How Redress Compliance delivered $12 million in savings over three years and a 28% licensing cost reduction for a major US financial institution with 75,000+ employees through Microsoft EA renewal optimisation, portfolio consolidation, and strategic negotiation.
A prominent US-based financial institution with 75,000+ employees managing retail banking, wealth management, and corporate finance operations needed to renew its Microsoft Enterprise Agreement. Stringent regulatory requirements and a rapidly evolving IT environment demanded a meticulous approach.
Redress Compliance delivered $12 million in total savings over three years with a 28% reduction in licensing costs.
Licensing costs were reduced by 28% through department-level licence consolidation, retirement of legacy solutions, transition to role-based licensing models, and substantial negotiated concessions on Azure and advanced collaboration tools, with periodic adjustment terms to accommodate evolving business needs.
Redress Compliance delivered a five-phase engagement covering deployment analysis, portfolio optimisation, strategic roadmap development, benchmarking and negotiation, and renewal execution, ensuring the institution achieved both immediate savings and long-term strategic alignment.
Assessed the utilisation of Microsoft products, including Office 365, Azure, and Dynamics 365. Mapped entitlements against actual usage across all business units. Identified underutilised licences and redundant software allocations creating unnecessary cost across the 75,000-seat estate.
Consolidated licences across departments to reduce duplication. Recommended transitioning specific teams to role-based licensing models tailored to their needs. Retired legacy solutions no longer aligned with the institution's strategic objectives, freeing budget for innovation.
Collaborated with IT leadership to design a three-year roadmap for cloud adoption and advanced analytics implementation. Integrated plans for enhanced security tools to address regulatory compliance. Focused on scaling licensing to accommodate potential growth in business operations.
Benchmarked the institution's licensing costs and terms against other large financial organisations. Provided insights into market trends to strengthen the negotiation position. Developed a negotiation strategy emphasising cost predictability, flexibility, and regulatory alignment.
Presented detailed findings to Microsoft, justifying requests for discounts and customised terms. Secured concessions on Azure and advanced collaboration tools. Negotiated terms that allowed for periodic adjustments to licensing volumes based on evolving business needs and regulatory requirements.
"Redress Compliance's expertise in Microsoft EA renewals delivered exceptional results for our organization. Their tailored approach ensured significant cost savings while aligning our IT strategy with our business goals. They were a critical partner throughout the process."
Large US financial institutions face unique Microsoft EA challenges. Regulatory compliance requirements drive demand for advanced security and governance tools. Wealth management and corporate finance divisions have different usage profiles than retail banking operations. The sheer scale of 75,000+ seat estates creates substantial waste when licences are not actively managed.
In this case, the institution was carrying significant over-licensing, redundant software allocations, and legacy solutions across multiple business units with no independent benchmarking to assess whether Microsoft's terms were competitive.
By conducting a comprehensive deployment analysis, consolidating licences, transitioning to role-based models, and negotiating with industry benchmark data, Redress Compliance delivered $12 million in savings over the three-year EA term, a 28% reduction in total licensing costs.
The new agreement included enhanced security tools, periodic volume adjustment terms, and a strategic roadmap for cloud adoption. Financial institutions with large Microsoft estates should engage independent advisory 12 to 15 months before EA expiry to ensure the renewal genuinely reflects their operational reality and regulatory needs rather than Microsoft's default commercial model.
Redress Compliance delivers independent Microsoft EA renewal advisory, typically achieving 15 to 35% cost reductions for financial institutions. Complete vendor independence, industry benchmarking, and proven negotiation strategies.
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