Government Department Secures a Clean Microsoft Position Ahead of Cloud Migration with £14m avoided in penalties
Industry: Public Sector Government
Company size: 60,000 employees
Location:United Kingdom
Service: ELP & Initial Investment Assessment
Result: £14M avoided penalties and right sized investment
Executive Summary
Ahead of a department wide migration to Microsoft 365 and Azure, a national government department needed independent assurance that its existing Microsoft licence position was clean and that the proposed migration investment was correctly scoped. Livingstone’s ELP and Initial Investment Assessment identified £14M in avoided penalties and right sized spend.
The Challenge
A national government department was preparing for a large scale migration to Microsoft 365 and Azure as part of a wider digital transformation programme, with significant public scrutiny on value for money.
Procurement teams needed independent assurance that the department’s current on premise Microsoft licence position was compliant before negotiating the migration agreement, given the reputational risk of a public sector compliance finding. The proposed migration investment from the vendor’s account team had not been independently validated against the department’s actual current entitlements and usage.
The Solution
Livingstone conducted a full Effective Licence Position review of the department’s existing on premise Microsoft estate, validating entitlements against deployment data across more than 40 agencies and arms length bodies.
An Initial Investment Assessment independently modelled the licensing implications of the proposed Microsoft 365 and Azure migration, identifying where the vendor’s proposal over provisioned relative to actual departmental need. Livingstone supported the department’s commercial team through negotiation, providing public sector appropriate documentation to support governance and audit requirements throughout.
The Outcome
The review confirmed the department’s existing position with only minor remediation required, avoiding reputational and financial exposure from a public compliance finding. The Initial Investment Assessment identified £14M of combined avoided penalty exposure and right sized migration investment, which was returned to the department’s transformation budget.
Key Success Factors
- Independent validation that gave procurement and governance teams confidence ahead of public scrutiny
- Assessment of the vendor’s own migration proposal rather than accepting it at face value
- Documentation built to public sector governance and audit standards throughout
The Conclusion
The department entered its cloud migration agreement with a validated baseline and a right sized investment case, strengthening its negotiating position and its governance record.
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