Enterprise Agreements
An enterprise agreement (EA) is a licensing arrangement designed for larger organizations (more than 500 users or devices) and can include cloud services, support, and software licenses together. EAs are technically direct licensing agreements—payment is made directly to Microsoft, though resellers typically arrange the paperwork.
Cloud Solution Providers
Organizations can also establish a billing relationship with a cloud solution provider (CSP), who makes the purchases on their behalf and sells the licenses to the customer. CSPs can mark the licenses up as well as bundle other software and service agreements to the customer. This model is frequently used by managed service providers who want to include Microsoft 365 licensing as part of a monthly service to a customer.
CSP tiers
Under the hood, there are technically two tiers of CSP—there is a direct channel, where the CSP purchases the licenses directly from Microsoft and resells them directly to the customers. There is a second tier as well, where a large CSP buys and then resells to smaller CSPs. For purposes of the MS-900 exam, the licensing model is from the customer’s perspective—either direct (from Microsoft) or indirect (through a reseller or CSP).
Microsoft cloud services costs are calculated based on the number of users (commonly referred to as seats) that will be subscribed to a particular service or a plan. The following key characteristics shouldbe assessed when deciding which model is right for your organization:
- The minimum number of seats
- When you can make changes to the number of seats (either additions or removals)
- The cadence of the billing (annual, pay-as-you-go, or some other contract mechanism)
- Which products or services are available under the licensing model
- The duration of the agreement
For the MS-900 exam, we’ll highlight the structure and requirements of the CSP model.
The CSP program is designed for Microsoft Partners andvalue-added resellers (VARs) to develop long-lasting, holistic partnerships with customers. The CSP program has a wealth of tools available to help partners and VARs provide additional value to their customers.
The CSP program offers customers the following service benefits and stipulations:
- A minimum of one seat
- The number of seats that can be changed on a monthly basis
- The billing cadence is monthly (sometimes referred to as pay-as-you-go)
- All Microsoft online services products are available
- The agreement has a minimum duration of 1 year
CSP program deep dive
You can find more information about the CSP program licensing details by following this link: https://partner.microsoft.com/en-us/licensing. You can also learn more about the other licensing programs, such as EA and Open, at https://www.microsoft. com/en-us/licensing/licensing-programs/licensing-programs. It’s also important to note that the Select Plus program is no longer accepting new commercial enrollments and is only available for public sector customers.