5 Microsoft CSP benefits for customers
In a recent article we responded to the query “What is a Microsoft CSP?” Having answered that question, we wanted to follow on with “What are the Microsoft CSP benefits for customers?”
Firstly we should say that the Microsoft CSP benefits are most relevant for small to medium-sized businesses. This is because CSPs provide the support that larger businesses usually manage in-house. However, large enterprises with limited IT resources or small Microsoft licence volumes can also benefit from CSP.
Okay, so what are the Microsoft CSP advantages? For simplicity, we’ve broken them down into five areas:
- licence costs
- range of products
- time and effort
- licence flexibility
- support and services
1. Microsoft CSP pricing
One of the most important Microsoft CSP benefits for customers is reduced pricing. With CSP, you get the Microsoft product plus the partner’s services for the same price as going direct to Microsoft.
So if you need a support partner (as most SMEs do), then the Microsoft CSP discount gives you more for less.
Another way a CSP can reduce costs is by monitoring and optimising your licence usage. Microsoft cloud licences are billed monthly, meaning a CSP can regularly identify overspend and adjust your usage accordingly.
Overall, the Microsoft CSP pricing model allows businesses greater financial agility. That puts your business in the driving seat and encourages cloud innovation.
2. Full range of Microsoft products
With the growing popularity of Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), Microsoft wants to provide a full range of products in the cloud. This allows businesses to build end-to-end business solutions without the need for costly and complex on-premise infrastructure.
The key Microsoft product suites you can purchase through a CSP include:
Microsoft Azure
The Azure suite comprises over 600 products, falling into categories such as computing, networking, storage, integration, databases, AI, and security. Azure’s low-code services help developers build any number of business solutions quickly and cost-effectively.
Microsoft 365
Formerly called Office 365, a Microsoft 365 subscription includes all the well-known Microsoft productivity solutions. These include Teams, Outlook, Exchange, OneDrive, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, as well as security and access features.
Enterprise Mobility + Security (EMS)
The EMS suite includes services such as Azure Active Directory, Endpoint Configuration Manager, Intune, and Advanced Threat Analytics. Together, these services provide a highly flexible mix of protection, detection, and response features for a mobile workforce.
Microsoft Dynamics 365
Dynamics 365 is a suite of business applications for sales, marketing, service, finance, operations, commerce, and HR. These modular, pre-built applications integrate easily into the Microsoft applications you already use.
Overall, acquiring all these business solutions through your CSP is one of the major Microsoft CSP benefits for customers.
3. Easy to manage
The CSP program is designed to be a customer-centric, low-friction purchase experience. Microsoft has invested in making the following touchpoints quick and easy:
- onboarding with a CSP partner
- scaling cloud usage up or down
- buying and billing processes
When you decide to buy from a CSP, the process works like this:
- we provide the Microsoft Customer Agreement (MCA) for you to sign
- we place the customer’s order for the Microsoft products
- we perform the billing (licence-based, usage-based, or one-time)
It’s that simple. And because CSP billing combines your licensing, services, and support, you just have to deal with one bill per month. It’s like a phone bill, but for Microsoft services.
But what if you want to change your CSP usage or leave the CSP program?
There’s no upfront payment, so you can adjust your usage whenever or leave at the end of the month. In today’s fast-paced market, this is one of the most important Microsoft CSP advantages.
4. Be agile and flexible
As noted above, the CSP program’s monthly billing provides a lot of flexibility. If your business has seasonal demand or rapid growth, no stress — you just let your CSP partner know. Then when demand drops, you can scale right down again. And you only pay for what you use, when you use it.
One of the more recent Microsoft CSP advantages is support for perpetual cloud licensing. So now you can purchase software on a pay-as-you-go basis or buy it outright.
Plus, being cloud-based means you adopt the latest Microsoft updates and innovations with no delay. If done right, this cutting-edge tech will put you miles ahead of the competition.
5. Microsoft expertise on tap
While Microsoft cloud solutions are highly reliable, most businesses need support to ensure they’re properly configured, customised, and integrated. Your CSP acts as a dedicated support partner to keep your Microsoft software working exactly as required.
A good CSP will have a team of Microsoft support professionals with well-documented standards such as Service Level Agreements (SLA). As a Microsoft CSP, Influential has an ITIL-compliant helpdesk that resolves customer tickets in accordance with agreed timelines, for example.
This brings us to the question of how to find a CSP partner. Each partner has its own skill set and specialisms within and beyond the Microsoft domain. As a rule, you want to choose a partner whose skills and experience will benefit you in all eventualities. Having the ability to tailor your Microsoft solutions whenever required is one of the key Microsoft CSP benefits for customers.
As a Microsoft Gold Partner and CSP, Influential has worked hard to develop this end-to-end Microsoft expertise. Our Gold status demonstrates the highest competency with Microsoft cloud, besides our competencies in application development, security, databases, and integration.
Our consultancy wing specialises in Microsoft Azure services, SharePoint consultancy, and Power BI solutions. And once your solutions are in place, we’ll give your staff the skills to succeed with official Microsoft certification training. These specialisms help us provide the maximum Microsoft CSP benefits for customers of all sizes and industries.
To get an idea of what we can achieve, see some of our recent Microsoft projects:
