ISV Co-Sell

Microsoft EA: 35% Below Market

How a global bank reached Microsoft EA pricing 35% below the market median, saving $18M over three years.

On this page
  1. Key points
  2. Other Benchmark Engagements
  3. Related reading

Key points#

  • Microsoft opened renewal negotiations nine months before contract expiry, earlier than typical, presenting a proposal that represented a 24% increase over the expiring agreement.
  • The bank's technology procurement team estimated the Microsoft stack represented approximately 31% of its total enterprise software spend.
  • The bank used this data point to open a parallel discussion: resolution of the $4.2M true-up in exchange for a 3-year commitment at higher Azure consumption levels, a structure that benefited both parties.
  • This replaced Microsoft's proposed 120,000-seat full deployment at list price, a change worth $43M in avoided commitment over the EA term.
  • The signed EA totaled $51M over three years, versus Microsoft's initial proposal of $69M. Savings of $18M represent a 26% reduction from Microsoft's opening position.
  • On a peer benchmark basis, the bank achieved pricing 35% below the median for comparable financial services institutions, placing it in the top decile of outcomes in ISVCOSELL's dataset for organizations of this size and complexity.
  • The true-up resolution, completed concurrently with the renewal, removed a $4.2M contingent liability from the technology balance sheet without a cash outlay.
  • Oracle · Retail $12M Saved on Oracle Renewal Fortune 500 retailer achieves 29% below Oracle's initial proposal using benchmark data.AWS · Technology Right-Sized AWS Commitment Tech company avoids $9M in over-committed AWS spend using EDP benchmark data.8 Case Studies Published Oracle, Microsoft, AWS, SAP, SaaS portfolio, PE due diligence, AI platforms, cybersecurity consolidation.

Other Benchmark Engagements#

Oracle · Retail $12M Saved on Oracle Renewal Fortune 500 retailer achieves 29% below Oracle's initial proposal using benchmark data.AWS · Technology Right-Sized AWS Commitment Tech company avoids $9M in over-committed AWS spend using EDP benchmark data.8 Case Studies Published Oracle, Microsoft, AWS, SAP, SaaS portfolio, PE due diligence, AI platforms, cybersecurity consolidation. View All Case Studies →

Related reading#

All Case Studies