What is the Microsoft CSP program? Hint: It’s an alternative to a Microsoft EA

What is the Microsoft Cloud Solution Provider program?

In 2015, Microsoft introduced its Cloud Solution Provider Program, a licensing agreement that allows Microsoft partners to sell Microsoft products bundled with their own products to their clients. Products and services available from CSP include public cloud subscriptions such as Office 365, Enterprise Mobility Suite (EMS), Azure and Dynamics CRM Online, and some on-premises license-only products.

While it is a cloud agreement, if you have on-premises licenses, your Microsoft CSP partner can assist you in transitioning those to the cloud.

Small to mid-size companies with fewer than 2,400 employees tend to reap the most significant benefit from a Microsoft CSP. The CSP’s flexibility provides a scalability solution for organizations to adapt their business over time, making it increasingly popular.

What are the benefits of a Microsoft CSP?

CSP offers businesses many advantages, including:

No minimum user or seat requirements

This makes it ideal for small businesses that don’t want to buy more licenses than they need. What’s more, CSP provides organizations with different commitment levels to increase or decrease the number of users as needed. That means if there’s a large, short-term project that requires additional licenses, CSP can accommodate that

No lengthy contract commitments

No required long-term commitments allow companies the flexibility they need as they scale. Organizations have the option to choose monthly or annual commitments to scale as needed

Flexible payment options

CSP makes licensing affordable and is optimal for meeting a company’s budget because there are monthly or annual payment terms to meet client needs.

Greater engagement and support with a Microsoft partner

A Microsoft Partner, like SoftwareOne, supplies billing and 24/7 technical support directly to the subscribing organization. This allows for more attentive engagement and faster response times if there are technical or billing issues.

Discounts

There are incentive programs to discount Azure which are determined by an enterprise’s monthly consumption. The CSP program benefits allow organizations to reduce licensing costs while optimizing their infrastructure.

Pricing structure

With Microsoft EAs, partners are limited to offer discounts. SoftwareOne fully relies on Microsoft to dictate pricing. Standardized pricing levels are set on EA, but partners don’t have any enablement outside of that. On CSP, SoftwareOne dictates the price that best benefits the customer.

What’s the difference between a direct or indirect CSP?

Microsoft offers two different partner models, direct and indirect CSP. A direct CSP partner purchases products directly from Microsoft, which they then resell to their clients. Direct partners will provide their clients with billing, provisioning, and support services.

There are two types of indirect CSP partners, an indirect provider, and an indirect reseller. The indirect provider works with Microsoft on behalf of the reseller, who sells Microsoft products and services to their customers. Businesses that opt for the indirect CSP model receive billing and provisioning infrastructure from the indirect provider. The indirect provider also delivers technical support to the resellers.

How does a Microsoft CSP differ from a Microsoft Enterprise Agreement (EA)?

A Microsoft Enterprise Agreement (EA) is an alternative to a Microsoft CSP. Examining the differences is essential when deciding which is best for your organization.

A Microsoft EA is a comprehensive software licensing and cloud services agreement:

• Delivers the most value to companies with 500 or more users or devices
• A direct three-year agreement between the customer and Microsoft facilitated by a Microsoft partner
• Allows for an annual “true-up” for businesses to add new licenses or remove underutilized ones
• Offers value with optimal pricing, discounts, 24/7 tech support, planning services, and technical training
• Gives a company access to the latest versions of on-premises and cloud software
• Predictable, scheduled payments and assistance from a partner

Alternatively, a Microsoft CSP:

• Is a better value for small to medium-sized businesses with fewer than 3000 employees
• Is a scalable solution that empowers a company to adapt over time
• Does not require a minimum number of users
• Offers flexibility with different billing options
• Gives organizations the option to pick commitment terms, so they’re only paying for what they’re using
• Offers billing and 24/7 technical support from a Microsoft Partner

What are the disadvantages of Microsoft CSP?

When deciding between a Microsoft EA or a Microsoft CSP for your organization, it’s important to consider some of CSP’s disadvantages:

No Software Assurance (SA) Maintenance Program available

Because the software in the CSP program is licensed only, CSP customers cannot opt to utilize the SA Maintenance Program.

MPSA contracts are normally paired with CSP to meet any SA needs.

No “From SA” pricing

SA offers EA customers a programmatic discount of 10-20% if the organization already owns related licenses covered by SA. These discounts are not extended to CSP customers.

Desktop virtualization rights are different for CSP customers

SA customers are not charged an additional fee to access their Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) desktops if they use PCs covered under SA. And while Microsoft is eliminating the Virtual Desktop Application (VDA) add-on licensing requirement to access hosted Windows 10 or Windows 11 OS, it is limited to users of Microsoft 365 F3, Microsoft 365 E3, and Microsoft 365 E5 users who don’t have a primary Windows Pro device.