How Redress Compliance delivered CAD 7.3 million in savings over three years and a 30% licensing cost reduction for a leading Canadian manufacturer with 50,000+ employees through Microsoft EA renewal optimisation, licence consolidation, and strategic negotiation.
| Client Overview | |
|---|---|
| Industry | Manufacturing (Canada) |
| Employees | 50,000+ across North America |
| IT Environment | Office 365, Azure, Dynamics 365 powering production systems, supply chain logistics, and customer relationship management |
| Issue | Microsoft EA renewal with significant underutilised licences and overprovisioning across departments, hybrid cloud/on-premise infrastructure requiring alignment, no independent benchmarking against manufacturing industry peers |
| Services Provided | Deployment Analysis, Licence Portfolio Optimisation, 3-Year Digital Transformation Roadmap, Industry Benchmarking, EA Negotiation Strategy and Execution |
| Outcome | CAD 7.3M saved over 3 years (CAD 4.8M optimisation + CAD 2.5M negotiated discounts). 30% cost reduction. Flexible volume adjustment terms. Improved governance. |
A leading Canadian manufacturer with over 50,000 employees and operations across North America needed to renew its Microsoft Enterprise Agreement. The company's IT infrastructure powered critical production systems, supply chain logistics, and customer relationship management.
The manufacturer faced several compounding challenges. A comprehensive analysis of Microsoft deployments and usage was needed across production, logistics, and corporate functions. Significant underutilised licences and overprovisioning had accumulated across departments. Hybrid cloud and on-premise infrastructure required alignment, particularly where production systems demanded specific configurations that did not align with standard licensing models. There was no independent benchmarking against manufacturing industry peers. A digital transformation and cloud migration roadmap was needed. And the agreement required flexible terms accommodating evolving business demands across seasonal production cycles.
Manufacturers face distinct Microsoft EA challenges. Production floor workers, logistics teams, and corporate staff have fundamentally different technology needs, yet many manufacturers licence all employees at the same tier, generating significant waste. Hybrid cloud and on-premise environments add further complexity, particularly when production systems require specific infrastructure configurations that do not align with standard licensing models. In this case, the manufacturer was carrying substantial over-licensing across 50,000+ seats with no independent benchmarking against manufacturing industry peers. Without independent advisory, the renewal would have proceeded at Microsoft's proposed terms, locking the manufacturer into inflated pricing for three years.
Redress Compliance delivered a five-phase engagement covering deployment analysis, portfolio optimisation, strategic roadmap development, benchmarking, and negotiation execution, ensuring the manufacturer achieved both immediate savings and long-term strategic alignment with its digital transformation goals.
Conducted a detailed review of Microsoft product usage, including Office 365, Azure, and Dynamics 365. Mapped current deployments to entitlements, identifying underutilised licences and areas of overprovisioning. Assessed hybrid cloud and on-premise infrastructure to ensure alignment with future goals.
Identified opportunities to consolidate licences across departments, reducing licensing costs. Recommended a shift to role-based licensing to better match actual user needs across production, logistics, and corporate functions. Proposed retiring redundant and unused products to streamline the software portfolio.
Collaborated with IT leadership to define a three-year roadmap for digital transformation and cloud migration. Prioritised solutions critical to the company's production and supply chain efficiency. Integrated flexibility into the roadmap to accommodate evolving business demands and growth across North American operations.
Compared licensing costs and structures against industry benchmarks for similar manufacturers across North America. Provided insights into market trends and best practices to ensure competitive pricing and identify areas where the manufacturer was overpaying relative to peers.
Developed a data-driven negotiation approach using insights from the analysis and optimisation phases. Secured substantial discounts on Azure services and Office 365 subscriptions. Negotiated terms that allowed for periodic adjustments to licensing volumes as business needs evolved across production cycles and seasonal demand.
The transition from uniform licensing to role-based models was the single largest driver of savings in this engagement. Production floor workers needed basic communication and shift management tools, not full E3 suites. Logistics teams needed mobile-first capabilities with limited desktop functionality. Only corporate staff required the complete Microsoft 365 E3/E5 feature set. By segmenting 50,000+ employees into appropriate licence tiers, including transitioning thousands of production workers from E3 to F1/F3, the manufacturer eliminated millions in annual shelfware cost. This approach requires detailed usage analysis that most organisations do not conduct independently. See our F1 vs F3 Frontline Guide for the segmentation framework.
CAD 4.8M in licence optimisation savings. Annual savings from eliminating redundant licences, consolidating across departments, transitioning to role-based models, and retiring outdated products.
CAD 2.5M in negotiated discounts. Additional savings secured through data-driven negotiation on Azure services and Office 365 subscriptions, leveraging industry benchmarking data from comparable North American manufacturers.
CAD 7.3M total over three years. Combined optimisation and negotiated discounts delivered CAD 7.3 million in savings across the three-year EA term.
30% cost reduction. Reduced overall licensing costs by 30% while maintaining full compliance with all Microsoft licensing policies.
Streamlined across multiple divisions. Consolidated and rationalised licensing processes across production, logistics, and corporate divisions, improving governance and visibility into software usage and costs.
Flexible EA supporting growth. Agreement terms allow periodic adjustments to licensing volumes as business needs evolve across production cycles and seasonal demand, preventing lock-in to peak headcount pricing.
Cloud migration roadmap aligned. Three-year roadmap positions the company for digital transformation, cloud migration, and integration of advanced analytics into production and supply chain operations.
"Redress Compliance's support was instrumental in navigating our Microsoft EA renewal. Their insights helped us optimise costs, align our licensing with business needs, and secure a future-proof agreement. Their expertise delivered exceptional value."
CIO, Large Canadian Manufacturer
| Key Result | Detail |
|---|---|
| Total Savings | CAD 7,300,000 over three years |
| Licence Optimisation Savings | CAD 4,800,000 annually |
| Negotiated Discounts | CAD 2,500,000 in additional savings |
| Cost Reduction | 30% reduction in overall Microsoft licensing costs |
| Compliance | Fully compliant with all Microsoft licensing policies |
| Flexible Terms | Periodic volume adjustment terms accommodating seasonal production cycles and business growth |
| Strategic Alignment | Licensing strategy aligned to digital transformation, cloud migration, and advanced analytics |
| Governance | Strengthened visibility into software usage and licensing costs across all divisions |
Manufacturers approaching Microsoft EA renewals should begin preparation 12 to 15 months before expiry and ensure the agreement reflects the diverse usage profiles across production, logistics, and corporate functions rather than applying a one-size-fits-all licensing approach. The three most impactful levers for manufacturers are: (1) role-based licence segmentation separating production floor/logistics/corporate into F1, F3, E3, and E5 tiers based on actual usage, (2) hybrid infrastructure alignment ensuring on-premise production systems are correctly licensed without double-counting cloud equivalents, and (3) industry benchmarking to validate Microsoft's proposed pricing against what comparable manufacturers are paying. These three levers alone typically deliver 20 to 35% cost reduction on a manufacturing EA renewal.
Redress Compliance delivers independent Microsoft EA renewal advisory, typically achieving 15 to 35% cost reductions for manufacturers. Complete vendor independence, industry benchmarking, and proven negotiation strategies.
EA Optimisation ServiceIndependent Microsoft licensing advisory. EA optimisation. Contract negotiation. 100% vendor-independent.