Indigo board renews Microsoft Dynamics 365 licensing; staff to audit roles and usage

The Indigo Board of Directors authorized the president and CEO to enter into a one‑year purchase agreement for Microsoft Dynamics 365 licensing to cover the production environment from May 1, 2025, through April 30, 2026. Marcus Burnside, chief information officer, told the board the renewal will be purchased from Crow LLP and that the licensing cost increase stems from Microsoft discontinuing lower‑cost upgrade licenses, higher MSRP for full finance licenses and changes to Indigo’s user quantities and role assignments.

Burnside explained that D365 licenses are assigned per module and by role: procurement staff, approvers, finance back‑end users and Dynaway users each require different roles and license types; additional roles and users raise total cost. He confirmed that when an employee departs, single‑sign‑on accounts are disabled and IT performs a reconciliation process so that licenses can be reallocated; however, removing a license mid‑term does not reduce cost for the already‑paid term, only subsequent renewals. Burnside said Indigo will reassess end‑user requirements and roles to identify opportunities to reduce license spend before the next renewal.

Board members asked whether viable alternatives to Microsoft exist. Burnside said other ERP platforms such as PeopleSoft or SAP are available but transitioning would likely take 18–24 months and cost substantially more (he estimated transition costs could reach the mid eight figures), so renewing D365 is the most economical option at present. The board approved the licensing renewal by roll call and requested a future report on role reconciliation and potential cost‑control measures.