Strategies to Maximize Your Microsoft EA Discount (and Avoid Price Increases)

Strategies to Maximize Your Microsoft EA Discount

Introduction – Why Maximizing EA Discounts is Essential

Enterprise Agreement (EA) renewals are among the biggest IT budget drivers for large organizations. The difference between a standard deal and a well-negotiated one can amount to millions in savings over the EA term.

Microsoft’s initial offer often reflects a “standard discount” narrative, but savvy buyers know not to take this at face value.

By using the right EA cost-saving tactics, procurement leaders and CIOs can increase their Microsoft EA discount beyond the baseline and shield their organizations from unwelcome price hikes.

This introduction outlines why maximizing your EA discount is crucial and sets the stage for negotiating better Microsoft pricing through strategic planning. Read our complete guide to Microsoft EA Pricing Changes 2025

Microsoft’s discounts and pricing structures can vary widely depending on how you structure your deal and when you negotiate.

A one-size-fits-all approach will leave money on the table. Instead, it’s essential to approach your EA renewal or purchase with a clear strategy.

The sections below present actionable strategies – from deal structuring to timing–that EA cost savings tactics experts use to secure deeper discounts, reduce long-term cost exposure, and avoid future price increases. Use this guide as a playbook to put yourself in the driver’s seat during Microsoft negotiations.

Aggregate Your Demand to Unlock Higher Discounts

Volume is one of the most powerful levers in Microsoft negotiations.

The more licenses and services you bundle into a single EA, the more leverage you have to push for a higher discount. If your organization operates multiple divisions or regions, each with separate Microsoft deals, consider consolidating them into one Enterprise Agreement.

Aggregating demand – i.e., centralizing all purchases under one umbrella – immediately increases your total volume, which historically translates into better pricing tiers.

Microsoft rewards larger, centralized deals with deeper discounts because a bigger commitment from you means more revenue certainty for them.

There are a few ways to aggregate your demand effectively:

• Consolidate separate agreements: Bring dispersed business units or subsidiaries onto a single EA. By combining smaller EAs or separate subscriptions into one master agreement, you can move into higher volume discount brackets that unlock better pricing. For example, unifying a 1,000-user division and a 1,500-user division under one EA might push you over a 2,500-seat threshold that qualifies for greater discounts than each would get alone.
• Co-term and align purchases: Align the timing of purchases and renewals so they all co-terminate at the same EA end date. This way, all your software needs are negotiated at once rather than piecemeal. When Microsoft sees a larger, coordinated spend on the table during a renewal, you gain negotiating power to demand a bigger percentage off.
• Aim for volume thresholds (but avoid shelfware): If you are just shy of a known discount tier (e.g., 2,400 seats for a typical Level B pricing in legacy models), evaluate if adding a modest number of licenses to reach that tier makes financial sense. Sometimes purchasing a few extra licenses (even if they’re not immediately needed) can bump you into a higher discount category – resulting in a lower unit price across all licenses. Be cautious: only do this if the math works out. Avoid buying so many surplus licenses that they sit unused (“shelfware”) and negate the savings. The goal is to find a sweet spot where a slightly higher quantity yields a significantly better overall discount.

By aggregating demand, you send a message to Microsoft that your business is big and strategic, which puts you in a stronger position.

Even as Microsoft adjusts its pricing models (for instance, phasing out automatic volume discounts for cloud services in favor of “pay-as-you-go” list pricing), showing significant scale in your deal still encourages Microsoft to offer discretionary discounts.

Use your consolidated size as a bargaining chip: “We’re giving you all our business in one agreement, so we expect a better Microsoft pricing than any smaller deal would receive.”

Read more about EA pricing levels, Understanding Microsoft EA Pricing: Levels, Tiers, and How Costs Are Calculated.

Leverage Multi-Year Commitments

Microsoft’s default EA term is three years, but you can often negotiate additional savings by cleverly leveraging multi-year commitments.

The idea is to demonstrate to Microsoft that you are committed to the long term or at a higher spend level, in exchange for better pricing protections now.

There are a couple of angles to this strategy:

• Extended terms or larger commitments: In some cases, enterprises negotiate an EA extension or a custom term (e.g., a 4th year or beyond) to lock in rates. Alternatively, you might commit to a certain spending level over the standard 3-year term (especially for Azure or other consumption-based services). For example, if you commit to a significant Azure spend for each of the three years (a multi-year Azure commitment), Microsoft might agree to extra discounts on those Azure rates or even across your whole EA. A longer or bigger commitment from your side gives Microsoft revenue assurance, for which you should ask for a reward in the form of higher discounts or price locks.
• Price protection for the future: With multi-year deals, ensure you’re not just getting a good price in year one but throughout the term. Negotiate price caps or fixed pricing for years 2 and 3 (many Microsoft cloud subscriptions otherwise have list price increases annually). A multi-year commitment is your leverage to say: “If we commit to this spend for three years, we need guarantees that our price per unit won’t increase during that period.” Microsoft often can agree to price holds or capped escalations because it values the guaranteed business.

While leveraging a multi-year strategy, always balance the savings against the risk of overcommitting. Committing to more licenses or Azure consumption than you actually need can lead to waste and negate your discount gains.

Before signing, do a realistic forecast of your organization’s growth and IT roadmap for the term. Ensure your commitment aligns with expected headcount growth, cloud migration plans, or new project rollouts.

The goal is to ensure growth assumptions are realistic – you want to hit your committed volumes comfortably to enjoy the discounts, not strain to consume what you don’t need.

In summary, use time and volume to your advantage. Suppose you’re confident in your organization’s future usage.

In that case, a multi-year high-volume commitment can be a win-win: Microsoft gets a longer commitment, and you increase your Microsoft EA discount and maintain stable pricing for the duration.

Just be careful to avoid the pitfall of overcommitting – negotiate flexibilities if possible (for example, the right to adjust down a little if business circumstances change) so you aren’t locked into paying for unused capacity.

Use Product Trade-Offs to Drive Discounts

Another strategic lever is bundling additional products or services into your EA as a trade-off to drive deeper discounts on your core licenses.

Microsoft’s sales teams have broad portfolios (Microsoft 365, Azure, Dynamics 365, Power Platform, security suites, and more), and they are often eager to increase adoption of newer or strategic products.

You can use this to your advantage: by agreeing to adopt or purchase something Microsoft really wants to sell, you gain leverage to ask for better discounts on the products that matter most to you.

For example, consider adding one of these to your EA negotiation mix:

• Dynamics 365 or Power Platform: If your company is evaluating CRM/ERP or low-code solutions, negotiating their inclusion in your EA can give Microsoft a big new win. In return, ask for greater discounts on your Microsoft 365 enterprise licenses or a larger concession on the Dynamics/Power Platform pricing itself. Microsoft may be willing to heavily discount one area to get you to deploy their product in another area.
• Azure services: Perhaps you’re planning to move more workloads to the cloud. Offering to shift significant workloads to Azure (or increasing your existing Azure commitment) increases Microsoft’s deal value. Use that promise to negotiate not just Azure-specific discounts but also discounts on your other EA components. Essentially, “We’ll bring more of our cloud spend to Azure, but we need you to give us a better Microsoft pricing across our Office 365 licenses in exchange.” This product trade-off leverages Microsoft’s cloud growth ambitions to your benefit.
• Upgrading to premium suites: Microsoft 365 comes in different tiers (E3, E5, etc.). If you’re on a lower tier, Microsoft will push hard for you to upgrade to E5 because it bundles advanced security, analytics, and voice features at a higher cost. Agreeing to upgrade a portion of your users to E5, or adding security/compliance add-ons, is a concession on your part, so you should request a bigger EA discount or free add-ons in return. Microsoft might respond by boosting the overall discount on all your licenses or throwing in incentives (like free training days, deployment support, or additional smaller products at no charge).

When using product trade-offs, frame it as a win-win scenario. Make it clear to Microsoft: “If we invest in these new products or higher-tier services that align with Microsoft’s strategic initiatives, we expect a reciprocal investment from Microsoft in the form of lower prices.”

By bundling and trading off, you transform the negotiation from merely squeezing price to building a partnership. However, a critical caution: only bundle products that bring real value to your organization.

Don’t let Microsoft upsell you on something your team doesn’t actually need just to chase a discount. Unused software (shelfware) or over-provisioned cloud credits will waste budget and undermine the cost savings.

Choose your trade-off products strategically – ideally, ones that you were considering anyway or that fill a genuine need – so that both you and Microsoft gain from the deal.

Compete Resellers to Reduce EA Costs

One often-overlooked tactic for maximizing your EA discount is to introduce competition between Microsoft’s licensed resellers (LSPs – Licensing Solution Providers).

While Microsoft sets the base pricing and discount for an EA, the transaction is fulfilled through an LSP, and that partner’s margin can be a negotiable component.

In other words, Microsoft’s price to all LSPs is essentially the same, but resellers can cut their own margins or offer incentives to win your business.

To leverage this, treat the reseller selection as a competitive bidding process:

• Engage multiple LSPs: Don’t just renew through your incumbent reseller without question. Reach out to a few authorized Microsoft LSPs that operate in your region and have experience with companies of your size. Let each know that you are considering multiple quotes. This encourages them to sharpen their pencils on any additional fees or to rebate some margin to you.
• Compare not just price, but incentives: Since Microsoft’s discount largely dictates the software pricing itself, resellers might compete by offering value-adds. One might offer an extra percentage point discount from their side, another might bundle free consulting hours, training, or flexible payment terms. Put everything on the table and compare the total value. For example, one reseller might propose a 0.5% lower price on all licenses, while another matches the price but offers $50,000 in services – depending on your needs, either could be attractive.
• Leverage the quotes in negotiation: You can use a competitive quote to press your preferred reseller or Microsoft itself. If Reseller A gives you a better overall deal than Reseller B (your current one), you can go back to B and say, “We’d like to stay with you, but we have an offer that is more favorable – can you match or beat these terms?” Often, they will find a way to improve their offer rather than lose the contract. In some cases, Microsoft might even step in to adjust something (or pressure the LSP) if they know the deal might move.

Remember that Microsoft’s channel partners want your business and have some wiggle room, even if small. The differences might seem minor (a point of margin here, a small extra service there), but for a large EA, even a 1% difference can equate to significant dollars saved.

Competing resellers is a low-risk, high-reward tactic: it costs you only the effort of running a mini RFP process, but it can result in getting the same Microsoft software for less money.

Just ensure that all quoting parties are basing it on the same requirements (same products, quantities, and terms) so you’re getting apples-to-apples comparisons.

Negotiate Price Increase Caps for Long-Term Savings

Winning a great upfront discount is only half the battle – you also need to guard against cost increases over the life of your EA and at renewal time.

A savvy EA negotiation includes not just discounts, but contractual protections against future price hikes. Microsoft’s standard agreements often leave customers exposed to list price increases or higher costs when adding new licenses mid-term.

By negotiating caps and locks on pricing, you ensure the savings you negotiate today aren’t eroded tomorrow.

Key areas to focus on:

• True-up price protection: In an EA, you typically “true up” annually for any additional licenses or usage you’ve added during the year. Without protections, those new licenses could be charged at whatever the prevailing list price (minus standard discount) is at that future time, which might be higher than your initial rate. Insist that any mid-term additions (true-ups) carry the same discount percentage or unit price as your initial purchase. This way, if Microsoft’s list prices rise during your term, your added licenses still effectively enjoy the original pricing basis.
• Cap on annual increases: If locking the price outright isn’t possible for certain products (Microsoft may resist long-term fixed pricing on cloud subscriptions), negotiate a cap on how much the price can rise year-over-year. For instance, you could include a clause that your per-user price for a service won’t increase by more than, say, 3% per year during the EA. Any announced increase above that would either be waived or absorbed by Microsoft. This provides budget predictability and guards against sudden jumps.
• Renewal price cap or extension pricing: Try to get a commitment on renewal terms in advance. While Microsoft might not lock in a renewal price three years ahead, you could negotiate something like an option to extend the EA for an additional year at the same pricing, or a guarantee that if you renew with equivalent scope, the discount level won’t drop. Even a clause stating that renewal pricing will be based on today’s list (or capped at a certain uplift from today’s list) helps protect you. Essentially, you want to avoid a scenario where Microsoft’s next offer comes in at significantly higher rates because all bets were off after the initial term.

By negotiating these caps, you’re protecting against Microsoft’s future list price hikes and ensuring your long-term savings. It’s not uncommon for Microsoft to announce a global price increase or eliminate certain discount programs (as they have done with volume tiers for cloud services).

If your contract has no caps, you simply have to swallow those increases at renewal. But if you had the foresight to include, for example, “prices for Product X at renewal shall not exceed 5% above the prices in effect during the initial term,” you’ve just saved your company from a potentially large budget hit.

In addition to caps, consider negotiating price holds for new product additions (e.g., if you anticipate you’ll add a new Microsoft product mid-term, try to lock its price now) and even inflation protections if applicable to your region.

These terms often aren’t offered upfront; you must proactively propose them. Microsoft may not agree to everything, but even one or two well-placed caps can pay off immensely down the road.

Remember, the goal is not only to win savings now but to preserve them against erosion over time.

Align with Microsoft’s Strategic Initiatives

Microsoft has its own sales priorities and strategic initiatives each year – and if you can find overlap with your needs, you can turn that to your advantage in negotiations.

Essentially, give Microsoft something it strongly wants, and get something you want in return. This strategy requires understanding what products or outcomes Microsoft is currently heavily promoting, and seeing if adopting those can unlock extra concessions for you.

In 2025 and beyond, some of Microsoft’s big initiatives include things like AI and automation (e.g., the new Copilot AI features in Microsoft 365), expanded Azure adoption, Power Platform growth, and shifting customers to newer licensing models.

Here’s how aligning with these initiatives can help you:

• Early adoption of new technologies: Microsoft often incentivizes customers to be early adopters of their latest offerings. For instance, if Microsoft 365 Copilot (an AI-powered productivity add-on) is a strategic push, you might volunteer to pilot it or purchase a certain number of licenses. In exchange, ask Microsoft for a break elsewhere – maybe a bigger discount on your core Office 365 subscription or free consulting services to implement Copilot. Microsoft gets a reference customer for a new tech, and you get cost relief.
• Cloud migration and Azure usage: Is Microsoft urging your industry to move further into Azure? If you have on-premises systems or competitor clouds, you can agree to migrate a portion of those into Azure under your EA. By aligning with this cloud-first initiative, you can negotiate things like Azure credits, an added discount on Azure rates, or even an overall sweeter deal on the EA. Microsoft may even have investment funds (sometimes referred to as Azure consumption commitments or funding programs) to help customers transition. Leverage those – essentially saying, “We’ll adopt Azure for these workloads, but we need you to make it financially attractive for us to do so.”
• Customer success stories and partnerships: Sometimes, beyond just products, Microsoft wants big customer wins that they can showcase. If you’re a notable organization in your sector, offering to be a public reference, case study, or to co-develop a solution with Microsoft can be a bargaining chip. It’s not a typical “line item” in a contract. Still, informally, you can use it: “We’re willing to partner closely and be a featured success story for this new platform, but we’ll need maximum flexibility on pricing and terms to justify taking that plunge.” It aligns your interests with Microsoft’s – they may bend more on price if they see a bigger long-term partnership opportunity.

The key with this approach is reciprocity. Microsoft is more likely to bend on something that is normally rigid (like discount limits or contract terms) if they see that they are getting something of high value to them.

Always tie it back to what you need: “By helping Microsoft achieve X, we expect Y in return.” It should feel like a true partnership rather than just a haggle.

However, ensure any initiative you align with is something that also benefits your business strategically. Don’t do a massive Azure migration just because Microsoft wants it – do it if it fits your IT strategy, and capture the negotiation upside as a bonus.

Use Early Renewal Bargaining to Avoid Price Hikes

Timing can be everything in a Microsoft deal. If you become aware of upcoming price increases or program changes that could raise your costs, consider renewing your EA early to lock in current pricing and terms.

Microsoft historically announces price hikes or discount eliminations with some advance notice – giving proactive customers a chance to act before the changes hit.

Here’s how early renewal can save you money and headaches:

• Bypass announced price increases: Suppose Microsoft has publicized that, three months from now, it will raise the price of certain Microsoft 365 plans by 10%, or that it will retire a discount structure that currently benefits you. If your EA is due to expire not long after that event, reach out to Microsoft about renewing ahead of schedule (before the increase date). Microsoft may allow it, effectively letting you extend your agreement under the old pricing. In doing so, you dodge the increase and typically secure those lower rates for the next full term (e.g., three years).
• Microsoft’s incentive to do early deals: Remember that Microsoft’s sales teams have quarterly and annual targets. If you propose to sign a renewal early, especially if it coincides with a quarter-end or their fiscal year-end (June 30 for Microsoft), you might find them surprisingly amenable. They get to count your renewal towards their quota sooner, and you get a deal before a price hike – both sides win. Often, Microsoft will sweeten the pot for an early signature, perhaps by offering an extra discount percentage or a one-time credit as an incentive. Don’t be afraid to ask: “What can you do for us if we renew early by this date?”
• Avoiding last-minute desperation: Early renewal discussions put you in control of the timeline. If you wait until a few weeks before your EA expires (or after a big price change has already taken effect), you lose leverage and are negotiating under duress. By starting the process 6-12 months in advance and closing it early, you eliminate the risk of being forced into a bad deal due to time pressure or changed pricing rules. Essentially, you can negotiate calmly, compare options, and even delay signing a bit to improve terms – because you’re not up against a hard expiration deadline.

One recent example of this tactic in action was Microsoft’s price increases and changes to its discount structure in late 2025.

Many companies with EAs ending in early 2026 opted to renegotiate and sign in mid-2025, before the changes, thus securing one last EA term under the older, more favorable pricing conditions. The principle applies anytime you see a storm on the horizon: act before it arrives.

In practice, make sure any early renewal is clearly documented to explicitly carry forward your existing discounts and terms.

You want to confirm that by signing early, you’re not inadvertently resetting any concessions you previously had. When done correctly, early renewal bargaining can be one of the most effective ways to avoid price hikes and maintain budget stability.

EA Discount Maximization Tactics (Comparison Table)

Below is a summary table of key tactics to maximize your Microsoft EA discount, showing how each strategy works and the primary benefit to you as the customer:

Checklist – Actions to Maximize EA Discounts

• Aggregate demand across business units. Bring together all your license needs into one negotiation to gain volume leverage.
• Evaluate larger Azure commitments carefully. Only commit to multi-year cloud spends that you can realistically meet, but leverage them for better pricing if you do.
• Bundle new workloads strategically. Add Microsoft products (e.g., security add-ons, Dynamics, Copilot) that you genuinely plan to use, and use them as chips to get deeper core discounts.
• Compete multiple resellers. Get quotes from several Microsoft LSPs and play them against each other to squeeze out extra discounts or benefits.
• Negotiate price caps on true-ups and renewals. Secure contract terms that limit how much costs can rise mid-term or at renewal, protecting your budget.
• Leverage Microsoft’s priorities for extra concessions. Align with Microsoft’s strategic products or goals (cloud, AI, etc.) and ask for something in return that helps your bottom line.
• Consider early renewal to avoid list price hikes. If you know prices are going up, act before that happens – renewing or extending your EA early can lock in the better rates and terms you have today.

Read about our Microsoft EA Negotiation Service.

Read our Microsoft EA Optimization Service – Case Studies.

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