Below, Level Up’s Cloud Cost Management Practice shares highlighted pro tips for Procurement and Cloud Ops teams who may be negotiating upcoming MACCs.
1. “Which Marketplace offers currently qualify for MACC drawdown, and how often does that eligibility list change?”
→ Why it matters: Not every listing qualifies, even if it’s the same product from the same vendor. Unless you check, your Marketplace purchases might not reduce your commit.
2. “Can Red Hat® subscriptions procured via Azure Marketplace count toward both MACC and our Red Hat Hybrid Committed Spend (HCS)?”
→ Why it matters: You might be able to double dip, burn MACC and get Red Hat volume discounts, if both programs are structured right.
3. “Can we structure our MACC to accommodate our multicloud or hybrid Red Hat deployments without disincentivizing flexibility?”
→ Why it matters: If you’re deploying RHEL, Ansible, or OpenShift across Azure and on-prem, you’ll want your MACC and HCS programs aligned, not competing.
4. “How can we validate and track which Marketplace transactions actually counted toward our MACC drawdown?”
→ Why it matters: Microsoft’s reporting here is fairly opaque. You’ll need line-item clarity to optimize Marketplace usage against your commit.
5. “What consulting services, pilot funding, or Solution Assessment credits are available alongside this MACC?”
→ Why it matters: Many customers leave money on the table. Microsoft may fund modernization workshops, cloud economic reviews, or pilot POCs if you ask.
6. “Are we eligible for bonus MACC spend incentives tied to specific Azure programs (e.g., Innovate, Migration Accelerator, ISV co-sell)?”
→ Why it matters: Microsoft frequently launches time-bound initiatives that reward cloud-native, AI/ML, and modernization spend with bonus commit reduction.
7. “Can we add Microsoft 365 or GitHub Enterprise seats to this MACC, or create a broader enterprise agreement bundle?”
→ Why it matters: While MACC technically applies to Azure consumption, certain EA deals can bundle it with productivity tools and even GitHub. Worth exploring.
8. “What happens to unspent MACC value? Can we reallocate, extend, or apply toward Marketplace prepaid credits?”
→ Why it matters: There’s no official rollover, but in some cases Microsoft may allow end-of-term creativity (especially with committed Marketplace prepaid).
9. “Can we structure MACC to span multiple billing scopes or CSP relationships?”
→ Why it matters: Many orgs have fragmented Azure spend across subsidiaries or CSP resellers. Without coordination, you can lose volume leverage and reporting clarity.
10. “Are there third-party Marketplace vendors with private offers who will help us optimize MACC burn through packaging?”
→ Why it matters: Some vendors (including Red Hat, Databricks®, and MongoDB) may custom structure private offers to front-load your MACC drawdown while delivering meaningful enterprise value.
Show us your latest public cloud bill. We’ll show you 5 things you probably didn’t know about it: cloudcostmgmt@levelupla.io.
Level Up’s Cloud Cost Management Practice turns cloud spend into clarity, and clarity into confidence.