Microsoft EA True-Ups

Negotiate a better deal with SAM Suite

Having the right audit and licensing information at hand means you don’t have to fear annual Microsoft true-ups.

One of the key advantages of volume licensing schemes like the Microsoft Enterprise Agreement (EA) is the flexibility it allows in terms of software usage across the organization.

However, as part of each three-year agreement, you are obligated to perform a true-up – not a software audit in the traditional sense, but a report submitted to Microsoft by the customer on the size of their client estate. This report is then used to calculate the cost of the EA for the following 12 months.

Under an Enterprise Agreement a customer is licensed for all client devices (PCs, laptops, MACs) to run core business applications such as Microsoft Office Professional. Every client device across the network has to be covered under the agreement.

Many organizations struggle through the true-up process generally because they do not have the correct tool and processes in place to submit this report in a timely manner. They end up providing an inaccurate report which could leave them in a situation of non-compliance.

When to act?

It’s never too early to perform an audit of the software on the network or record your licenses centrally. But as a minimum, Microsoft advises:

  • Sixty Day before true-up – Review the number of PCs, servers and Macs in the organization, which will define what you need to license for the next 12 months at the true-up anniversary
  • Thirty Days before true-up – work with your Microsoft reseller to finalize your desktop estate that will be licensed for the enterprise platform products plus any additional products you may be buying under your EA.

Why Enterprise Agreements change

Microsoft EAs allow flexibility to add devices and install software covered under the agreement without buying a license at the exact time of install. Instead, you address the expansion of your desktop device count at the true up anniversary. As such, things that can affect your EA include:

  • Growth in the total number of PCs on the network
  • Acquisitions or mergers with another organization that the customer wants to bring into the EA
  • Investments in new data center or server equipment outside the EA Enterprise Desktop platform
  • Roll-out of new desktop or server applications that will be licensed under the EA

Even if you are confident that your organization has not expanded you will need submit a ‘zero-usage’ true-up order to your reseller.

For many organizations, pulling together an audit of their hardware and software installations in 30 days would be next to impossible, let alone then reconciling this against license entitlements covered by the EA. But with FrontRange SAM Suite, putting yourself in the driving seat for Microsoft EA true-ups has never been easier.

FrontRange SAM Suite

FrontRange SAM Suite comprises three components that combine to take the pain out of Microsoft EA true-ups:

  • Licensing Management processes and planning – SAM Essentials helps outline the key requirements of any license management or SAM engagement, providing pre-documented workflows and templates that can be quickly adapted to your organization’s needs.
  • Software discovery and audit – Centennial Discovery is the most comprehensive network audit solution available and will quickly find and accurately identify all Microsoft (and other vendors’) software installed across your IT estate.
  • License reconciliation – Centennial License Manager will soon be able to import a Microsoft License Statement, available from the Microsoft Volume Licensing Services (MVLS) website, for example. This can then be automatically reconciled against the software audit from your network – creating a rapid and easy way to determine your annual true-up needs.

By combining processes, technology and automated integrations, FrontRange SAM Suite provides a highly-effective way of managing not only your annual Microsoft true-up, but all license management negotiations with vendors and other third parties.

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