A large European-based organization with a global footprint was operating a complex Microsoft SQL Server estate across both cloud and on-premises environments. The organization employed tens of thousands of users and had grown its SQL Server landscape organically over time, resulting in limited visibility into actual usage, provisioning accuracy, and licensing exposure.

With cost pressure increasing and renewal discussions approaching, the organization needed a clearer understanding of how its SQL Server resources were being used and where savings could be achieved without impacting performance or availability.

Challenges

The organization faced several interconnected challenges:

• Over 550 SQL Server instances with limited insight into actual utilization
• Significant overprovisioning of cores across many environments
• SQL databases distributed inefficiently across virtual machines
• Uncertainty over licensing exposure and true Effective License Position (ELP)
• Rising licensing and infrastructure costs without supporting usage data

Traditional SAM and ITAM tools had not provided the level of technical usage insight required to confidently reduce the estate or support licensing decisions.

The Solution

A capacity monitoring and analysis platform was deployed across the SQL Server estate to capture real usage data at server and database level. This provided a detailed view of actual consumption rather than allocated capacity.

Using this data, the organization undertook a structured rationalization and consolidation exercise. Underutilized and unused SQL Server instances and databases were identified and decommissioned, while others were right-sized or consolidated onto fewer, more efficiently provisioned servers.

The analysis informed a robust ELP, with optimization recommendations aligned to Microsoft licensing rules to ensure savings were both sustainable and compliant. The approach replaced reliance on traditional SAM tooling with a data-led, technically grounded optimization model.

As a result, the SQL Server estate was reduced by just over 50 percent, from more than 550 instances to fewer than 220, spanning both cloud and on-premises environments.

Conclusion

Through the application of real usage data and licensing-aware optimization, the organization achieved a significant reduction in SQL Server footprint and cost. Even using conservative assumptions, the reduction equated to a minimum licensing cost avoidance of approximately £1.3 million, excluding additional savings from reduced compute and Windows Server operating system costs.

The case demonstrates how ITAA’s Smart Provisioning Service enables organizations to move beyond assumption-based licensing decisions, delivering measurable cost reduction, improved control, and confidence ahead of renewal discussions, without compromising operational performance.

*Protecting our clients’ confidence is of the utmost importance at ITAA. While our case studies are based on true projects, we have used fictitious names and removed or changed other identifiable details.

Lucy Baker, Senior Microsoft Consultant

Lucy is a Senior Microsoft Licensing and IT Asset Management Consultant with extensive expertise in license risk remediation, optimisation, and audit defence. Known for delivering tailored, customer-focused solutions, Lucy specialises in Microsoft 365 optimisation, contract negotiation, and ITAM strategy, helping organisations navigate complex licensing environments with innovative thinking and precision.