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Choosing Between CSP and EA

CSP and EA both offer Microsoft services and licenses, but have key differences. An EA requires a 3-year commitment with a minimum of 250 licenses purchased upfront and $12K annual Azure commitment. CSP has no long-term commitment and allows cancelling anytime on a pay-as-you-go basis with monthly/quarterly invoicing. While an EA offers discounts, a CSP partner factors support costs into pricing. Depending on a company's needs around commitment length and billing/support preferences, one option may be better than the other.

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Mohit Sharma
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235 views1 page

Choosing Between CSP and EA

CSP and EA both offer Microsoft services and licenses, but have key differences. An EA requires a 3-year commitment with a minimum of 250 licenses purchased upfront and $12K annual Azure commitment. CSP has no long-term commitment and allows cancelling anytime on a pay-as-you-go basis with monthly/quarterly invoicing. While an EA offers discounts, a CSP partner factors support costs into pricing. Depending on a company's needs around commitment length and billing/support preferences, one option may be better than the other.

Uploaded by

Mohit Sharma
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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CSP VS.

EA
For many years, the best choice for larger organizations was signing up for an Enterprise Agreement (EA)
through an LSP of Microsoft. However, now there is a new option called Cloud Service Provider (CSP), a
contract you can purchase from a certified Microsoft partner.

Both offer similar services and offerings. Depending on your size and nature of business, below table
highlights the difference amongst several key areas to decide what’s the right choice for any
organization -

CSP VS EA
Cloud Service Provider (CSP) Enterprise Agreement (EA)
No commitment, option to cancel 3 Year Agreement with minimum count of
Commitment
anytime, pay as you go 250 Enterprise User licenses and in case of
Azure upfront commitment of 12 K USD
Annual upfront, new additions as a part of
Invoicing Monthly/Quarterly
True Up
Increase in User
Anytime Anytime
Counts/Azure
services
Decrease in User Decrease not possible below Basic
Anytime
Counts/Azure Enterprise Count
services
Support 24X7 - Provided by the CSP Reseller & 24X7 - Provided by Microsoft
Microsoft
Detailed Billing Yes No
Products All subscription licenses and Azure All products from Microsoft except O365
Available services Business Plans
Up to CSP Partner - As the provider Decided by Microsoft based on
has to factor the billing and negotiations. In case of Azure EA, it
Discounting
technical support from their carries no discounting as the pricing for
margins levels A, B, C and D are the same

An EA is a three-year agreement and requires a minimum of 250 licenses to be purchased at the same
time and for Azure an upfront commitment of 12K every year. The most frequently purchased licensing
options are Office 365 plans - any combination of the E1, E3, and E5 licenses and Azure services.
Customers pay upfront for the entire year at one time, any user licenses added during the year would be
paid on the next anniversary. Quantities on the EA can go up during the year but cannot go below the
Basic Enterprise Commitment. If the company divested a division in the first month after their anniversary,
they may have to pay for licenses for 11 months that are unused. CSP licensing is based on a month-to-
month or quarter to quarter commitment for the ease of invoicing, which can be attractive for businesses
in volatile markets with inevitable ebbs and flows or businesses that have seasonality. It is also beneficial
for organizations to use services under CSP as it is offered on pay as you go basis.

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