A cloud solution provider (CSP) is a Microsoft partner authorized to resell, bill, and support Microsoft cloud services such as Microsoft 365 and Azure. If you have asked what is cloud solution provider after seeing CSP on a quote, the short answer is that you are buying your Microsoft subscriptions through a partner rather than directly from Microsoft. The partner manages your billing, often handles first line support, and sits between you and Microsoft for the commercial relationship.
How the CSP model works
Under the CSP program, Microsoft sells through a network of partners who package, price, and support the subscriptions they resell. For the buyer, this usually means flexible billing, commonly monthly or annual, the ability to scale seats up or down more readily than a fixed commitment allows, and a single partner to call when something breaks. It is one of the main routes for buying Microsoft cloud licensing, alongside the Enterprise Agreement and the Microsoft Customer Agreement.
Source: Microsoft licensing program documentation, as of June 2026. Program terms and buying routes change; confirm current mechanics with Microsoft or your partner before deciding.
CSP versus an Enterprise Agreement
The choice of buying route shapes your cost and your flexibility. A CSP arrangement is partner led, typically billed monthly or annually, and carries no large minimum commitment, which suits smaller or more variable estates. An Enterprise Agreement is a direct, volume based contract with Microsoft, usually running three years with true up mechanics that reconcile growth. The EA can earn deeper volume pricing for large, stable estates, while CSP trades some of that for flexibility. Neither is automatically cheaper. The fuller comparison sits in Microsoft 365 EA vs CSP vs MCA buying.
What CSP means for your costs
Because CSP runs through partners, partners compete, and their margins are negotiable. That is leverage many buyers leave on the table by renewing with the same partner on autopilot. Comparing partner quotes for the same subscriptions, and right sizing the seat count before you buy, are the two largest levers on a CSP cost. A flexible monthly arrangement is only a saving if you actually flex it down when usage falls, rather than carrying seats you no longer need.
CSP sits inside the wider question of buying Microsoft well, which is itself the largest line item in most digital workplace cost optimization programs. Whether CSP or an agreement serves you better depends on your size, the stability of your headcount, and how much you value the flexibility to scale.