Last reviewed June 2026
A buyer-side guide to the Microsoft Services Provider License Agreement: how monthly usage reporting works, the SAL versus core choice, the SPUR rules that catch hosters out, and how to defend the SPLA audit.
The Microsoft SPLA is a monthly licence-by-usage model for hosters and service providers. Providers overpay when the monthly report drifts from deployment, and face audit claims when it drifts the other way.
This guide is written for service providers and the buyers who run their licensing, not for the channel that sells it. Every section ends with the buyer move and the discipline that makes it stick.
Service providers and hosters reporting under a Microsoft SPLA.
Procurement and licensing leads managing SPLA spend.
SAM and compliance teams preparing for a SPLA audit.
Finance teams tracking monthly SPLA cost.
Across more than 500 enterprise engagements, buyers we advise have negotiated over $2.4 billion in software contracts, with average savings of 38 percent and average audit claim reductions of 72 percent.Atonement Licensing engagement record
Related resources: read the full guide on the Microsoft SPLA Licensing Guide 2026 page, then see our Microsoft Licensing Experts service and the Microsoft SPLA licensing guide.
Instant access to the full guide. No sales calls.
Weekly Oracle, Microsoft, SAP, and cloud licensing intelligence for enterprise buyers.
Our advisors represent buyers directly. Confidential assessment within one business day.