Microsoft Server & Cloud Enrollment “SCE” Planning Considerations
The Server and Cloud Enrollment (SCE) is a volume licensing program that many organizations use to license specific Microsoft server and tools products across the organisation. By committing to an organization-wide agreement, customers can obtain an enhanced programmatic discount. However, this benefit can be diminished if there has been a recent investment in specific licenses via other volume licensing programs, potentially leading to shelfware and lost cost savings. It’s important to note that the organization-wide commitment does not apply to all products, allowing for the inclusion of specific products as needed. Similar to an Enterprise Agreement (EA), SCE customers must sign a three-year agreement that includes an annual true-up/true-down process, which must be effectively managed to mitigate license compliance risks and enable proactive cost optimisation.
In this blog, I share some key considerations when planning for the renewal of a Server and Cloud Enrollment (SCE):
1. Start Early: Depending on the size of your estate, you should start thinking about your renewal well in advance of its renewal date (6–12 months). Begin by documenting what success would look like for your situation. What are the imperatives that you must achieve? What are your technology plans for the next 3 years and how will this impact your SCE? Are you aware of or suspect any compliance concerns in your estate that should be resolved before the negotiation or any waste/redundancy that can be addressed?
2. Internal Stakeholders: Building a team for this activity is crucial. Do not attempt to do this on your own. Select your team from stakeholders across the business; finance, commercial, procurement, and any specific technology areas to effectively contribute to this exercise. If this is not achievable or you feel that outside expertise would be beneficial, then contacting experts such as Version 1 would be prudent.
3. Research: Spend time reading online resources, attending webinars, and talking to your industry peers to arm yourself with knowledge. Your renewal is an opportunity to reduce the cost of your on-premise and cloud software licensing. If you engage early enough with Microsoft, there are opportunities to create savings. Taking the time to resolve or manage any known noncompliance will improve your commercial position prior to renewal negotiations. Understand whether your technology plans moving forward would benefit from a change in your Microsoft contractual arrangements. Is an SCE the best way forward? Your SCE renewal could be the perfect time to consider the CSP license model.
Common SCE Renewal Negotiation Mistakes Failing to plan is planning to fail, and in the event of your SCE true-up or renewal, this is absolutely true. There can be a great deal commercially and technically to gain from thorough planning, therefore, improving your SCE. This is particularly important where organisations have migrated at scale to Azure or other cloud providers, which can significantly impact both the number and type of server-side licenses they hold.
As Microsoft license experts, we can help you demystify these and any other product changes and clarify what this could mean for your license position. If you have any questions relating to this or any other Microsoft licensing matter, please go to our website or contact us.
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Learn more about Microsoft License Optimisation & Management at Version 1.
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About the Author:
Karl is a Principal Licensing Consultant at Version 1, providing global Microsoft license expertise to organisations and ensuring customers get the best value from their Microsoft assets.
