The main advantage of the subscription over EA is the ability to reduce your order or “float down” during the annual true-up. The ability to add or subtract subscriptions to match their staff level may be particularly attractive to companies that expect significant fluctuations in headcount over the life of the agreement. In contrast, an EA company is tied to its initial order quantities, with the only option being to increase its order during the next true up period. In a three-year contract, the number of qualified offices and users can be adjusted to each anniversary of the contract. This allows for greater flexibility to meet changing requirements. The rights of use are limited and expire at the expiry of the contract. The EDOS program is ideal for large enterprises and government organizations with more than 5,000 users. An EA allows customers to subscribe to Microsoft online services such as Microsoft Exchange Online, SharePoint Online, and Lync Online. The services do not have to be licensed throughout the company, but can be reserved in addition for each user. The licensed customer is either the Standard Edition or the Enterprise Edition of each service.
The duration of EDOS is three years and is linked to an EA. Changes in the current business climate, combined with Microsoft`s mission to relocate businesses to the cloud, are changing the way it does business with its largest customers. Companies considering renewing their corporate agreements or acquiring vendor offerings for the first time can use the strengths driving Microsoft`s behavior at the bargaining table. There are more and more licensing and subscription optimization challenges that need to be addressed in transactions with Microsoft, as well as new costs, flexibility, and licensing/subscription opportunities that you can take advantage of. As Microsoft continues its metamorphosis and business budget and usage requirements change rapidly, customers should prepare for a more demanding purchasing and supplier management environment. When signing the contract, the customer must define and communicate the number of desktop computers or qualified users and the desired Microsoft Enterprise or Enterprise Online Services products. This information is the first purchase. Each anniversary is due to a Collection Order (True Up Order) for additional desktop computers or qualified users, on the basis of which the total cost of the previous year is calculated.
Under a traditional on-premise-Microsoft enterprise agreement, the customer is allowed to license enterprise products individually or as a standard platform. However, at least one enterprise product must be standardized company-wide. There are a large number of possibilities for licensing and/or subscribing to Microsoft products. The provider or account representative of a given company may not be aware of all the available options….
