Microsoft recently announced the removal of discounts for Enterprise Agreement (EA) customers. For many businesses, that change will land at the exact moment they’re reviewing renewal options, re-forecasting spends and questioning whether their current licensing model still delivers value.
For Infinigate Cloud Partners, it creates something equally important: a genuine commercial opening to position Cloud Solution Provider (CSP) as a compelling alternative and win customers who may previously have been “locked in” to EA on price.
This is a moment where the right conversation, at the right time, can translate into rapid Microsoft growth.
Why this matters: EA renewals are about to get noisier
EA customers and their procurement teams are highly sensitive to price shifts, especially where they feel long-standing discounts were part of the deal. The removal of discounts changes the renewal dynamic, and it often triggers three common outcomes:
First, customers become more open to exploring alternatives (even if they’ve historically renewed by default). Second, they want clearer commercial options and more flexible terms. Third, they expect their partner to guide them through the change with confidence, not confusion.
That is exactly where partners can win. If you can bring structure, clarity, and a strong CSP proposal to the table, you can turn uncertainty into a decisive move.
CSP is positioned to win – when it’s packaged correctly
CSP isn’t new, but the market conditions are shifting. With EA discounts removed, partners can now create more competitive and more persuasive CSP offers for customers evaluating their next step.
CSP also enables the commercial agility many customers want right now, including the ability to align spend more closely to actual usage, adapt licensing as needs change, and work with a partner who can wrap licensing into a broader managed service or security outcome.
For partners, that means more than “a licensing conversion.” It’s an opportunity to strengthen customer relationships, increase stickiness, and build a recurring Microsoft revenue engine.
The challenge: EA-to-CSP conversions can be complex and time-sensitive
The opportunity is real, but so is the complexity.
EA estates often include a mix of products, entitlements, add-ons, and renewal constraints that can be difficult to untangle quickly. Customers may have internal stakeholders across IT, finance, procurement, and security. Timelines can be tight, and if you miss the renewal window, you may lose momentum.
This is why the partners who move fastest, with the right licensing expertise and a clear conversion plan, are the ones most likely to win.
How Infinigate Cloud helps: deep licensing expertise + SCOUT platform capability
At Infinigate Cloud, we exist to help partners grow their Microsoft business with confidence. When the market changes, we help you translate that change into practical, winnable plays, supported by specialist knowledge and proven tools.
To support partners specifically with EA-to-CSP conversions, we combine:
Deep licensing expertise
Our team can help you interpret the customer’s EA position, clarify what’s changing, identify the commercial levers available, and build a CSP path that makes sense in real-world terms.
SCOUT platform capabilities
SCOUT is designed to help bring structure to cloud opportunity management, from discovery through to conversion. It supports partners with the visibility and workflow needed to manage opportunities efficiently and keep stakeholders aligned, especially when multiple customer accounts are moving through renewal cycles at once.
Together, these capabilities help you reduce risk, speed up the sales motion, and present a CSP offer that stands up to scrutiny.
Introducing: EA-to-CSP Virtual Sales Team as a Service
To make it even easier to act, Infinigate Cloud is offering EA-to-CSP Virtual Sales Team as a Service to all existing partners.
This service is built to help you execute EA-to-CSP conversions without needing to scale specialist licensing or sales resource overnight. We work alongside you to qualify, shape, and progress opportunities, so you can focus on customer relationships and closing business, while we support the licensing and operational lift.
If you have customers with EAs approaching expiry, this is the time to prioritise them. The earlier you engage, the more control you have over the narrative, and the more likely you are to win the commercial conversation.
Next step: book time with our Microsoft team
If you want to understand what the EA discount removal means for your accounts, and how to turn upcoming renewals into CSP wins, book a meeting with our Microsoft team or email microsoft@infinigate.cloud