Negotiating Online Services Terms With Microsoft

Microsoft's 365 and Azure offerings are very compelling to prospective business purchasers. Why not ask the publisher of the software to host your applications in a secure cloud environment? The answer for many of my clients is that Microsoft's standard Online Services Terms and Conditions are incredibly one sided and put too much of the risk on the customer. For regulated entities, the basic terms and conditions do not address the requirements of major federal regulations such as HIPAA and GLBA. Nevertheless, with the proper communication and negotiation strategy, Microsoft's online terms can often be amended to provide adequate protection for even the most regulated entities including enterprise financial services firms and healthcare providers. Here is how we help our clients get it done.