Building a smarter Microsoft strategy through deep analysis and data-driven guidance

A complex Microsoft Enterprise Agreement renewal became a strategic transformation thanks to SHI’s deep analysis and long-term optimization guidance.

Challenge:

A major U.S. insurance provider — one of the nation’s oldest property and casualty carriers — was approaching renewal of its Microsoft Enterprise Agreement (EA). With hundreds of applications, a growing Azure footprint, and multiple business units with distinct technology needs, the customer needed to align their licensing strategy with both current usage and future plans. Historically, the company had relied on outside advisory firms for renewal benchmarking, but these engagements only provided surface-level comparisons without true insight into optimization opportunities. Facing the complexity of a multimillion-dollar renewal, the customer wanted deeper visibility, stronger internal alignment, and the ability to justify their Microsoft investment with data-driven precision.

Solution:

SHI’s Microsoft Software Optimization Services (MSOS) team partnered with the customer over the course of a year to deliver a comprehensive licensing and optimization engagement. Led by Senior Consultant Christopher Linnell, the MSOS team conducted in-depth workshops with multiple departments across IT, security, operations, and the executive steering committee. Using SHI’s proprietary Cloud Matrix—an analysis framework covering more than 100 Microsoft technologies — they mapped the customer’s current usage, future plans, and overlapping third-party tools to build a holistic three-year roadmap.

The result was a finely tuned business case that demonstrated exactly where savings could be achieved and where Microsoft technologies could replace redundant spend. SHI also helped secure significant Microsoft funding through ECIF (End Customer Investment Funds) to support cloud migration, Copilot readiness, and Microsoft Defender for Endpoint implementations. Throughout the process, SHI acted not only as a negotiator but as a strategic advisor, building internal consensus among the customer’s C-suite and enabling smarter, longer-term investment decisions.

Outcome:

The engagement delivered measurable financial and strategic impact. SHI helped the customer save $875,000 on their EA and $650,000 on Azure costs, totaling over $1.5 million in savings. They also secured $500,000 in ECIF funding and generated eight new Statements of Work (SOWs) to accelerate cloud adoption and security modernization. The project became one of the customer’s most successful vendor-led initiatives, earning recognition from their executive leadership, who described SHI’s MSOS as “the Ferrari of services.”

Beyond the numbers, the customer gained a clearer picture of its technology environment, consolidated multiple teams around a unified roadmap, and strengthened its long-term Microsoft strategy. As a result, SHI has become the customer’s trusted advisor for future cloud and licensing initiatives, proving that optimization isn’t just about savings, but about enabling smarter growth.