Articles

Moving to Azure doesn’t eliminate Microsoft licensing. It often increases it. vCPU inflation, limited BYOL scenarios, and Azure-specific restrictions mean you may need more licences in the cloud than on-premises. Where costs hide and how to reduce them.

A year of settlements, investigations, and unfinished business. Regulators on three continents took aim at Microsoft’s licensing practices. By December, most had missed.

Microsoft AI uses two billing systems: predictable per-user licensing and variable Azure consumption. Hybrid products like Copilot Studio and Security Copilot can charge through both, so costs land in different budgets, require separate monitoring, and complicate forecasting.

Microsoft announced Agent 365 as a governance and identity layer for AI agents in M365, then quietly withdrew key details. We separate confirmed facts from speculation, including the still-unknown licensing model.

A nine-month Enterprise Agreement renewal exposed what truly drives outcomes: early alignment, structured governance, timing discipline, flexible strategy, and stronger executive and negotiation capabilities.

AI processing doesn’t automatically require consent. What matters is the purpose, context, and whether decisions are made without human involvement.

When salespeople negotiate through intermediaries instead of decision-makers, deals stall and margins shrink. A six-step framework for reaching the people who hold budget authority and closing faster.

Every business needs to make money. And in the SPLA business, a few obstacles are in the way of making a profit.

Is it still a good idea to switch some or all of your Microsoft licensing to CSP in 2062? Here’s a story you may relate to.

Agent 365 introduces licensed AI ‘users’ inside Microsoft 365, with no clear definition, unpredictable pricing, and blurred lines between bots, copilots, and agents.

SPLA partners support you operationally, but can’t represent you in Microsoft audits. Knowing where their role ends helps avoid costly assumptions.

SAM tools don’t protect you in Microsoft audits: mismatched methodologies, incomplete discovery, expired SA, and no expert validation. Audit defence requires ongoing discipline and expertise, not green dashboards.