From November 1st, business customers accustomed to a volume discount for products like Defender, MS365, Azure and Dynamics 365 will be charged Level A pricing – the standard public price list. What does that mean in real money? If your business was on any Enterprise Agreement (EA) pricing tiers between B and D, then your Microsoft bill is about to go up – by nearly 13% if you’re in B and D, for example.
There’s more.
Businesses facing EA renewals over the next two years are being steered towards Cloud Solution Providers (CSPs) and Microsoft Customer Agreements (MCA) - and are looking at higher fees as well as a three-year lock-in.
Not everyone needs the full suite of capabilities that one of these agreements offers. A full E5 license offers a suite of capabilities that, taken individually, are enormously capable. But few organizations need every single one. Collectively, they’re a lot for a smaller organization, and then lower tier licenses available leave some significant capability gaps, especially in terms of security.
Let’s not forget the Microsoft Partners that many businesses work with – the integrators who translate big tech to usable tools for the vast majority of Microsoft’s business users. As of October 1st, things will get more complicated for them, too. Recent updates to Microsoft’s Cloud Service Provider (CSP) program raise the bar for partner qualifications, require a three-year contract commitment, and reduce margins. Not only that, but it’s now open season for partners to poach customers from one another.
When a supplier decides to raise prices and rework agreements, any customer or partner should re-evaluate the business relationship and look at potential alternatives available on the general market. Despite its size and heritage, Microsoft is no different from other suppliers.
Most organizations benefit from the basics of what Microsoft offers, but there’s a lot of potential to optimize and take the best of breed approach with some powerful and flexible alternatives to the Microsoft options.
Frustrated and considering alternatives?
Recent changes at Microsoft appear to be a strategy aimed at encouraging consolidation, AI and cloud adoption across its portfolio. It’s difficult to avoid this if you’ve paid one price for a bundle of multiple apps and services, even if they looked attractively priced when you first signed on the line with Microsoft.
The good news is that there are plenty of alternatives to Microsoft products and services that are flexible, powerful, lead their category, and don’t come with unpleasant price rises across the board. Because alternative suppliers aren’t trying to get customers to buy everything from cloud to office productivity in a single bundle, you get to choose what you use and ditch the stuff that doesn’t work or add value to your business. We are one of many sector-leading vendors that can and do offer alternatives to all-encompassing and expensive Microsoft licenses that include everything apart from the kitchen sink and a means to avoid low-value bundling.
When our partners win, their customers win, too
ESET is partner-first. That means that we win when our partners win. We do this because business customers get the best possible support from an organization that understands what their unique requirements are.
With ESET, our partners have access to next-gen cybersecurity, transparent pricing, incumbency protection and flexible deployment without complexity or cost creep. Their customers benefit from having more choice, more opportunity to benefit from their partners’ expertise and insight and, of course, the opportunity to avoid the creeping renewal rates that are often a feature of bundling activity of this nature.
Excellent security shouldn’t be a bundled extra
ESET is security-first, not a productivity suite ingredient. For over 30 years, ESET has helped governments, channel companies and businesses stay protected from the world’s most advanced cybersecurity threats by combining the power of AI and human expertise.
Today, we offer one of the most sophisticated cybersecurity arsenals on the market – including cloud-based XDR, MDR and EDR solutions that meet businesses’ and channel partners’ complex and evolving needs. This includes threat intelligence, next-gen vulnerability & patch management, endpoint encryption, antivirus, firewall, multifactor, awareness training, mail security solutions. This multilayered approach to security includes real time intelligence that comes from hundreds of researchers in 11 R&D centers around the globe. This sets our solution apart from others in a highly competitive market.
Technical excellence
ESET consistently scores higher in malware detection, performance impact, and customer satisfaction over Microsoft. Thanks to a lightweight footprint and flexible deployment, we can deliver from the cloud, just as you’ve come to expect from Microsoft solutions. Thanks to our partners’ experience, you get world-class cybersecurity offerings that protect against tomorrow’s threats.
And ESET’s partner program is organized to ensure our partners get the personalized sales, technical and marketing support needed to expand their businesses in 2026 and beyond. That translates into partners that make a huge difference to their customers.
Transparent pricing & Full feature protection
At ESET, we continue investing in new programs to ensure our partners have rich margins, incumbency protection and products backed by 35 years of innovation, reliability, global research and best-in-class, local customer support.
Regardless of when your contract is up for renewal, it’s important to keep your security strong and your budget intact. ESET is a cost-conscious alternative that enables customer choice without vendor lock-in. And ESET’s partner program delivers a predictable, transparent, and simple pricing model for best-of-breed security solutions that are feature-rich without hidden fees.
See our competitive comparison page for more information.
