THOUGHT LEADERSHIP
4. Identify where more investment could make a difference
security and governance first, and modernising applications can introduce new cloud management requirements. Recommendations should follow the end-customer’s objectives, with growth in licensing and consumption arriving as a result rather than serving as the goal. 5. Prepare for renewal throughout the year A structured timetable remains valuable even where accounts are reviewed regularly. A 120-day planning cycle gives account teams a practical way to bring together what has been learned during the year and agree the next phase of investment. 120 days before renewal. Assess the account. Examine existing subscriptions, adoption, business outcomes and unresolved technical issues, then establish whether current services remain appropriate and which decisions need to be made before renewal. 90 days before renewal. Review priorities. Discuss progress with the end-customer, including results achieved, outstanding concerns and changes to its business plans, and bring in technical specialists where investigation is needed to underpin recommendations. 60 days before renewal. Agree the approach. Confirm any proposed licensing changes and associated services, and work through pricing, budget requirements and implementation plans, leaving enough time for decisions and internal approvals. 30 days before renewal. Finalise the arrangements. Check subscription quantities, commercial terms, billing and any scheduled changes, and make sure responsibilities
are clear and that service or deployment changes have been communicated.
With business priorities and the value of existing technology clear, channel partners can judge what an end- customer is likely to need next. Four areas help structure those discussions.
The timetable should reflect the complexity of each account, with larger renewals needing considerably more preparation and any adoption or implementation work continuing beyond the contract anniversary. An effective renewal brings together the results delivered, the issues still being addressed and the end-customer’s plans for the period ahead.
Secure and retain. Take stock of existing services, resolve
outstanding issues and confirm that subscriptions remain appropriate. This protects the investment already made and addresses concerns that could affect renewal decisions. Modernise security. Check whether identity protection, endpoint security and data governance meet the organisation’s requirements. Depending on the environment, Microsoft Defender, Purview or
6. Use ArrowSphere Cloud and Arrow’s Microsoft expertise Arrow’s cloud delivery and
management platform, ArrowSphere Cloud and its AI-enabled ArrowSphere Assistant help channel partners make better use of account information when preparing for end-customer reviews and renewals. For example, an account manager could use the assistant to pull together recent spending and subscription information, investigate unusual changes and build a clearer picture of the account without manually extracting and filtering spreadsheets. These findings can then be considered alongside Microsoft adoption and security reporting to identify questions that need following up before the next end-customer discussion. Arrow’s Microsoft specialists, training and enablement resources provide further support where those discussions raise questions about licensing, Copilot, security or Azure. This combination of account intelligence and specialist expertise helps channel partners turn the findings into informed recommendations and practical action.
other Microsoft 365 security capabilities may be relevant, alongside assessment and implementation services.
Accelerate AI. Look at where Copilot has delivered results and whether other departments could benefit. Extending deployment may call for improvements to data governance, access controls or employee readiness, and more advanced requirements could involve agents and automation. Grow cloud consumption. Explore whether application modernisation, Azure migration or data projects would support the organisation’s plans. Microsoft Fabric and other cloud services may be relevant to end-customers looking to make better use of their data or build more advanced AI applications The four areas are closely connected, since an organisation pursuing wider AI adoption may need to address
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