C1 Solutions are focused on helping customers to modernise & optimise their Microsoft licensing. If you are a current Microsoft customer, we can make your business more profitable by moving to a discounted CSP agreement. Some of the advantages of a CSP agreement via C1 Solutions are:
Monthly billing in line with CSP actual consumption
The ability to flex licences off and on in line with the business needs via our portal
Azure spend limit threshold notification to avoid nasty surprises
Option for annually billed (non-azure spend) with credit for unused licences
Discounted agreement
No payment upfront
Can be cancelled with 30 days’ notice
As a Microsoft CSP partner, we have encountered several customer scenarios we thought we’d share to show the issues and the resolution. London based Cyber Security Services Organisation
The CEO had multiple azure environments and a mix of office, dynamics and voice products. They were taken out at various points in time and things had gotten to the stage where multiple bills were being generated each month and in the case of Azure, varying bills from month to month. C1 moved this all under a single CSP agreement with zero downtime involved – this resulted in one easy to manage monthly invoice and greater awareness of the azure spend using our spend limit notifications.
Buckinghamshire based law firm
The Head of IT talked us through her current Microsoft spend, we discovered although they had a CSP agreement, their existing supplier was not a specialist in the area of Microsoft CSP which had resulted in a significant overspend on licences. They had purchased 285 Office licences however had only been using 260 for the last year due to a separation of the part of the business, this simple fact meant they were paying nearly £5000 per year for licences not being used. They had been advised it was the status quo to pay for licences annually upfront with no discount offered. C1 could help in this scenario by moving these licences onto a CSP agreement with us. If the business prefers to keep an annual invoice, with access to our licence portal to track usage the savings can be rolled into a credit and passed back to the customer to use as they wish. Or they could take the monthly bill based on actual usage if preferred – very much the essence of CSP agreements.
London based SaaS company
The Managing Director of a SaaS company had recently upgraded their legacy environment to a new CSP model. They engaged a tier 1 Microsoft supplier to complete the migration however was surprised of their no discount policy. We explained that Azure consumption is seen as a commodity these days such as car insurance – you are paying for something you need rather than want. Working with a CSP partner such as C1, you have all the benefits of CSP but with a monthly discount.
Surrey based Investment fund
The Head of ICT Procurement advised they had previously signed a 3 year EA agreement for their company earlier in the year, however the Coronavirus pandemic hit and now they have a major overspend on licenses due to furloughing 30% of staff. Our blog (https://www.c1solutions.co.uk/post/ea-vs-csp-which-is-the-best-fit-for-your-business) explains the differences between EAs and CSP agreements however to summarise in short, CSP agreements are here for this kind of scenario – the business world is currently volatile and there’s a big question mark over the employment situation of many people. If there is a second wave of COVID-19 or another unforeseen event, you do not want to be locked into a long-term agreement and in this scenario a CSP agreement makes a lot of sense vs an EA.
If you can relate to any of these scenarios or have another issue, please get in touch – we would love to help. If you are confident everything is in hand; stay safe, wash your hands, don’t see your parents - unless they are your gardener, cleaner, child minder……