Switching from an EA to CSP or MCA
Introduction: Why Enterprises Are Moving from EA to CSP or MCA
Microsoft is encouraging many customers to transition away from the traditional Enterprise Agreement (EA) and onto newer models, such as the Microsoft Customer Agreement (MCA) or the Cloud Solution Provider (CSP) program.
In fact, starting in 2025, some organizations will no longer be eligible to renew EAs, especially smaller and mid-market customers.
This push is part of Microsoft’s strategy to modernize licensing, offering more flexibility and efficiency through CSP and MCA as alternatives to Microsoft EA. Read our complete guide to choosing between Microsoft EA and CSP.
Enterprises are making the move from EA to CSP or EA to MCA transition primarily for greater flexibility.
Under an EA, you’re locked into a three-year contract with fixed quantities, but business needs can change rapidly. CSP and MCA allow you to scale licenses up or down more freely (even monthly in CSP), aligning costs with actual usage.
This CSP monthly licensing flexibility is invaluable for companies with seasonal workloads or fluctuating staff counts.
In short, leaving EA means escaping rigid commitments and switching from enterprise agreements to Microsoft contracts for more agile models.
However, this flexibility comes with a trade-off in predictability. EAs often provide sizable volume discounts and locked-in pricing for the term, giving budget certainty.
In contrast, CSP and MCA typically have higher per-unit prices (closer to retail), and prices can adjust periodically. Organizations must balance the desire for agility against the loss of EA-style discounts and price protection.
The good news is that many find their overall spend stays the same or even decreases after switching, since they can eliminate “shelfware” (unused licenses) and only pay for what they actually need. The key is planning the transition carefully to avoid disruption or compliance gaps.
Evaluate the Right Time to Transition
Timing your move from EA to CSP or MCA is critical. Evaluate the right time to transition by aligning it with your EA’s end date whenever possible.
The ideal scenario is to let the EA run its full term and plan for the new licensing to take effect as soon as the EA expires. This avoids overlapping agreements, double payments, or gaps in coverage. Most EAs have a 3-year term; use that runway to prepare for the switch.
What happens if you switch mid-term? In general, mid-term switching is not recommended and often not allowed without penalty. An EA is a contractual commitment – if you attempt to exit early, you may be on the hook for the remaining fees (essentially an early termination buyout).
Microsoft’s EA termination process doesn’t really accommodate a no-penalty mid-term exit for standard customers. Thus, unless there are extreme circumstances, it’s rarely feasible to move from EA to CSP before the EA’s natural expiration. Plan to stick it out until the end, and use the remaining time to get ready.
Avoiding double payments or service overlap is a top priority. If your EA ends on a certain date, ensure your new CSP/MCA subscriptions are active by that time. Microsoft typically provides a short grace period (e.g., 30 days after EA expiration) during which services continue, giving you a window to transition users without downtime.
Take advantage of that, but don’t rely on it completely – it’s safest to have your new licenses lined up and ready to assign as soon as the EA lapses. Also, notify Microsoft or your reseller in advance that you will not be renewing the EA.
This heads-up facilitates the Microsoft EA termination process and ensures they won’t auto-renew or push last-minute offers without your knowledge.
In summary, time your transition to coincide with the EA expiration to minimize risks. Mid-term switching should be avoided due to financial and contractual hurdles.
By planning the changeover for the end of your EA, you can end the EA switch licensing smoothly with no overlap or lapse in service.
Compare CSP and EA, Microsoft EA vs CSP: Comparing the Pros, Cons, and Costs for Your Organization.
License Mapping: EA to CSP/MCA Equivalents
One of the first practical steps is license mapping – making sure every product and service you have under EA has an equivalent offering in CSP or MCA.
Create a comprehensive inventory of your current EA licenses, subscriptions, and any Software Assurance benefits.
Then, map each item to the new purchasing channel:
- Microsoft 365/Office 365 and other cloud services: Nearly all cloud-based licenses available in EA are also offered in CSP and under MCA. For example, if you have Office 365 E3 seats in your EA, the same SKU can be obtained via a CSP partner or through Microsoft directly (MCA). Ensure you match the editions (E3 vs. E5, etc.) and quantities needed. This goes for other cloud products like Dynamics 365 or Power Platform as well.
- Server and on-premises licenses: If your EA includes on-prem software (Windows Server, SQL Server, CALs, etc.), check how to get these outside the EA. CSP now allows purchase of certain perpetual licenses (via the “CSP perpetual” offers) and also offers subscription licenses for server products (sometimes called server subscriptions). Under an MCA (direct agreement), you can also buy most on-prem licenses, but Software Assurance (SA) may not be available in the same way. MCA evergreen contract terms mean no built-in SA benefits, so if you need things like version upgrades or license mobility, you might need a different approach (such as purchasing through a separate program or accepting that you’ll buy new versions when needed). Map out each on-prem product to either a CSP offering or a direct purchase option so that nothing is left unlicensed after the transition.
- Edge cases and specialty licenses: Pay special attention to products that might not be part of your standard Office/Azure stack. For example, Visio and Project are often licensed to specific users. Under EA, you might have Visio Plan 2 or Project Professional licenses. These are available as subscription licenses via CSP as well – make sure to include them in your mapping. Similarly, if you have developer tools such as Visual Studio subscriptions or MSDN, ensure that these are transitioned (these may be handled through separate Microsoft programs or a CSP as well). Avoiding licensing gaps is crucial: if any product you use doesn’t have a straightforward equivalent in CSP/MCA, work with Microsoft or a licensing partner to find a solution before your EA ends.
- Azure services and reserved instances: If you use Azure under EA, you’ll likely be moving to an Azure plan under CSP or an Azure subscription under MCA. Azure mapping is generally straightforward (Azure is Azure), but be aware that any reserved instance or savings plan you purchased under EA will not carry over. You may need to re-purchase those under the new agreement to retain cost benefits. Plan for this in your mapping exercise so you’re not caught off guard with Azure costs.
By performing a thorough license mapping, you create a Microsoft licensing migration strategy that ensures continuity and a seamless transition. Every EA SKU should have a home in the new model.
Document the CSP SKU IDs or MCA offer names corresponding to your EA entitlements. This way, as you proceed to set up the new subscriptions, you won’t miss a thing – from core services down to niche tools.
Read our guide to MCA, Microsoft Customer Agreement (MCA) Explained: Is It Replacing EAs and How to Adapt?.
Pricing and Subscription Setup
Moving from EA to CSP/MCA will change how you pay for and manage your licenses. It’s important to understand the new pricing and subscription setup so you can optimize costs and adjust your financial processes accordingly.
Under an EA, you likely enjoyed volume discounts and fixed pricing for the term. In a CSP model, pricing is typically at or near Microsoft’s retail rates (partners might give slight discounts, but nothing like EA’s deep volume discounts).
Similarly, an MCA is a direct purchase at standard rates unless you have a special arrangement.
Be prepared for CSP vs EA pricing differences – the per-license cost under CSP/MCA can be higher than your EA unit cost was. For example, if your EA gave you 15% off Office 365, switching to CSP might mean paying full price.
The upside is you might not need as many licenses if you trim unused ones, so your total spend could stay the same or even drop. It’s wise to forecast your costs: compare what you paid under EA (including true-ups) to what the equivalent basket of services will cost in CSP or MCA. This helps avoid surprises.
The subscription terms and billing frequency will also shift. EAs are built around a triennial (3-year) commitment, often billed annually (or all upfront) with true-ups for additions. In CSP, you have much more flexibility: you can choose monthly term subscriptions for many licenses, meaning you can drop or add every month.
Some CSP offers also allow annual or multi-year commitments (for instance, a 1-year or 3-year term for certain products) if you want to lock pricing. MCA works with an evergreen agreement; there’s no overall end date, but the services you buy under it can have their own billing terms (Azure is pay-as-you-go monthly, Microsoft 365 subscriptions can be yearly or monthly, etc.).
Essentially, monthly/annual vs triennial becomes the new norm: you’ll move from a long-term prepaid model to a shorter-term recurring subscription model.
Adjust your payment workflows accordingly. Instead of a single annual invoice from Microsoft (or a partner) that covers your whole organization’s licenses, you will receive more frequent bills.
With CSP, your partner will invoice you, often monthly, for whatever licenses and Azure consumption you used in the prior period. With MCA, Microsoft will send invoices directly (monthly for Azure usage and monthly or annually for subscription licenses, depending on your choice at purchase).
Engage your finance and accounts payable teams to prepare for this change: more regular invoices, potentially new vendors (the CSP partner), and a shift from CAPEX-style lump payments to OPEX continuous payments. It may also require updates to purchase orders or budgeting – for example, setting up an open PO or funds for the CSP partner that renews each month/quarter.
Finally, consider how CSP vs MCA fits your organization. CSP involves a partner managing the licensing transactions, which can simplify things if you value a one-stop shop for support and billing (the partner can consolidate Microsoft services and perhaps other services on one invoice).
MCA is directly with Microsoft, which some organizations prefer for control or if they’re large enough to be served directly by Microsoft. Pricing between the two is similar (CSP prices are basically Microsoft prices plus maybe a small margin or discount), so it often comes down to whether you want a partner’s assistance or not. Whichever route you choose, set up the new subscriptions well ahead of the EA end date so you can smoothly roll them out.
Service Continuity and License Reassignment
Ensuring service continuity during the switchover is paramount. The goal is to have zero downtime for users and no surprises in service availability. A careful plan for license reassignment will make the transition seamless from the end-user’s perspective.
Steps to reassign licenses from EA to CSP/MCA:
- Procure new licenses in advance: Don’t wait until the last day of your EA to get CSP or MCA subscriptions. As your EA end date approaches, work with your CSP partner or Microsoft account portal to purchase the equivalent licenses under the new agreement. Have them ready to go live. For instance, if you will need 1000 Microsoft 365 E3 licenses in CSP to replace your EA licenses, get those set up in your CSP account ahead of time (they can remain unassigned until you flip the switch).
- Run a pilot transition: It’s wise to test the process with a small subset of users or a specific department before migrating everyone. For example, a month or two before EA expiration, select a group of users and transition their licenses to CSP/MCA. This could involve unassigning their EA license and then assigning a new CSP license for the same product. Because Microsoft’s cloud services allow coexistence of licenses, you can do this on a few accounts without issue – the users should not notice any change, since they still have the same level of service. Monitor this pilot group for any access issues or unexpected behavior. If something goes wrong, you have time to adjust your approach.
- Coordinate the cutover for all users: When you’re ready to switch the remaining users, plan it for a time that minimizes impact (perhaps after business hours or on a weekend, depending on your organization’s working pattern). In practice, moving users from EA to CSP/MCA is often just a licensing change in the admin portal. For Microsoft 365, you would remove the EA-provisioned license from the user’s account and then assign the new CSP/MCA license. If done within a short window, the user stays licensed the whole time and experiences no interruption. Many admins do this in batches via scripts or Microsoft 365 admin center tools. Leverage the 30-day grace after EA expiry: even if your EA ends today, you typically have a month where those licenses still work, giving you a safety net to get everyone switched over.
- Azure service continuity: If you have Azure subscriptions under EA, you’ll need to transition them to CSP or MCA without stopping any running workloads. Microsoft provides processes to transfer Azure subscriptions between enrollment types. For instance, an Azure subscription can be migrated from EA to a CSP Azure Plan with no downtime – it’s a billing context change. Work with your CSP partner or Microsoft to execute this transfer. It typically involves an invitation or link that both parties (the current admin and the new admin) approve. Plan the timing such that it doesn’t coincide with critical usage periods, and verify after transfer that all resources are accessible and billing is happening under the new agreement.
Throughout the reassignment process, communication is key. Inform your IT support teams about the transition schedule so they’re prepared for any user questions (even though users shouldn’t feel anything, some may see notifications or minor prompts during license reassignments).
Keep a record of which accounts have been moved and which are pending, so you don’t miss any. The mantra is avoiding licensing gaps – every user or system that had a license before should have an equivalent license after, with no gap in between.
If executed well, the only difference anyone notices is the name of the subscription in the admin console; the work experience remains unchanged.
True-Up and Final EA Closure
As you approach the end of your EA and the dawn of the new licensing model, there are final housekeeping tasks to ensure a clean break.
True-up and final EA closure covers the steps needed to settle your obligations and make the most of any remaining benefits.
Complete compliance checks and true-ups: Before the EA contract closes, perform a thorough audit of your license usage. If your agreement requires a final-year true-up (which it likely does if you added any users or software in the last year), compile those details. Report any increases in usage to Microsoft and expect a final invoice for the true-up. Settling this is important – you want to exit the EA with zero outstanding fees or compliance issues. If you suspect you were under-licensed for some product during the EA, now is the time to address it by purchasing the needed licenses in the true-up. You do not want a compliance penalty or audit finding after you’ve left the EA. Essentially, leave no licensing stone unturned; everything should be squared up.
Use up remaining credits or benefits: Many EAs, especially those that include Azure or other services, come with certain credits or benefits. For example, if you had an Azure monetary commitment as part of your EA and haven’t used all of it, try to consume it before the EA ends – otherwise, it will expire worthless. This could mean spinning up needed resources or pre-paying for Azure reserved instances (which you’ll carry into the new agreement). Similarly, check for any Software Assurance benefits that might be left: training vouchers, support incidents, or advisory hours. Microsoft has been evolving these programs (some SA benefits have been retired or transformed), but if you do have, say, free support tickets or planning services days available, use them or lose them. Another example is Azure Active Directory Free/Basic vs. Premium plans – ensure that features you were entitled to under EA (through bundles) will continue under the new licenses, or take action to separately license them if needed.
Finalize the EA termination: Work with your Microsoft representative or licensing partner to formally close out the EA. This typically happens naturally when the term expires, but it’s good to get written confirmation that the EA is terminated and will not auto-renew. Ensure that Microsoft has processed any reduction options you exercised at the final anniversary (if you had the right to reduce certain licenses in the last year) and that your final true-up order is accepted. After everything is done, you should receive a final statement of account for the EA showing it’s fulfilled. Keep this documentation for your records.
Finally, consider documentation for your internal team as well: document the state of licenses as you left the EA (e.g., “we owned X perpetual licenses of Windows Server 2019 with SA as of EA end”).
This helps in the future if there’s any question about what perpetual rights you carry forward.
Once the EA is closed and the new CSP/MCA is fully in place, you can breathe a sigh of relief – but then comes the ongoing management under the new model, which we address next.
Governance in the New Model
Switching to CSP or MCA isn’t the end of the journey – it’s the beginning of a new ongoing regime of license management.
With the increased flexibility of these models comes a need for diligent governance in the new model to avoid overspending or losing track of assets.
Monthly license reconciliation: In the EA world, true-ups were annual, but now you should think of every month as a mini true-up (or true-down). Implement a process to review your license usage monthly. For example, run a report of all Microsoft 365 licenses in use. If you find inactive accounts (perhaps former employees or test accounts no longer needed), remove their licenses promptly so you aren’t billed for another month. Under CSP, any changes (up or down) will reflect in the next invoice, so taking action even a few days before the billing date can save money. It’s a more continuous discipline of Microsoft licensing migration strategy: staying on top of additions and removals. Some companies assign a licensing owner or use automation tools to reclaim licenses not used in 30 days, etc. Find a system that works for your scale.
Budget controls and cost transparency: Without the upfront EA commitment, budget responsibility shifts to monitoring ongoing consumption. This is particularly relevant for Azure in a pay-as-you-go model. Set up Azure Cost Management alerts and budgets to ensure you don’t unexpectedly overspend. In an EA, you might have had a cap (your prepaid amount) or at least a negotiated discount; in CSP/MCA, if you use more, you simply pay more, so it’s on you to watch it. If you moved to an MCA for Azure, you can implement resource group or subscription-level budgets internally. In CSP, ask your partner if they provide cost management dashboards or alerts for Azure and other services. The goal is avoiding licensing gaps (ensuring you always have enough licenses) while also avoiding cost overruns (not paying for what you don’t actually need). Regular reviews with finance can help adjust forecasts as your usage changes.
Policy and access governance: With the new model, consider who in your organization can procure or adjust licenses. In EA, everything might have been centralized through procurement. In CSP/MCA, it’s easy for admins to add 10 new licenses in the portal or spin up a costly Azure VM. Put governance guardrails in place: for instance, require approval for any increase over a certain number of licenses, or use role-based access control so that only authorized personnel can make purchase changes. Microsoft’s platforms allow fine-grained roles (e.g., a user admin can assign existing licenses but maybe not purchase new ones). Implement an internal policy that aligns with your budgeting – this prevents well-meaning IT staff from accidentally increasing spend beyond plan.
Utilize real-time visibility: One advantage of the new model is that you have up-to-date visibility into your usage. Use this to your benefit. In the Microsoft 365 admin center, check the license usage vs. purchase count regularly. In Azure, review consumption by service. This can also feed into optimizing your environment (for example, if you see an Azure service costing a lot, maybe it’s time to resize it). Under EA, you often found out about overuse only at true-up time; now you have the data at your fingertips every day. Building a habit of reviewing it is part of good governance.
Continuous compliance monitoring: While cloud subscriptions inherently prevent you from using more than you bought (you can’t accidentally deploy 100 Office 365 licenses if you only have 90), if you still maintain any on-prem licenses outside of EA, keep an eye on those. For instance, if you carried over some perpetual licenses with SA and plan to keep using them, ensure you don’t exceed those entitlements now that EA isn’t there to true-up. Overall, moving to CSP/MCA greatly reduces compliance risk and simplifies audits, but it’s wise to maintain a compliance checklist for any legacy components.
In summary, treat the post-EA world as a shift from a “set-and-forget” model to an active management model. The Microsoft EA termination process might relieve you of some burdens, but it introduces a new culture of agility.
Embrace the tools and practices for ongoing governance. This way, the new licensing approach will truly pay off by keeping you both agile and in control of costs.
Comparison Table: EA vs CSP vs MCA
Below is a quick comparison of key features across an Enterprise Agreement (EA), Cloud Solution Provider (CSP), and Microsoft Customer Agreement (MCA):
| Feature | EA (Enterprise Agreement) | CSP (Cloud Solution Provider) | MCA (Microsoft Customer Agreement) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Term | 3-year contract term | No fixed term (subscriptions are monthly or annual) | Evergreen contract (no end date) |
| Discounts | High volume discounts for large commitments | Limited (partner may offer small discounts) | Limited (standard pricing, some discounts for very large deals) |
| Flexibility | Low – fixed license count, can only increase until renewal (no reductions) | High – add or remove licenses month-to-month as needed | Medium – flexible purchasing, though often annual subscriptions for products |
| Payment | Annual or upfront payment (covering a year or more) | Monthly or annual billing via partner (pay-as-you-go for Azure, etc.) | Direct billing from Microsoft, monthly or annual based on services |
| Negotiation | High – pricing and terms can be negotiated (especially for big enterprises) | Partner-driven – pricing is set by Microsoft but partner may include value-add services or slight discounts | Limited – pricing mostly fixed; large customers might get special terms or credits |
Table: Microsoft EA vs CSP vs MCA at a glance. EA offers predictability and discounts at the cost of flexibility. CSP (through a partner) and MCA (direct) offer more flexibility and simplicity, but generally at standard pricing.
Checklist: EA to CSP/MCA Transition Steps
Use this step-by-step checklist to ensure a smooth transition from your Microsoft EA to a CSP or MCA model:
- Review the EA end date and notify Microsoft. Mark your EA expiration date and inform your Microsoft rep or reseller that you do not plan to renew. This sets the transition timeline and prevents any automatic renewals.
- Map all licenses to CSP/MCA equivalents. Inventory your current EA licenses and find a corresponding product in CSP or MCA for each. Plan how to license each product (cloud subscriptions, server licenses, etc.) under the new model so nothing is left out.
- Finalize true-up and use credits. Before the EA ends, complete your final true-up to pay for any extra usage. Use any remaining Azure credits or support benefits tied to your EA, since these won’t carry over after exit.
- Pilot transition with subset users. Test the migration process on a small group of users or a single department. Switch their licenses to CSP/MCA and verify all services work normally. Adjust your plan based on any issues encountered.
- Migrate remaining users before EA expiry. Roll out the license transition to all users and workloads before or immediately when the EA contract ends. Reassign cloud licenses and transfer Azure subscriptions to the new agreement, ensuring no user is left without a valid license.
- Implement monthly spend governance. Once on CSP/MCA, establish oversight for your new licensing model. Schedule monthly license reviews, monitor Azure consumption, and enforce policies so you optimize costs and remain compliant going forward.
Following these steps will help you execute a comprehensive EA-to-MCA transition or EA-to-CSP switch without disruption. Preparation and proactive management are key to a successful outcome.
FAQ: EA to CSP/MCA Transition
Q1: Can I switch from EA to CSP mid-term?
A1: Rarely — best at EA expiration to avoid penalties.
Q2: Do I lose my Azure credits when leaving EA?
A2: Yes, unused credits usually expire. Use them first.
Q3: Is CSP more expensive than EA?
A3: Per-unit cost is higher, but flexibility may offset it.
Q4: Can MCA pricing be negotiated?
A4: Limited, but large customers can secure discounts or credits.
Q5: Will my users lose access during transition?
A5: Not if licenses are reassigned before EA expiry.
Q6: Can I return to EA later?
A6: Yes, if you meet size thresholds, unless Microsoft phases it out.
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