The auditor's opening position is built to be high. We bring it down.
Microsoft verifies end customers through SAM engagements, self verifications, and formal audits, and verifies hosters through SPLA audits across a 36 month lookback. Microsoft audit defense is what we do, on your side only. The Effective License Position they present is not the final number. We rebuild the evidence and defend yours.
Microsoft license audits
A SAM engagement is voluntary and sales led. A self verification is contractual and you cannot decline it. A formal audit runs through a third party accounting firm under the MBSA clause. All three end in an Effective License Position that you can challenge.
- Decline or control the SAM motion, assess yourself first
- Rebuild a defensible ELP before Microsoft sets the number
- Beat the 5 percent clause that adds licenses at 125 percent of price
SPLA hoster audits
SPLA is pay as you consume and verified for every monthly cycle across a 36 month lookback by a Big Four firm. Back fees at the price file rate are not negotiable. The penalty uplift of 25 to 125 percent is. The defense is reporting discipline.
- Reconstruct the monthly SAL base from your operations data
- Separate fixed back fees from the negotiable uplift
- Map every reported SAL to a customer and a product version
How we cut your exposure
Microsoft Audit Defense
From the audit letter to settlement. We rebuild the ELP and challenge the finding.
SPLA Audit Defense
We reconstruct the monthly positions and defend the 36 month base line by line.
SAM Engagement Response
Decline or control the SAM motion and assess yourself before Microsoft sees the data.
EA True Up Defense
Challenge the annual true up and right size before you submit.
ELP and Exposure Modeling
Know your real position before Microsoft does, across the whole estate.
Penalty Mitigation
Separate the non negotiable back fee from the negotiable uplift and argue each.
BACK
we reimburse our fee
We reduce your exposure, or you pay us nothing.
We are confident because the opening position almost always overstates what you owe. If our defense does not reduce your Microsoft or SPLA exposure, we reimburse our service fee in full.
- No reduction, no fee, we pay our service fee back
- Gainshare means you pay only from verified savings
- We never take vendor money, only your side of the table
Two ways to engage, no downside
Fixed Fee
- One agreed number, no surprises
- Best when the scope is known
- Reimbursed if we do not reduce exposure
Gainshare
- You pay only from what we remove
- Reduce nothing, owe nothing
- No risk to you, by design
"The auditor's draft compounded every gap across three years. They rebuilt our monthly base and we settled at a fraction of the proposed penalty."
The opening number is not the real number.
Fixed fee or gainshare, both backed by our guarantee. We sit between you and Microsoft and we never take vendor money.
Get a QuoteMicrosoft audit defense, answered
What is a Microsoft audit?
A formal verification of your software licensing, run through a third party accounting firm under the MBSA audit clause. Microsoft also verifies licensing through voluntary SAM engagements and contractual self verifications. The auditor produces an Effective License Position, and if unlicensed use is 5 percent or more you reimburse verification costs and acquire licenses at 125 percent of price.
What does a Microsoft audit defense service do?
It sits between you and Microsoft and its appointed auditor. We run your own internal assessment first, challenge the auditor methodology and the Effective License Position line by line, and negotiate the settlement so you pay for what you use and nothing more.
How much does Microsoft audit defense cost?
Two models. Fixed Fee from $18,000 with a defined scope, or Gainshare, a share of verified savings or avoided penalty with zero retainer and no risk to the customer. We reduce your exposure or we reimburse our service fee.
Can you decline a Microsoft SAM engagement?
Yes. A SAM engagement is voluntary and sales led. Declining the initial SAM review and running your own internal assessment first is a recognized defensive move. A self verification or formal audit under the MBSA audit clause cannot be declined, but it can be defended.
The Audit Brief
Weekly intelligence on Microsoft and SPLA audit moves and the buyer side defenses that work.