The Top 20 Terms You Will Come Across

Here are a list of the terms we see cropping up the most (with definitions!)

1. CSP (Cloud Solution Provider)

A Microsoft-authorised partner, like Qwantro, that sells licences at discounted rates with flexible billing. CSPs pass down enterprise-level savings (8–13%) to businesses of all sizes while offering dedicated support

2. Licence Optimisation

The process of ensuring each user has the correct Microsoft licence tier (E3 vs E5, Basic vs Premium), reducing wasted spend without limiting productivity.

3. Azure Hybrid Benefit

A cost-saving option that lets you use existing Windows Server or SQL licences on Azure, lowering your cloud bill by up to 40%.

4. Reserved Instances (Azure)

Discounted Azure pricing when you commit to a resource (like a VM) for 1–3 years, instead of paying on-demand rates.

5. Enterprise Agreement (EA)

A Microsoft licensing contract typically for 500+ seats, locking organisations into multi-year commitments. Qwantro helps SMEs access similar savings without the EA lock-in.

6. Over-Licensing

When a business assigns higher-tier licences (like E5) to users who don’t need them. A common source of overspending.

7. Orphaned Licences

Inactive licences assigned to ex-employees or unused accounts. Unless removed, businesses continue paying for them.

8. FinOps

A financial operations discipline for cloud computing that brings IT, Finance, and Operations together to ensure accountability and optimise costs.

9. Copilot (Microsoft 365)

AI-powered productivity assistant embedded across Word, Excel, Outlook, and Teams. Requires additional licensing and readiness planning.

10. Feature Creep

When businesses upgrade to more expensive licences “just in case” but never use the additional features.

11. Quarterly Licence Reviews

A best practice where businesses review licence usage every three months to reassign, downgrade, or remove unused seats.

12. Billing Flexibility

The ability to choose monthly or annual billing. CSP partners like Qwantro offer flexibility vs Microsoft’s direct annual-only approach.

13. Tagging (Azure)

Applying labels (e.g., “Finance” or “Project X”) to Azure resources, enabling precise tracking of costs per team, department, or workload.

14. Rightsizing

Adjusting cloud workloads to match actual usage — for example, scaling a VM down to avoid paying for excess capacity.

15. Unassigned Licences

Licences purchased but not allocated to any user — essentially wasted spend until reassigned.

16. Pay-As-You-Go (Azure)

A pricing model where you pay only for what you use. While flexible, it’s often more expensive than reserved or optimised models.

17. SME Licensing

Special Microsoft offers for small and mid-sized enterprises. Qwantro enables SMEs to access enterprise-level discounts without needing 500+ users.

18. Security & Compliance Add-Ons

Extra features (like Microsoft Defender or Purview) that can be layered onto E3 or Business licences instead of buying full E5.

19. NCE (New Commerce Experience)

Microsoft’s updated licensing framework that affects billing, renewals, and cancellations. CSP partners help businesses navigate NCE changes to avoid penalties.

20. Zero Trust

A security model that assumes no user or device is trusted by default, requiring strict access controls and compliance — often tied to specific licensing requirements.