On 8 September 2026, White Raven IT brought together a trusted group of senior IT, procurement and software licensing professionals for a new edition of Raven’s Nest: The Microsoft Poker Table, hosted at LEO Pharma in Ballerup, Denmark.

The small-group format created room for an open peer-to-peer exchange on the choices enterprises are facing as Microsoft’s licensing and cloud models continue to evolve. Rather than focusing on vendor messaging, participants compared real-life approaches, challenges and negotiation strategies.

A central topic was how organizations can play their Microsoft cards more strategically. The discussion covered M365 E7, Copilot, Copilot Credits and AI tokens, as well as the commercial and operational implications of moving from an Enterprise Agreement towards CSP or MCA.

Azure cost optimization formed another important part of the agenda. The session examined how organizations can reduce unnecessary Azure expenditure and manage cloud commitments more dynamically, including an introduction to automated Azure savings optimization by ProsperOps.

The strongest Microsoft strategy is not necessarily the model proposed by the vendor, but the model that best supports your own business, governance and cost objectives.

The event concluded with closing takeaways and a networking dinner, allowing participants to continue the exchange in an informal setting.