SoftwareOne case study
Acuity: Licensing optimization uncovers $1.4M in savings
Acuity, a leading global provider of process and technology-based services and solutions to government and commercial clients, had undergone multiple acquisitions that left it with a sprawling Microsoft software estate. As its Microsoft Enterprise Agreement Subscription (EAS) came up for renewal, the company turned to SoftwareOne (formerly Crayon) for its deep expertise in licensing cost optimization.
Challenges
- Acquisitions and divestitures left the company unclear on its licensing status
- Changing company footprint led to licensing uncertainty
- Needed cost optimization strategies while maintaining compliance
Project Summary
SoftwareOne conducted a full Agreement Optimization Engagement, including:
- Server Baseline
- Office 365 Rightsize
- Roadmapping
- Strategic Renewal Scenarios
Business Benefits
- 36% savings included $1.4M in potential savings opportunities over the remaining two years of its agreement:
- $1M savings came from Office 365 rightsize and optimizations
- $400K savings identified from on-premises server optimization
- Client
- Acuity International
- Industry
- Professional services
- Services
- Publisher Advisory Services
- Country
- United States
Making sense of a complex licensing estate
After multiple acquisitions and divestitures, the company had an extensive licensing estate across numerous Microsoft software deployments. It needed to stay compliant with licensure terms while making sure that its licensing truly fit its needs. As it approached its three-year EAS renewal date, the company knew there was room for optimization.
But figuring out where and what to optimize was a different story.
Acuity chose SoftwareOne to be a partner on its side of the table to help determine where, when, and what could be optimized in its EAS. Not only did the company need to rightsize its agreement, it wanted to reduce costs for the remainder of its term.
Taking a strategic optimization approach reveals 36% in cost savings
SoftwareOne EA optimization experts came alongside the company’s staff to help them explore current licensing status, actual and forecasted needs, and opportunities to maximize their Microsoft investment.
To begin, the company pulled reports on its existing usage and licensing data. SoftwareOne experts analyzed the data to gain complete visibility into the company’s existing Microsoft environment.
With a deep understanding of the current landscape, SoftwareOne experts then compared usage to Acuity’s existing licensing arrangements and meticulously sought ways to reduce costs by eliminating excess licensing, while ensuring it remained compliant with existing licensing terms.
From there, SoftwareOne experts explored potential alternative licensing options based on the company’s needs, usage, and planned roadmap. This comprehensive report included users, consumption, data generation, security, retention, third-party licenses, cloud usage, and other key factors. Lastly, SoftwareOne experts created various renewal scenarios, so Acuity could compare existing agreements with suggested optimization strategies.
Uncovering $1.45M in potential savings
During this process, SoftwareOne identified 36% in cost reductions for the upcoming EAS renewal. This included $1M in potential savings by rightsizing and optimizing Office365 and $400K in potential savings by optimizing an on-premises server during the remaining two years of the agreement.
Because of SoftwareOne’s in-depth understanding of Acuity’s licensing structure, it was able to sit on the customer's side and help it create strategies and tactics to negotiate the best rates and licensing arrangements with Microsoft.
“SoftwareOne’s Microsoft optimization and rightsizing process led us to significant savings in our upcoming renewal. We had a very positive experience working with the SoftwareOne team and truly appreciate their expertise and professionalism. They were dedicated to our success.” said a Director at Acuity.
About Acuity International
Acuity International provides process and technology-based critical services to government and commercial enterprises around the world. As global problem-solvers, Acuity implements purpose-built frameworks, repeatable processes, and enabling technology to accelerate time-to-value. Acuity International is comprised of three business practices: 1) CARE for driving a healthy and compliant workforce and providing comprehensive emergency response; 2) BUILD for providing cost engineering and construction management services and delivering munitions response/demilitarization services; 3) and SECURE for delivering mobile and static security services, and end-to-end critical facilities management.
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