Enterprise Software Advisors

New opportunities for Microsoft partners to enhance revenues

Effective August 1st 2007, Microsoft Enterprise Software Advisors will need to demonstrate the delivery of Software Asset Management (SAM) services to customers in order to earn their full fees.

Under the terms of the new Enterprise Service Agreement 2.1, Microsoft partners must provide one of the following services:

Software License Reconciliation
Performance of a License Reconciliation Analysis of Microsoft licensed software for the customer

ISO 19770-1 Gap Analysis
Performance of a Software Asset Management Assessment (CSA) based on ISO 19770-1 of customer processes

Turning a burden into an advantage

While at first glance, the delivery of these additional services may appear to create an unwanted overhead on Microsoft partners, it is important to realize that not only can SAM services be introduced extremely quickly and cost effectively - but that they can also open up completely new lines of revenue:

Earn more ESA fees:

  • Ensure true-ups are accurate, justifying the need for more licenses
  • Attract new customers through delivering better SAM services

Create new revenue streams:

  • Deliver multi-vendor SAM projects and consultancy
  • Create ongoing managed services for SAM and ITAM

Partnering with Centennial Software

With its market-leading software and IT asset discovery solutions, Centennial Software is already the backbone of many LARs' SAM services:

Centennial Discovery is the recognized leading IT asset audit and discovery solution designed to enable IT governance and help multiple IT stakeholders within an organization more effectively plan, manage and report on various IT requirements.

Centennial Discovery.MSP is based on Centennial’s award-winning IT audit and discovery solution, and provides a simple way for Managed Service Providers (MSPs) to deliver web-based visibility of the entire IT infrastructure across multiple customers.

Centennial License Manager will be released in late summer 2007, and will enable customers and service providers to complete the SAM circle by quickly capturing and automatically reconciling software usage against entitlement.

Download Centennial's white paper on ESA 2.1 and the opportunity for Microsoft partners.

Call Centennial today to find out more about partnership benefits.

Centennial Partnerships