Azure – Page 2 – The Microsoft CSP Program

Azure is just a data center outsourcer. Designed for both enterprise customers and service providers, it provides solutions that fit both business models. In this article, we will review four scenarios on how different solution providers and end customers can leverage CSP.

Scenario 1

An end customer has many vendors in which they purchase various technology services from. They would like to outsource their IT infrastructure to Azure but are concerned about adding another vendor to their already complex portfolio. The ultimate goal is to consolidate vendors and work with one strategic partner. How would CSP work for this customer?

The customer could purchase Azure from a Tier 1 CSP partner who has a platform to manage consumption and make recommendations based on spend. Secondly, they can use the CSP Tier 1 partner for support.

Scenario 2

A hosting provider who has a signed SPLA agreement would like to resell Azure to their end customers. The hosting partner has very limited resources internally but would like to still control the billing. How would CSP work for this customer?

The hosting provider can partner with a CSP Tier 2 partner and resell Azure to their end users. The Tier 2 partner will provide the support, while the hosting partner provides the billing leveraging the Tier 2 partners platform. Because the hosting provider is leveraging Azure, there is no need for SPLA. All Windows and SQL would be provided by Azure.

Scenario 3

A hosting provider has an application that they lease from another company. The hosting company would like to provide this application as a service to their end users leveraging Azure.

The hosting partner can buy an Azure agreement (through CSP or any other program) and use Azure as a platform to host the application. Again no need for SPLA, they are purchasing the licenses from Azure.

Thanks for reading,

CSP Man

Recently Microsoft announced that as of April 1, 2017, they will standardize all online services (OLS) durations to one year or less. In other words, they will remove multi-year agreement programs for online services in the Microsoft Product and Services Agreement (MPSA for those playing at home). This applies to all Office 365, Dynamics 365, Windows, and all other OLS currently sold on MPSA. What about Azure? That was removed as of February 1, 2017.

Why the change? I think it is to align programs. One of the primary benefits of moving to the cloud is flexibility. I think this move is good for the consumer and Microsoft. For the consumer, it provides a way to migrate to the cloud without the long-term commitment. For Microsoft, once you move to the cloud, you are almost always in the cloud. There’s a lot of talk about moving to the cloud, very little talk about moving away from the cloud. The reason? Very few migrate away. It’s like the mafia, once you think you are out, they drag you back in.

If customers want to purchase longer durations, they can still purchase it under the Enterprise Agreement (EA) or Open Value. For all others, CSP, MPSA, direct, etc. its one year. Existing customers with 2-3 year customers will not be affected according to the Microsoft Licensing Partner Guide. It also mentions that if customers with multiple year agreements add new users after April 1, those users will have the same services subscription dates. In other words, nothing will change. Once they sign a new agreement, it will align to the new one-year model unless they purchase under the aforementioned Open Value or EA.