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Microsoft Change Compendium
Insights, articles and resources on major updates in Microsoft's programs and licensing agreements and channel strategy.
Notifications to affected clients started being issued by Microsoft at the beginning of this year.
For Crayon’s partners, this may result in some customers transitioning to the Cloud Solution Provider (CSP) program.
This change primarily affects mid-sized organisations. Specifically, customers with fewer than 2,400 users or devices and commercial businesses that previously managed their licenses under EA but fall below the new threshold.
Those reliant on EA for their Azure and seat-based licensing needs may be concerned about the challenge of a technical migration to CSP and disruption to their business.
Many companies may be notified of non-renewable status for EAs. Few will want to face weeks or months of disruption because of licensing changes.
With Crayon as your cloud distributor of choice, they won’t have to.
As the only cloud distributor in the APAC region to hold Azure Expert MSP status, Crayon can execute EA to CSP migrations as a simple billing change.
With no technical migration required, you’ll save weeks of time, have no upfront costs, no disruption to services and no downtime risk.
Just a fast and seamless experience for you and your customers.
When a mid-market transport company in Australia was notified that its EA would not be renewable, they turned to their IT partner for guidance about moving to a CSP agreement.
Their partners’ existing distributor was unable to manage a transition from EA to CSP as a billing change.
This meant a technical migration was unavoidable.
Migrating Azure workloads between EA, MCA and CSP agreements can be resource intensive and complex.
The billing systems for these agreements were entirely separate. It would require meticulous planning and substantial resource to prevent disruption during a change to licensing agreements.
The process was estimated to take 6-8 weeks.
The end-customer was concerned about Azure costs increasing, the loss of direct support from Microsoft and the need to recreate resources during the EA to CSP migration.
With their existing distributor unable to offer a suitable response to satisfy its customer, the partner contacted Crayon.
In a matter of hours, the partner was able to present the customer with an easy EA to CSP transition solution that addressed all their main concerns:
The outcome provided by Crayon resulted in the partner moving their CSP and Azure business over from their existing distributor.
For customers no longer eligible to renew their Enterprise Agreement (EA), it’s critical to guide them on which alternate agreement best suits their business. There are two options available – Microsoft Customer Agreement for Enterprise (MCA-E) or CSP.
Understanding how these licensing models differ is essential for partners advising clients through this shift.
The best fit will depend on each organisation’s size, operational requirements, and cloud strategy.
CSP is becoming the preferred route for many SMB and mid-market customers because it offers enterprise-grade capabilities with significantly more agility—monthly or annual billing, flexible term options, and the ability to scale licenses up or down as needed.
While MCA-E may suit larger customers who still want a direct agreement with Microsoft, CSP allows partners to deliver greater value by combining licensing with tailored services and support.
As a trusted technology advisor, your ability to clearly explain the pros and cons of each path will be key in helping customers navigate their licensing future with confidence.
Transitioning your customers to CSP is more than a contractual change.
With the right services strategy, you can grow profitably at scale.
Customers gain cost control, license flexibility and services that are focused on their strategic objectives.
CSP enables customers to try services for shorter terms or start small without long-term commitment.
Mid-Market: Companies with 300/500 to 2,400 users.
Commercial Businesses: Those that previously managed their licenses under EA but fall below the new threshold
EA requires upfront commitments, while CSP offers flexible monthly billing and enhanced partner support.
The Microsoft Customer Agreement for Enterprise (MCA-E) is a digital contract designed to streamline the process of purchasing and managing Microsoft Cloud solutions like Azure, Dynamics 365, and Microsoft 365. Microsoft began transitioning certain cloud-only Enterprise Agreements (EA) to the MCA-E starting January 1, 2025. It is an alternative to EAs for customers that want the benefits of a CSP agreement but prefer to maintain a direct relationship with Microsoft.
Access to the tools and resources to effect this change require distributors to hold Azure Expert MSP Gold status with Microsoft. Currently, Crayon is the only cloud distributor in the ANZ region to have this in place.
No. Crayon ensures a seamless migration without technical changes or resource recreation.
Competitive Pricing: Compared to the web (PAYG/credit card procurement) and Enterprise Agreement. CSP route opens up opportunities to gain discounts from RRP. A big win against pay-as-you-go.
Monthly Consolidated Billing: Consolidated billing (in arrears) and summary invoice of all your spending, including Azure. Access to Azure resource-level detail billing through our Partner control portals (PRISM in ANZ or CloudiQ in SEA.)
Ongoing Cloud Cost Optimisation: Under CSP, you have the flexibility to continuously optimise the cloud environment and leverage tools like Cost Management within Azure. You also have the option of working with Crayon to deliver Cloud Cost Optimisation as a service to assess the customers current environment and identify areas for ongoing improvement.
24X7 Local Support with Escalation Path to Microsoft: Crayon will be your single point of contact for both technical and billing. In some circumstances, we need to escalate the support case to Microsoft. Crayon has a Microsoft support agreement with better response times and priority, and we can prioritise tickets via our Microsoft PDM and dedicated escalation manager.
Crayon’s Support as a Service offering could be an ideal option for you.
You can find out more about it on our Service page, which includes webinar resources to explain the advantages of working with us to ramp up your internal capabilities, along with a great partner case study on the results.
DURING: As an Azure Expert MSP, Crayon provides dedicated guidance, ensuring no downtime or disruption during the transition from EA to CSP as a billing change. For our partners, no technical migration requirement relieves you of the burden of risk for managing a complex project.
AFTER: Crayon will be your single point of contact for both technical and billing. In some circumstances, we need to escalate the support case to Microsoft. Crayon has a Microsoft support agreement with better response times and priority, and we can prioritise tickets via our Microsoft PDM and dedicated escalation manager. You’ll leverage our global scale and status as one of Microsoft’s largest global distribution partners.
No. Customers can have workloads on both Microsoft Customer Agreement for Enterprise (MCA-E) and Cloud Solution Provider (CSP) agreements, and they can even have subscriptions under both, though they will be separate billing accounts.
It’s possible to transfer Azure subscriptions between MCA-E and CSP, but it requires a request and approval process.
Customers can choose to move workloads between MCA-E and CSP, or have them running concurrently, depending on their needs and preferences.
No matter what your customer’s choice, MCA-E, CSP or a combination of both, Crayon is on our partners’ side. Always. We are here to advise you on all the changes, and ensure you have the information needed to guide customers to the best decision for their business.
Ready to get ahead and stay ahead in the ever evolving Microsoft licensing landscape? Get in touch and one of our EA to CSP Transition experts will be in touch!
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