Microsoft sells the same products through three commercial paths. The Enterprise Agreement is the direct multi-year contract. Cloud Solution Provider is a partner resale. The Microsoft Customer Agreement is the newer direct paper, with an enterprise form called MCA-E.
The price gaps, as this library states them, are small next to a bad SKU mix, and they are real.
How the three differ#
| Path | Who you buy from | Term shape | What the library says about price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Enterprise Agreement | Microsoft, direct | Fixed term, often 36 months, with an anniversary true-up | The reference rate the other two are compared with |
| Cloud Solution Provider | A partner | Monthly, 12-month, or 36-month blocks under New Commerce | About 3 to 8 percent above a comparable EA |
| MCA-E | Microsoft, direct | Evergreen, with 12, 24, or 36 month billing blocks | About 1 to 3 percent below a comparable EA on M365 |
The CSP range is from the Cloud Solution Provider page, which also notes a wider gap on Azure than on frontline SKUs, and partner margin of 6 to 22 percent that may or may not be passed through. The MCA range is from the Microsoft Customer Agreement page, which puts Azure within about 1 percent of EA when a MACC sits on the agreement, and warns that buyers who had EA level protection can lose that step-down when the levels are gone. The Enterprise Agreement page is the baseline those comparisons use.
What changes in the negotiation#
An EA has a date. The anniversary true-up and the end of the 36 months are when quantity and price get reopened. True-up vs true-down is the quantity mechanic.
MCA-E, as the MCA page describes it, does not have that single end date. Price protection is negotiated on a shorter cycle, volume bands are absent unless they are written in, and a MACC can sit across subscriptions. The commercial event is quieter. Plan the price conversation without waiting for a renewal cliff that the paper no longer has.
CSP moves the counterparty. The partner's margin, the New Commerce rule that seats add and do not come off mid-term, and the partner's own fiscal calendar sit between you and Microsoft. A CSP quote compared only with another CSP quote misses the EA and MCA-E bands on those two pages.
Azure consumption on any of the three still has its own discount ladder. Does marketplace spend count toward a cloud commit? covers MACC burn. Discount ranges by annual commitment covers the spend tiers.
Frequently asked questions
- What is a Microsoft Enterprise Agreement?
- An Enterprise Agreement is Microsoft's direct multi-year contract. Quantity above the baseline is handled at an anniversary true-up. The term is fixed, commonly 36 months.
- Is CSP cheaper than an Enterprise Agreement?
- The Cloud Solution Provider page states that CSP rates typically land 3 to 8 percent above the equivalent negotiated EA rate. A partner can give some of its margin back. The rate still depends on that partner.
- What is the Microsoft Customer Agreement?
- The Microsoft Customer Agreement is Microsoft's direct purchase paper. MCA-E is the enterprise form. The MCA page states that negotiated MCA-E rates on M365 E3 and E5 ran about 1 to 3 percent below the equivalent EA in the deals it describes, with Azure close to flat when a MACC is attached.