Case Study

Smart Licensing Fuels Growth and AI Readiness

SUMMARY/OVERVIEW

A Microsoft Licensing and Cloud Cost Strategy Saved Batory Foods Over $375,000 and Advanced Its Agentic AI Agenda

To support its ambitious growth plans, Batory Foods, a national ingredient distributor serving food, beverage, nutraceutical, and pet food manufacturers, focused on strengthening its technology foundation. As the company pursues acquisitions, new sites, and workforce expansion, its IT leadership faced a critical question: How could it prepare the organization for the next phase of AI use while maintaining governance, controlling costs, and supporting scale?

The company turned to our team to find ways to reduce costs and establish a stronger platform for future AI initiatives by aligning Microsoft 365 licensing and addressing Azure inefficiencies. 

Key Takeaways

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Getting infrastructure, licensing, and governance in order is a prerequisite for scaling AI adoption effectively.

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Consolidation add-ons and locking in multi-year pricing for Microsoft licenses delivers over $375,000 in annual savings.

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Active Insights gives IT and finance leaders ongoing visibility into cloud spend for long-term cost controls.

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The Challenge

Supporting Growth Without Adding Complexity

Over a three-year period spanning multi-budgets, Batory Foods was operating with a mix of E3, E5, and E7 Microsoft licenses. Copilot add-ons were purchased separately for the E3 and E5 platforms. IT leaders wanted to simplify the infrastructure, licensing, and governance before moving from personal Copilot use to employees building their own AI agents in E7. They also needed to establish clear policies on agent creation, management, and access to sensitive company data.

Even with its mature technology environment, IT leaders recognized that expanding into agentic AI could not happen in isolation. The challenge was twofold: streamlining an already complex Microsoft environment and positioning the company for AI advancement to support long-term growth without unnecessary costs or risks. 

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The Approach

Aligning Technology With Business Goals

Our teams worked alongside the IT team to align Microsoft licensing with actual usage and find hidden cloud savings. We identified a partner-led Microsoft promotion that allowed eligible users to move from E5 to E7 — bundling in Copilot and the new Agent 365 control plane. This upgrade came at a lower cost than the existing E5 and Copilot add-on model. We also helped the organization lock in a three-year Microsoft agreement, securing predictable pricing for budget stability. 

With our Active Insights monitoring read-only tool, we reviewed the Azure environment with IT leaders. Our team used the findings to identify savings for reserved-instance pricing on frequently used servers, Azure Hybrid Benefit licensing on existing Windows Server workloads, and the decommissioning of underutilized or idle virtual machines. Learn more about our Microsoft Cloud Solution Provider Services.

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The Results

Building Capacity and Reducing Costs

We delivered measurable cost savings and positioned Batory Foods’ technology stack for AI growth and management: 

Cost reduction and predictability: Through improved licensing opportunities and cloud efficiencies, the company identified approximately: 

  • $250,000 in annual cost avoidance through more effective Microsoft 365 license procurement.
  • $25,000 in annual cost avoidance through usage-based Microsoft 365 licensing.
  • $100,000 in reduced Azure costs identified through Active Insights.
  • Predictable Microsoft licensing costs through 2028 via a three-year agreement.


  • AI readiness

    Our team helped migrate 536 licensed users to E5 and E7. The move to E7 gives the IT team enterprise-grade security, governance, and identity controls to manage employees’ progression from personal Copilot use toward building and using AI agents. 

  • Licensing improvement

    The licensing moves simplified spending and added Agent 365 and Entra Suite at a lower total cost than the previous model. 

  • Visibility and guidance

    Active Insights identified Azure cost-saving opportunities and provides the IT team with an ongoing view into cloud spend for future monitoring.  

Cost control and AI readiness are not always competing priorities. Organizations that invest in a disciplined approach to Microsoft licensing and cloud cost management can potentially gain functionality to improve AI use and lower AI risk.   

BDO helped us turn Microsoft investments into measurable business outcomes. By eliminating unnecessary costs, strengthening security, and preparing our workforce for AI, they freed resources that we can now reinvest into growth.

Robert Kinton
Vice President of Information Technology