Why Your Managed Service Provider Should Also Be a Cloud Solution Provider
As businesses increasingly migrate to the cloud, working with the right Managed Service Provider (MSP) can make a substantial difference—not just in IT support but also in cost savings, flexibility, and strategic advantage. If you're working with an MSP in London, you may not realise that your provider can also act as a Cloud Solution Provider (CSP)—reselling Microsoft and other cloud-based subscriptions, often at better rates than buying directly.
But not all MSPs are created equal. In this article, we explore what it means for an MSP to be a CSP, the types of licences available, and what you need to know about Microsoft's New Commerce Experience (NCE). We'll also look at how licence discounts work—and why some Managed Service Providers pass those savings on to clients, while others quietly pocket the margin.
A Cloud Solution Provider is an IT partner authorised by Microsoft (and other vendors) to sell cloud services and licences directly to businesses. This includes everything from Microsoft 365 and Azure to more specialised services like Power Platform, Dynamics 365, and Intune.
When your MSP in London is also a CSP, they can manage the entire lifecycle of your cloud subscriptions, from billing and provisioning to support and renewal. This approach provides businesses with one point of contact for both day-to-day IT needs and cloud licensing—reducing administrative overhead and improving accountability.
Purchasing your licences through a CSP linked to your Managed Service Provider offers several practical advantages: Simplified Billing: One consolidated monthly invoice for all cloud services.
One consolidated monthly invoice for all cloud services. Direct Support: The same trusted team supporting your network also manages your cloud licences.
The same trusted team supporting your network also manages your cloud licences. Flexibility: Easier to scale licences up or down as business needs change.
Easier to scale licences up or down as business needs change. Cost Efficiency: Potential access to better pricing and discounts than buying directly from Microsoft.
At Proxar IT Consulting, we've found that combining cloud licensing and IT support creates a more efficient, integrated experience for our clients—particularly in regulated or high-demand sectors.
When working with a CSP, businesses gain access to a broad catalogue of licences tailored to different roles and industries. These typically include: Business Basic / Standard / Premium
Enterprise plans (E1, E3, E5)
F1/F3 for frontline workers Pay-as-you-go infrastructure and services
Reserved Instances for longer-term savings Microsoft Defender for Endpoint / Cloud
Microsoft Purview for governance Sales, Customer Service, Marketing, etc. Microsoft Teams Rooms licences
Power BI Pro & Premium
Visio, Project, and other productivity add-ons
Many MSPs also offer bundled packages tailored to industry sectors, combining support services with licensing in a single monthly cost.
Microsoft's New Commerce Experience (NCE) has changed the way cloud subscriptions are purchased and managed. Launched to simplify and standardise commercial licensing, NCE offers three key subscription terms: Monthly Commitment: Higher flexibility, higher cost
Higher flexibility, higher cost Annual Commitment: Lower pricing, but fixed for a year
Lower pricing, but fixed for a year 36-Month Commitment: Longest-term savings, ideal for stable teams
Under NCE, businesses need to commit more deliberately to licence volumes and terms. While it introduces some rigidity, it also encourages better forecasting and budgeting.
When working with an MSP who understands NC, businesses receive clear guidance on choosing the right term and avoiding unnecessary over-provisioning.
Cloud licence pricing from Microsoft is subject to a partner discount structure. While MSPs typically receive anything upto 15% off the Recommended Retail Price (RRP), what they pass on to clients varies.
Some MSPs absorb the discount as profit, charging clients full RRP without transparency. Others, however, pass the savings on—either in full or in part—helping their clients keep operational costs down.
Not all providers offer the same level of service or ethics when it comes to cloud licensing. When choosing a Managed Service Provider in London, look for: Authorised CSP Status
Ensure the provider is certified by Microsoft as a direct or indirect CSP.
Ensure the provider is certified by Microsoft as a direct or indirect CSP. Transparent Pricing
Ask for a breakdown of licence costs and what discounts (if any) are being passed on.
Ask for a breakdown of licence costs and what discounts (if any) are being passed on. Expert NCE Knowledge
Navigating NCE can be complex. Your provider should offer advice tailored to your business model.
Navigating NCE can be complex. Your provider should offer advice tailored to your business model. Integrated Support
Licensing should be part of a holistic IT strategy, not an isolated service.
Licensing should be part of a holistic IT strategy, not an isolated service. Scalability
As your business grows, your IT partner should help scale licensing efficiently.
TIME BUSINESS NEWS
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Tom's Guide
an hour ago
- Tom's Guide
Windows parental controls are crashing Chrome — here's the workaround
Windows 11's Family Safety feature is supposed to block certain websites from children, but apparently it's also been causing issues with Google's Chrome browser, a (vastly more popular) competitor to Microsoft's own Edge. The problem first surfaced on Windows on June 3, per The Verge, when several users started noticing they couldn't open Chrome or their browser would crash randomly. Restarting their computer or reinstalling Chrome didn't fix the issue, and other browsers like Firefox and Opera appeared unaffected. On Monday, a Google spokesperson posted in the company's community forum that it had investigated these reports and found the issues were linked to Microsoft's new Windows Family Safety feature. This optional feature is primarily used by parents and schools to manage children's screen time, filter their web browsing, and monitor their online activity. Curiously, the bug has been going on for weeks now, and Microsoft still hasn't issued a patch. 'We've not heard anything from Microsoft about a fix being rolled out,' wrote a Chromium engineer in a bug tracking thread on June 10. 'They have provided guidance to users who contact them about how to get Chrome working again, but I wouldn't think that would have a large effect.' While this issue could be an innocent bug, Microsoft has a history of placing annoying hurdles between Edge and Chrome to entice users to stick with its browser. So anytime a technical snafu makes Chrome run worse on Windows PCs, Microsoft understandably gets some serious side eye. Thankfully, there seem to be two ways to get around this bug while we wait for Microsoft to issue a fix, and they're both fairly simple. The most straightforward is to turn off the "Filter Inappropriate Websites" setting. Head to the Family Safety mobile app or Family Safety web portal, select a user's account, and choose to disable "Filter inappropriate websites" under the Edge tab. However, that'll remove the guardrails on Chrome and let your child access any website, including the ones you were trying to block in the first place. Get instant access to breaking news, the hottest reviews, great deals and helpful tips. If you want to keep the guardrails on and still use Chrome, some users reported that altering the name in your Chrome folder (to something like Chrome1, for example), got the browser to work again even with the Family Safety feature enabled.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
AMD Is Gunning for Nvidia's AI Chip Throne. Should You Buy AMD Stock Now?
For the longest time, Nvidia (NVDA) has enjoyed an open runway in the data center and artificial intelligence GPU market. But on June 12, Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) made it clear that it was no longer content staying in the shadows. In a detailed reveal, the company introduced its upcoming Instinct MI400 series, a new breed of AI chips set to launch next year. 3 Highly-Rated Dividend Stocks You've Probably Never Heard Of (But Should) AMD Just Landed a New Microsoft Partnership. Should You Buy AMD Stock Here? The Crypto Rally Is 'Just Getting Started' According to Analysts. Buy Coinbase Stock Here. Get exclusive insights with the FREE Barchart Brief newsletter. Subscribe now for quick, incisive midday market analysis you won't find anywhere else. These chips form the core of a larger vision called Helios, a full server rack capable of connecting thousands of chips into one powerful 'rack-scale' system. That architecture puts AMD head-to-head with Nvidia's Blackwell platform, which links together 72 GPUs in a single configuration. AMD also drew a line in the sand on inference performance. Its new chips come with more high-speed memory, making it possible to run massive AI models on a single GPU. As anticipation builds, let us see how high this can take the AMD stock. Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), based in Santa Clara, California, has carved out a formidable presence in the high-performance computing landscape with a market cap of $205.6 billion. AMD delivers one of the industry's most comprehensive portfolios of advanced processor technologies. In the last three months alone, AMD's stock has gained 22.5%, significantly outpacing the broader S&P 500 Index ($SPX), which rose by 5.4% in the same period. Currently, AMD trades at 40.2 times forward earnings and 8 times its sales. Both metrics sit below the five-year historical average. This signals a potential window for investors looking for exposure to the next wave of computing innovation. On May 6, Advanced Micro Devices stepped into the earnings spotlight and delivered a performance that raced ahead of Wall Street expectations. In its Q1 2025 results, the company posted revenue of $7.4 billion, marking a 35.9% increase from the same quarter last year and sailing past Wall Street's forecast of $7.1 billion. The showstopper in this story was AMD's data center segment, which pulled in $3.7 billion, registering a 57.2% year-over-year surge. The client and gaming segment brought in $2.9 billion. While the gaming unit struggled under pressure, sliding 29.8% to $647 million, the client business rose sharply, climbing 67.7% to reach $2.3 billion. The divergence between segments did not go unnoticed, yet the weight of the gains was strong enough to lift AMD's overall gross margin to 50%, up from 47% a year earlier. A stronger product mix and swelling demand for data center chips provided a firm foundation for this margin expansion. On the profit front, the company kept up its winning streak. Non-GAAP net income jumped 54.6% to touch $1.6 billion. Adjusted EPS also moved 54.8% higher, landing at $0.96 and ahead of analyst expectations of $0.93. In addition, AMD generated $939 million in cash from operations, while free cash flow for the quarter stood at $727 million. Peering into the second quarter of 2025, management expects revenue to hover around $7.4 billion, plus or minus $300 million. This includes a projected $700 million revenue reduction stemming from a new export license affecting MI308 shipments to China. Still, the midpoint implies 27% growth over the previous year. Analysts, however, expect some softness in profitability for the Q2 2025, projecting a 30% decline in EPS to $0.35. Yet the broader picture remains encouraging. For the full fiscal year 2025, the bottom line is expected to climb 20.6% from the previous year to $3.16. Looking further ahead, fiscal year 2026 is forecast to deliver even stronger growth, with EPS projected to rise 54% to reach $4.87. AMD holds its ground with quiet conviction, earning a 'Moderate Buy' consensus that reflects solid confidence from the analyst community. Among the 42 analysts tracking the stock, 28 issue a 'Strong Buy,' one backs a 'Moderate Buy,' and 13 advise to 'Hold.' The average price target of $133.32 represents potential upside of 5.5%. The Street-high price target of $200 implies shares could gain nearly 60% from here. On the date of publication, Aanchal Sugandh did not have (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. This article was originally published on
New York Post
6 hours ago
- New York Post
Is this Microsoft Office license the end of subscription hell?
Discover startups, services, products and more from our partner StackCommerce. New York Post edits this content, and may be compensated and/or receive an affiliate commission if you buy through our links. TL;DR: Save 77% on a Microsoft Office lifetime license for Windows while codes last. Own the complete app suite for life. Unlike Microsoft 365's recurring subscription model, this version only requires a one-time payment for lifelong access. Immediately after your purchase, you'll receive an email containing your download link and unique software activation key. These allow you to install the software directly onto your Windows PC. Since the Office apps are downloaded onto your device, you can use them offline. This also means that you'll never be hit with surprise interface updates that force you to relearn an app layout overnight. This version of Microsoft Office includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Teams, OneNote, Publisher, and Access. (Bonus: Did you know Microsoft 365 is permanently sunsetting Publisher? This license is a way to own it for good!) Get the lifetime version of Microsoft Office for just $49.97 and never worry about fees, online access, or annoying interface updates ever again (reg. $219.99). Codes are limited, so act fast. StackSocial prices subject to change.
