vendredi 11 octobre 2013

New Microsoft Negotiation: Get It Done Early

By Joseph B. Kappernick


Have you heard? Software vendors are now imposing new licensing policies on your most used enterprise software. How can they do this? Their businesses, they need money too and sellers and customers must meet in the middle ground. Vendors want to protect their products in the long-term so they also ask the rates they deserve from customers. What enterprises can surely expect is that IT spending will blow up in 2013.

Enterprises that have been using Microsoft EA will need to look over their licensing agreements. They should understand why there's a need for new Microsoft negotiations for licensing renewal. Below is a list of the forces behind the negotiations:

* Q4 is Huge- Microsoft wants to prevent any spillover in 2013. Most of the EA renewals took place in the Q4 of the fiscal year, mostly in June. But the problem is that most of the customers renewed licenses after the fiscal year-end which isn't the best situation for Microsoft. Hence, they are taking steps to make the situation better.

* Forecasting Revenues- Microsoft sales representatives are under great pressure to come up with accurate revenue forecasts. Microsoft wants to have a solid idea on how much they'll earn if there are more on-time renewals.

* Sticking to Standard Pricing and Licensing- Microsoft isn't bending when it comes to licensing practices and standard pricing. Due to this, more customers are having a difficult time receiving concessions from the company.

So, how should you deal with Microsoft EA license negotiation? The first thing to do is renew the license as early as you can. When you do that, the Microsoft staff will most likely give you better offers on prices and maybe some discounts too. This is one way to entice customers to renew their licenses early on. Next, you must educate yourself on the licensing options they are offering.

In dealing with costs, think about the EA negotiation as a process. Microsoft is doing soft audits and true-ups in the midterm. If you can prepare before these official processes, you can effectively monitor your costs with Microsoft.




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