# Your Enterprise Agreement is ending. This is how you move to CSP.

According to market sources, Microsoft generally no longer renews Enterprise Agreements for smaller organisations. Your Azure subscriptions will then need a new contract in due course: MCA-E directly with Microsoft, or CSP through a partner. With a direct EA, the move to CSP is an administrative transfer, without downtime.

Updated: 19 October 2026. Publisher: Intercept BV, the Netherlands. Page: https://azure.intercept.cloud/en/ea-ending/

## What has changed in the Enterprise Agreement?

- **No more volume tiers for online services** (1 November 2025): For online services under EA and MPSA, such as Microsoft 365 and Dynamics 365, everyone has paid the Level A price since 1 November 2025. According to most sources, Azure usage had no price levels and did not become more expensive as a result. If you kept an EA mainly for the volume discount on Microsoft 365 or Dynamics 365, that reason no longer exists. Source: [Longview Systems: Microsoft price level changes for Online Services, effective November 1, 2025](https://www.longviewsystems.com/blog/microsoft-price-level-changes-for-online-services-effective-november-1-2025/) (accessed 19 October 2026).
- **Renewal becomes the exception** (At renewal): Microsoft generally no longer renews EAs for smaller organisations and refers them to MCA-E or CSP. Market sources mention a threshold of around 2,400 users; Microsoft itself has not published a fixed threshold. Your renewal notice or your LSP will give you a definite answer. Source: [LicenseQ: Microsoft MCA-E transition, what EA customers are actually losing](https://licenseq.com/?p=22206) (accessed 19 October 2026).
- **Expired does not mean too late** (After the end date): Subscriptions in an expired EA remain transferable as long as they continue under an extended term. We still prefer to plan the switch before your end date, so you know where you stand. Source: [Microsoft Learn: Transfer Azure product billing ownership to your Microsoft Partner Agreement](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cost-management-billing/manage/mpa-request-ownership) (version 21 August 2026, accessed 19 October 2026).

## Renew the EA, MCA-E or CSP?

Renew your EA, go directly to Microsoft with MCA-E, or choose CSP through a partner. This is how they differ for your Azure usage.

|   | Renew the EA | MCA-E, directly with Microsoft | CSP via Intercept |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Availability | Only if Microsoft offers it; usually not for smaller organisations | Yes, through Microsoft's account team | Yes, at any level of usage |
| Discount on Azure usage | Only what you negotiate yourself | Only with a commitment, through negotiation | Tiered, up to 12% from €50,000 a month |
| Invoice | Microsoft, or your LSP with an indirect EA | Microsoft | Intercept BV, the Netherlands |
| Contract | Three years | Ongoing, often with a commitment | Monthly; Enterprise programme at least twelve months |
| Support | Paid support plan with Microsoft | Paid support plan with Microsoft | Included below €50,000 a month; above that, 24/7 Enterprise Support at a reduced rate |
| Switching from your EA | - | Transfer through Microsoft | Administrative migration for a direct EA, technical migration for an indirect EA, both by Intercept |
| Cost insight | Cost Management | Cost Management | Cost Management plus Intercept's customer portal |

If you have a large consumption commitment with Microsoft, MCA-E may work out cheaper. We include that in the calculation, and if so, we tell you.

## Direct or indirect EA?

This decides whether your switch becomes an administrative or a technical migration. Check who invoices your EA.

### Direct EA: invoice from Microsoft

Intercept carries out an administrative migration: only the billing moves. You will not notice a thing: no downtime, the same subscription and resource IDs, and permissions stay in place.

### Indirect EA: invoice from a licensing partner

An administrative migration is not possible with an indirect EA. Intercept handles the technical migration from start to finish: CSP subscriptions in your own tenant, your resources migrated one resource group at a time, permissions and quotas taken care of.

## We plan back from your end date

We start ninety days before your end date. That way the transfer is complete with time to spare. Enter your end date to see your own dates.

On the site, you enter the end date of your EA; the plan then counts back from that date (T-90, T-60, T-30 and the end date itself).

1. **Technical check** (T-90 days): Subscriptions, reservations, savings plans, Marketplace products and tenants. The list is usually short.
2. **Calculation and advice** (T-60 days): Based on your actual usage, with MCA-E alongside. You decide.
3. **Approval and preparation** (T-30 days): We get everything ready. You only need to accept the partner relationship and the Microsoft Customer Agreement.
4. **Transfer** (End date): Just before the transfer, we work with you to save a copy of your cost history and invoices. Your EA administrator approves the transfer, and from then on Intercept bills you.

## What do we arrange in advance?

- Cost and usage data do not move with the subscription. They are downloaded before the transfer, together with the invoices. Source: [Microsoft Learn: Transfer Azure product billing ownership to your Microsoft Partner Agreement](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cost-management-billing/manage/mpa-request-ownership) (version 21 August 2026, accessed 19 October 2026); [Microsoft Learn: Transfer Azure subscriptions between subscribers and CSPs](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cost-management-billing/manage/transfer-subscriptions-subscribers-csp) (version 17 August 2026, accessed 19 October 2026).
- CSP does not offer Dev/Test subscriptions. An EA Dev/Test subscription is first converted to a regular subscription and then falls under standard pricing; the Dev/Test discount no longer applies. Source: [Microsoft Learn: Transfer Azure product billing ownership to your Microsoft Partner Agreement](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cost-management-billing/manage/mpa-request-ownership) (version 21 August 2026, accessed 19 October 2026).
- A subscription with an active Microsoft Azure Consumption Commitment (MACC) cannot be transferred while the MACC is running. Source: [Microsoft Learn: Azure product transfer hub](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cost-management-billing/manage/subscription-transfer) (version 29 December 2025, accessed 19 October 2026).
- If the billing currency changes, monthly billed reservations and savings plans stop at the next billing period; prepaid ones remain. If a savings plan from an EA in a currency other than US dollars moves to CSP, the pricing currency changes. You then choose between automatic replacement with a one-year plan or arranging new plans through Azure support. Source: [Microsoft Learn: Azure product transfer hub](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cost-management-billing/manage/subscription-transfer) (version 29 December 2025, accessed 19 October 2026).
- An Azure support plan does not move with the subscription. After the transfer, the CSP partner is responsible for support. Source: [Microsoft Learn: Transfer Azure product billing ownership to your Microsoft Partner Agreement](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cost-management-billing/manage/mpa-request-ownership) (version 21 August 2026, accessed 19 October 2026).

[What stays and what changes](https://azure.intercept.cloud/en/what-changes/)

## Questions about your EA

### How do I know whether my EA is direct or indirect?

Check who invoices your EA. If the invoice comes directly from Microsoft, you have a direct EA. If it comes from a licensing partner (LSP), it is an indirect EA.

Source: [Microsoft Learn: Transfer Azure product billing ownership to your Microsoft Partner Agreement](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cost-management-billing/manage/mpa-request-ownership) (version 21 August 2026, accessed 19 October 2026).

### My EA does not end for another year. Can I switch now?

Often you can, because Azure subscriptions can be transferred mid-term. Whether it pays off depends on what you have already committed to, such as a prepayment, a commitment or reservations. We run the numbers and tell you if waiting is better.

### What if my EA has already expired?

Subscriptions that continue under an extended term remain transferable until they move to a new enrollment or are cancelled. Intercept can still transfer them: get in touch and we plan from today.

Source: [Microsoft Learn: Transfer Azure product billing ownership to your Microsoft Partner Agreement](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cost-management-billing/manage/mpa-request-ownership) (version 21 August 2026, accessed 19 October 2026).

### Can I still renew my EA?

Maybe. At renewal, Microsoft generally directs smaller organisations to MCA-E or CSP. Market sources mention a threshold of around 2,400 users, but Microsoft has not published a fixed threshold. Your renewal notice or your LSP will give you a definite answer.

Source: [LicenseQ: Microsoft MCA-E transition, what EA customers are actually losing](https://licenseq.com/?p=22206) (accessed 19 October 2026).

### Has my Azure become more expensive because of the EA change of 1 November 2025?

Probably not. The removal of price levels B to D applied to online services such as Microsoft 365 and Dynamics 365. According to most sources, Azure usage had no price levels. If you kept an EA mainly for the volume discount on Microsoft 365, that reason no longer exists.

Source: [Longview Systems: Microsoft price level changes for Online Services, effective November 1, 2025](https://www.longviewsystems.com/blog/microsoft-price-level-changes-for-online-services-effective-november-1-2025/) (accessed 19 October 2026); [Phoenix Software: Microsoft streamlines volume licensing pricing model](https://www.phoenixs.co.uk/resources/blog/microsoft-streamlines-volume-licensing-pricing-model/) (accessed 19 October 2026).

### Isn't MCA-E, directly with Microsoft, cheaper?

Sometimes it is. If you have a large consumption commitment with Microsoft, going direct may work out cheaper. Without a commitment, you generally pay the list price with MCA-E. We calculate both routes and tell you honestly which one is better.

**Send your EA end date, we plan back from it** Send your situation and your latest Azure invoice. Within two working days of sending your invoice, you have a calculation based on your actual usage, with the alternatives alongside. [Calculate my route](https://azure.intercept.cloud/en/?via=ea#check)