The Challenge
A major energy company in the UAE with operations spanning oil exploration, production, and renewable energy initiatives needed to renew its Microsoft Enterprise Agreement covering Azure, Office 365, and Dynamics 365 across onshore, offshore, and field locations.
Over-provisioned licences across a bifurcated workforce: headquarters staff needed full E5 capabilities, while field engineers at offshore platforms needed only lightweight mobile access. Uniform E3/E5 licensing across both groups wasted 40 to 75 percent of per-user cost for field workers.
Complexity factors
Onshore/offshore complexity with vastly different connectivity and computing requirements. Sustainability roadmap misalignment: the company's growing renewable energy commitments required Azure capacity for IoT, digital twins, and predictive maintenance—the existing EA did not account for this trajectory.
The Process
Phase 1: Deployment Analysis
Thorough review of all Microsoft deployments across headquarters, regional offices, onshore production sites, and offshore platforms. Assessment of software usage to identify underutilised licences and map deployments against entitlements.
Phase 2: Licence Optimisation
Recommended consolidating licences, transitioning specific teams to role-based licensing, and retiring unused products.
Phase 3: Roadmap Development
Collaborated with IT and business leadership to define a three-year modernisation plan aligned with business strategy, prioritising cloud-based solutions to support operational efficiency and sustainability goals.
Phase 4: Benchmarking
Leveraged Redress Compliance's 500+ enterprise deal benchmark database to compare terms and costs against regional and global energy industry peers. Gulf region benchmarking is critical because Microsoft's regional pricing can run 10 to 20 percent above global averages without competitive pressure.
Phase 5: Negotiation
Leveraged deployment analysis and benchmarking findings to build a compelling counter-proposal, securing discounts on Azure and Dynamics 365 licences and flexible adjustment terms.
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Our benchmarking and regional analysis deliver significant savings for energy companies in EMEA and beyond.
The Results
AED 12 million from optimisation
Role-based licence restructuring, inactive licence decommissioning, Dynamics 365 right-sizing.
AED 7 million from negotiated discounts
Secured through benchmarking and competitive alternatives analysis.
Total: AED 19 million over 3 years—25 percent cost reduction while maintaining full compliance and advancing the sustainability roadmap.
Key Takeaways for Energy Companies
- Energy companies have bifurcated workforces. Applying E5 across headquarters and field operations wastes 40 to 75 percent of per-user cost for field workers.
- Gulf region benchmarking is essential. Without regional data, energy companies accept Microsoft's regional premiums without challenge.
- Structure Azure commitments around actual adoption milestones, not Microsoft's generic growth assumptions.
- Optimise first, then negotiate. AED 12 million in optimisation savings reduced the baseline before negotiation, ensuring discounts were applied against the right number.