Client Background

Contango is a UAE-based strategic partner helping businesses achieve transformative growth, AI-powered innovation, and sustainable success. As the management consulting branch of ADQ, one of the largest investment funds in the Middle East, Contango plays a pivotal role in shaping digital strategy across ADQ’s many operating companies (OpCos). With 50–200 employees based in the UAE, they work closely with ADQ’s diverse portfolio of companies, many of which are already running on Microsoft Azure.

The Challenge

As our client’s OpCos expanded their Azure usage, costs were rising fast. Executives had limited transparency into what individual companies were consuming, and even less understanding of how Microsoft’s contracts actually worked.

Two risks stood out:

• Cost inefficiency: OpCos negotiating individually risked paying higher prices than what could be achieved with a consolidated approach.
• Lost leverage: Without coordination, Microsoft was able to pursue individual OpCos, fragmenting negotiations and weakening the group’s bargaining position.

Timing was critical. Microsoft was already approaching several OpCos with direct offers. Contango needed to step in quickly, delay individual deals, and explore the potential of a group-based MACC (Microsoft Azure Consumption Commitment) agreement.

Our Approach

LicenseQ was brought in to untangle the complexity and chart a path forward.

• Benchmarking & Options Analysis
  We built a detailed benchmark outlining Azure Commitment Discounts, Azure Credit Offers, Investment Funds, and incentives tied to committed spend. This gave Contango’s leadership a clear view of what was possible based on commitment levels and other key drivers for incentives.
• Training & Alignment
  Because the client team had limited knowledge of Microsoft’s licensing, we invested heavily in training internal stakeholders. This ensured decision-makers understood contract terms, risks, and opportunities.
• Negotiation Strategy
  We worked with Contango and participating OpCos to define requirements for a group deal, then shaped a negotiation strategy that would force Microsoft to take the group’s combined buying power seriously.
• Personal Engagement
  Floris Klaver (LicenseQ co-founder) directly engaged with both client stakeholders and Microsoft. He structured the deal, translated Microsoft’s complex offers into actionable insights, and helped OpCos understand their individual benefits from participating in a group agreement.

The Solution

The result was a group MACC agreement that allowed OpCos to join under unified, favorable conditions.

Key achievements included:

• Higher Discounts: Azure consumption discounts improved by 5% compared to individual OpCo offers.
• Stronger Incentives: An Azure Credit Offer uplift, plus $250k in ECIF (End Customer Investment Funds).
• Tailored Benefits: Line-item discounts designed to make participation attractive for hesitant OpCos. This was generally at the discretion of Microsoft for some key items in their Azure consumption but helped make the total deal scope very interesting for all parties involved.
• Flexibility: OpCos not ready at the outset could join later under the same conditions as early adopters and higher consumption would lead to increased incentives.

Results & Impact

This project delivered substantial financial benefits and created a framework for smarter cloud governance:

• Cost Savings: Tangible financial uplift through discounts, credits, and funding.
• Flexibility: OpCos retained autonomy but could now benefit from group leverage at any time.
• Transparency: Leadership gained insight into contract mechanics and Azure cost drivers.

“LicenseQ gave us transparency and leverage we didn’t have before. The deal they negotiated wasn’t just better—it changed the way we approach Microsoft.” — Contango Executive

Ongoing Partnership

This engagement closed as a standalone project, but the foundation has been set for future collaboration. As one of our client’s largest OpCos approaches its Enterprise Agreement renewal later this year, Contango plans to re-engage LicenseQ to apply our proven negotiation strategy.