<p>A consulting firm is yet again pointing to possible "stealth" price increases that organizations may face when they renew their Enterprise Agreements (EAs) with Microsoft.</p><p>Organizations can take a hit of 58 percent by renewal time when licensing the "Platform EA" bundle consisting of Windows, Microsoft Office Professional Plus and Client Access Licenses, according to an October "formula" analysis by Software Licensing Advisors. The analysis comes from Paul DeGroot of Pica Communications, a well-known expert on the subject.</p><p>Shifting EA Discount?As with his earlier formula analyses, DeGroot warns about shifting EA discounts, but this time for the Platform EA bundle. The discount at initial signup, which is 15 percent when buying the Platform EA licensing, apparently changes at the time of renewal. According to DeGroot's scenario, it diminishes to five percent. Apparently, the shift in the discount isn't disclosed on Microsoft's renewal forms. Organizations need to perform backward math calculations, as DeGroot does, to discover the change.</p><p>For organizations buying in bulk, this lower discount rate can amount to a fair amount of money. DeGroot estimates that an organization paying to license 5,000 Windows desktops over the three-year Software Assurance period would pay an extra $428,250.</p><p><a href="http://redmondmag.com/articles/2012/10/03/microsoft-ea-renewals-price-hikes.aspx">Keep reading...</a></p>