Microsoft Licensing Team: Strategic Partnership with Licensing School
5 minute read
Phoenix Software
November 18th, 2025
At Phoenix, our Microsoft Licensing Team is more than just a group of experts, it’s a powerhouse of knowledge, experience, and customer-first thinking.
All 17 of our licensing professionals maintain certifications from Licensing School, the independent, trusted source of Microsoft licensing education, in addition to various Microsoft certifications. With over 100 years of combined licensing experience and 2,700+ Enterprise Agreements under management, our licensing team drives Phoenix’s reputation as the UK’s number one, independent Microsoft licensing expert.
A team built on expertise
Microsoft licensing is complex and ever-changing, which is why everyone on our licensing team is committed to their continuous learning. With specialists aligned to all 11 sectors, we ensure deep industry knowledge is applied to every engagement. Supporting organisations across the public sector, our team brings clarity to the complex world of Microsoft licensing.
“Our Microsoft Licensing team is one of Phoenix’s greatest strengths, and it’s the people behind it who make the difference. With decades of combined experience and industry-recognised certifications, the team gives our customers the confidence that they’re working with the best in the market. Our partnership with Licensing School has enabled us to continually upskill. Together, we’re not only reinforcing Phoenix’s position as the UK’s number one Microsoft licensing partner, but also ensuring that our customers benefit from the very highest standards of guidance.”
Becky Brown, Head of Microsoft Licensing & Strategic Development, Phoenix Software
Phoenix and Licensing School: A partnership for licensing expertise
Phoenix has a long-standing relationship with Licensing School, the independent and highly-respected source of Microsoft licensing education and certifications. All 17 members of our Licensing Team have completed and passed License School’s annual Body of Knowledge certification, demonstrating our expertise and commitment to delivering accurate, up-to-date advice to our customers. Phoenix also subscribes to the LicenseVerse online platform, ensuring we maintain access to the latest Microsoft licensing knowledge and updates.
In addition to their Licensing School accreditations, many members of the licensing team have completed a number of Microsoft Certified: Fundamentals exams for specific Microsoft technologies. This provides the team with additional context around specific technology areas, which can feed into the licensing advice that our customers receive.
About Licensing School
Licensing School has been a cornerstone of Microsoft licensing education since 1995, having written content and trained thousands of people in hundreds of organisations across the world. They were the architects behind Microsoft’s popular Get Licensing Ready platform, providing content and updates for twenty years before it was withdrawn in December 2024.
They were also part of the team responsible for the Licensing MCP or “Microsoft Certified Professional” certification until its retirement in 2020. In order to fill the gap left by MCP, Licensing School launched its own independent certification programme, the Microsoft Licensing Body of Knowledge certifications. Unlike the MCP programme, which was updated every three years, Licensing School updates its content annually, ensuring even greater relevance and accuracy.
Today, Licensing School focusses on providing resources in the LicenseVerse online platform, ensuring Phoenix always has access to the latest licensing information, webinars, community forum, and certification tools.
Strategic licensing advisory and optimisation
From strategic procurement to licensing roadmap planning, Phoenix helps organisations optimise their investments and stay ahead of changes. Our license optimisation services include:
- Licence rationalisation: identifying and eliminating unused or duplicated licences
- Procurement timing: aligning purchases with Microsoft pricing cycles and renewal triggers
- Funding enablement: securing and executing Microsoft incentives for onboarding and adoption
- Roadmap planning: aligning licensing decisions with future digital and security needs
What our customers say
At the heart of our Microsoft Licensing Team is a commitment to delivering trusted, accurate, and strategic guidance, tailored to each customer’s unique environment. In addition to a dedicated account manager, every Microsoft Licensing customer benefits from an aligned Licensing Specialist for the term of their agreements. This specialist acts as a consistent point of contact for licensing expertise, ensuring continuity, a deep understanding of your organisation’s goals, and proactive support as needs evolve.
Our customers tell us this model brings real value:
- Confidence in always receiving up-to-date, reliable advice
- Resilience through access to a large, experienced team
- Consistency in guidance from someone who truly understands their business
- Tailored recommendations that align with their strategic direction
“We always find the licensing updates from Phoenix really useful in keeping us informed of the latest updates from Microsoft.
As we all know, changes happen on a frequent basis within the licensing world, so it’s always good to receive these updates with key developments from Phoenix”
Ryan Tunstall, National Highways
“I just wanted to take a moment to express my sincere appreciation for your continuous efforts in keeping us updated on the latest licensing updates. Your timely information has been incredibly useful, especially during our recent Microsoft Enterprise Agreement license renewals.
Your guidance on how we qualify for Power Apps Per User licensing, along with the detailed breakdown of the discounts and cost savings was particularly valuable. Furthermore, it’s worth mentioning that your diligence in informing us about any license changes has not gone unnoticed. It truly makes a difference in our operations, and I wanted to let you know how much it is appreciated.”
Neepam Bhatt, Department for Transport
“Phoenix consistently provides us with early insights into potential licensing and pricing changes – often before they’re publicly announced. This foresight is invaluable for budget planning, technical readiness, and helping us to navigate internal conversations around upcoming changes, particularly around price.
Their proactive research and responsiveness gives us complete confidence in them as a supplier. Phoenix is our trusted ally – always available, always informed, and always dependable. When it comes to Phoenix, nothing is ever too much. They are always happy to help.”
Matt Wall, Salford City Council
We’re here to help with your Microsoft Licensing
Ready to find out how we can support you? Talk to a member of our Microsoft Licensing Team now.
About the author
Phoenix Software
Phoenix enables digital transformation in the workplace, empowering UK public sector organisations to innovate and transform with cloud and hybrid infrastructures, data, AI, security, and collaboration tools. By understanding its customers’ goals, Phoenix delivers outcome–focused IT solutions that make a difference to the lives of employees, service users, and communities.
Follow Phoenix Software on LinkedIn.