A global firm had significantly expanded its investment in Microsoft products and services, with spend increasing multiple times over a four-year period.

However, the management of the Microsoft relationship had not kept up with the growth in the size of the relationship. Contracts were fragmented, pricing had not been negotiated holistically, and the client lacked a clear understanding of its total spend, growth trajectory, and commercial position.

As reliance on Microsoft increased, so did the risk of supplier leverage—particularly at renewal points, where pricing changes and reduced flexibility could materially impact long-term costs. The client needed a structured, strategic approach to regain control of its Microsoft relationship and ensure future growth did not come with disproportionate cost increases.

TC2 was engaged to perform a comprehensive assessment of the client’s Microsoft relationship and develop a strategy to improve both commercial outcomes and long-term flexibility.

The engagement began with building a detailed fact base, including documenting fragmented contract structures, aggregating total current Microsoft spend and analyzing growth trends, identifying operational and support-related pain points, and assessing pricing structures, discount levels, and commercial positioning.

From this foundation, TC2 developed a holistic strategy for the client’s relationship with Microsoft focused on consolidating and aligning commercial constructs across products and services, identifying opportunities to improve pricing and discount structures, establishing a negotiation framework to address both cost and flexibility, and engaging Microsoft with a structured, fact-based approach to improve overall terms.

TC2 supported the client in executing the strategy and negotiating improved commercial arrangements that aligned long-term usage growth and operational needs.