewal or anniversary True-Up
- The True-Up is a transactional purchase in which the entire license price and a pro-rated amount of Software Assurance would be remitted
- This could obligate an organization to purchase Software Assurance and/or subscriptions in the next agreement
- For agreements in which Software Assurance is not active (or required), Miro can offer suggestions on how to acquire those licenses
7. Proactive Mergers & Acquisitions Analysis
With an organization merging with another entity, acquiring another entity or even divesting part of its business, the Microsoft license footprint is affected. So are the agreements in place by which Microsoft products are licensed. Miro will assist the organization’s planning for mergers, acquisitions and divestitures to ensure licensing compliance and to structure contracts to have the necessary terms and conditions to enable optimal business transfers and operations.
How we support you
- Assisting the organization in planning for any upcoming mergers, acquisitions and divestitures
- Reviewing the Microsoft software license contracts of the other entities in the transaction, including subsidiaries, to see if there are any areas of concern
- Analyzing the organization’s contracts and situation to see how best to merge or divest the Microsoft software licenses
8. Strategic Planning Sessions
Miro will conduct Strategic Planning Sessions to stay current and review future changes to the organization. This is a planning session involving the higher levels of the organization. Such things to be discussed are possible M&A activity, consideration for cloud deployments, new projects, changes in infrastructure, modifications to reporting structure, and much, much more. This positions the organization to best understand how any changes may produce additional licensing requirements or complications and enables them to alter plans ahead of time and reduce the possibility of having to reengineer after changes are made.
How we support you
- Holding Strategic Planning Sessions
- Sharing best practices to maximize software licensing assets
- Learning of recent changes with the organization’s deployment and business
- Planning for any upcoming environment or organizational changes
- Providing special reports on major changes