How to transfer all subscriptions from a CSP to a MCA (customer managed)

Question

Hi,

There are multiple documents but overall it's unclear if a CSP to MCA transfer is seamless or requires moving the resources manually.

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cost-management-billing/manage/subscription-transfer#product-transfer-support

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cost-management-billing/manage/transfer-subscriptions-subscribers-csp

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/answers/questions/1292051/customer-is-migrating-azure-from-csp-to-mca-and-th

In this case, the Customer wants to move "all" subscription, billing etc. from their CSP partner to self managed MCA.

All subscriptions and resources are in the same tenant and Azure AD.

Is the transfer (initiated from the CSP) seamless? (e.g. Subscription becomes MCA managed/billed and all resources are transferred without issues) or does the Customer need to create a new subscription and transfer/move all resources "manually" to new subscription?

thanks

Answer 1

The transfer process from CSP to MCA is not entirely seamless.

1. Subscription Transfer: CSP direct bill partners certified as an Azure Managed Services Provider (MSP) can request to transfer Azure subscriptions for their customers. Subscription transfers are allowed only for customers who have accepted an MCA and purchased an Azure plan with the CSP Program.
2. Data Transfer: Billing and utilization information doesn’t transfer with the subscription. Therefore, it’s recommended to download or export cost and billing information that you want to keep before you start a transfer request.
3. Resource Transfer: To transfer any other Azure subscriptions that aren’t supported for billing transfer to MCA, the subscriber needs to move resources from source subscriptions to CSP subscriptions.
4. Post-Transfer Considerations: After transferring an EA or MCA enterprise subscription to a CSP partner, any quota increases previously applied to the EA subscription will be reset to the default value. If additional quota is required after the subscription transfer, your CSP provider should submit a quota increase request.

So, while the subscription can be transferred, there are several steps involved and some manual intervention may be required.