| Client Overview | |
|---|---|
| Industry | Financial Services — Banking |
| Location | East Coast, United States |
| Employees | 20,000+ |
| IT Environment | Office 365, Azure, on-premises solutions — supporting critical banking operations, customer management, and digital transformation initiatives |
| Issue | Impending Microsoft EA renewal with complex licensing, overprovisioned licences, no industry benchmarking, and limited negotiation leverage |
| Services Provided | Deployment Analysis, Licence Optimisation, 3-Year Roadmap Development, Industry Benchmarking, EA Negotiation Strategy & Execution |
| Outcome | $5.7M saved over 3 years ($3.5M optimisation + $2.2M negotiated discounts). 25% cost reduction. Flexible agreement aligned to growth. |
The Challenge
A leading bank on the East Coast with over 20,000 employees engaged Redress Compliance to assist with the renewal of its Microsoft Enterprise Agreement (EA). The bank's IT infrastructure supported critical banking operations, customer management systems, and digital transformation initiatives.
With an impending EA renewal and the complexity of Microsoft's licensing models, the bank needed to analyse current deployments, optimise licence allocations, develop a future roadmap, benchmark against peers, and negotiate favourable terms — all while ensuring they didn't overpay for unused or overprovisioned licences.
Without independent expertise, financial institutions routinely overpay 20–30% on Microsoft EA renewals. Microsoft's account teams typically present initial renewal quotes significantly higher than current spend — using price anchoring, bundling, and early renewal pressure to maximise revenue. The bank's existing agreement included redundant licences, overprovisioned subscriptions across business units, and no industry-specific benchmarking to validate whether pricing was competitive. Without a data-driven negotiation strategy, the bank risked locking into a three-year agreement that didn't reflect actual usage or future needs.
The Process
Redress Compliance executed a five-phase engagement covering deployment analysis, optimisation, roadmap development, benchmarking, and negotiation: Learn more about independent Microsoft advisory services.
Phase 1: Deployment Analysis
Conducted a comprehensive review of the bank's Microsoft deployments including Office 365, Azure, and on-premises solutions. Mapped software usage against entitlements to identify underutilised licences and areas of overprovisioning. Assessed the bank's hybrid cloud strategy to align licensing with long-term goals — establishing a factual baseline for negotiation.
Phase 2: Licence Optimisation
Identified redundant licences and recommended reallocations to align with actual usage patterns. Consolidated licences across business units to reduce overall costs. Recommended a shift to role-based licensing for specific departments to ensure efficient resource allocation — eliminating waste without impacting operational capability.
Phase 3: Roadmap Development
Collaborated with the bank's IT leadership to define a three-year roadmap for Microsoft product adoption and licensing needs. Addressed future IT initiatives including cloud migration, enhanced security measures, and digital collaboration tools. Integrated scalability and flexibility into the roadmap to accommodate business growth — ensuring the agreement wouldn't constrain the bank's digital transformation.
Phase 4: Industry Benchmarking
Compared the bank's licensing costs and structure against peer financial institutions to identify discrepancies. Provided insights into market trends and best practices — establishing competitive pricing expectations and quantifying where the bank was overpaying relative to industry norms.
Phase 5: Negotiation Strategy & Execution
Developed a data-driven negotiation strategy leveraging findings from deployment analysis, optimisation efforts, and benchmarking. Secured discounts and concessions on key Microsoft solutions including Azure and Office 365. Negotiated flexibility in the agreement to allow adjustments based on future business needs — positioning the bank to adapt without penalty. Learn more about Microsoft EA negotiation guide.
Microsoft's EA pricing is not transparent — every deal is individually negotiated, and without benchmarking data, there's no way to know whether your pricing is competitive. Financial institutions are particularly exposed because their large user counts and compliance requirements make Microsoft confident they won't switch providers. By comparing the bank's licensing costs against peer institutions of similar size and complexity, Redress Compliance identified specific areas where the bank was paying above-market rates — providing concrete data points that strengthened the negotiation position and directly drove the $2.2 million in negotiated discounts.
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Cost Savings
$3.5M Licence Optimisation
Annual savings from eliminating redundant licences, consolidating across business units, and shifting to role-based licensing for specific departments.
$2.2M Negotiated Discounts
Additional savings secured through data-driven negotiation on Azure and Office 365 pricing, leveraging benchmarking data and competitive positioning.
$5.7M Total (3-Year)
Combined optimisation and negotiated discounts delivered $5.7 million in savings across the three-year EA term.
Operational & Strategic Outcomes
25% Cost Reduction
Reduced overall licensing costs by 25% while maintaining full compliance with Microsoft licensing terms across all business units. Learn more about Microsoft EA renewal preparation toolkit.
Streamlined Management
Consolidated and rationalised licensing across the bank's business units — improving management, reporting, and ongoing governance.
Digital Transformation Enabled
Enhanced scalability built into the agreement to support cloud migration, security initiatives, and digital collaboration tools.
Flexible Agreement
Negotiated flexibility to allow adjustments based on future business needs — positioning the bank to adopt future Microsoft technologies without renegotiation.
"Redress Compliance's expertise was instrumental in ensuring a successful Microsoft EA renewal. Their insights and strategic approach delivered significant cost savings and positioned us to meet our future IT objectives. They were an invaluable partner throughout the process."
| Key Result | Detail |
|---|---|
| Total Savings | $5,700,000 over three years |
| Licence Optimisation Savings | $3,500,000 annually |
| Negotiated Discounts | $2,200,000 in additional savings |
| Cost Reduction | 25% reduction in overall Microsoft licensing costs |
| Compliance | Fully compliant with all Microsoft licensing terms |
| Strategic Alignment | Licensing strategy tailored to future IT and digital transformation initiatives |
| Governance | Robust licence management framework established for ongoing cost control |
How Redress Compliance Helps Microsoft Customers
Watch how we help enterprises negotiate better Microsoft EA renewals and reduce licensing costs
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