$6,500-$35,000/month tiers. Power BI + M365 + Purview + Copilot governance. Quarterly reviews + Chief AI Architect escalation.
Last updated by Errin O'Connor, Founder & Chief AI Architect, EPC Group
EPC Group Managed Microsoft Cloud Services Retainer: fixed monthly fee + defined bucket of consultant hours + consultant seniority mix + rollover rules + overflow billing at T&M + quarterly business review. Four tiers: Basic (20 hrs, single workload), Standard (40-50 hrs, governance framework), Advanced (75-90 hrs, multi-workload), Premium (120+ hrs, Chief AI Architect access); each a fixed monthly fee scoped to tenant size. Scope: ongoing governance + steady-state ops + change management + incident response + advisory + executive briefing. Six triggers: post-implementation support, small internal team, regulated compliance, board AI governance, multi-workload complexity, business continuity. Standard tier: a monthly retainer scoped to tenant size, against project work priced engagement by engagement.
A managed Microsoft cloud services retainer is a fixed monthly fee for ongoing consulting + support across Microsoft cloud workloads (Power BI, M365, Copilot, Purview, Azure, Fabric). Structure: (1) Fixed monthly retainer ($6,500-$35,000/month depending on scope). (2) Defined bucket of consultant hours or defined outcomes per month. (3) Consultant seniority mix specified (senior architect + technical lead + junior mix). (4) Rollover rules for unused hours. (5) Overflow billing at standard T&M rates if bucket exceeded. (6) Quarterly business review + scope adjustment. Retainer converts variable consulting cost into predictable OPEX + reduces per-engagement transaction cost.
EPC Group retainer tier structure: (1) Basic Retainer (monthly, scoped to tenant size) — 20 hours/month + baseline support scope. Fits small orgs or single-workload support. (2) Standard Retainer (monthly, scoped to tenant size) — 40-50 hours/month + governance framework maintenance. Fits mid-market or single-major-workload enterprise. (3) Advanced Retainer (monthly, scoped to tenant size) — 75-90 hours/month + multi-workload governance + quarterly executive review. Fits enterprise with active Copilot + Purview + Fabric. (4) Premium Retainer (monthly, scoped to tenant size) — 120+ hours/month + Chief AI Architect access + priority incident response. Fits Fortune 500 enterprise or regulated industries. All tiers include: quarterly business review + written monthly status report + escalation to Chief AI Architect for material incidents.
Retainer scope typically includes: (1) Ongoing governance — Purview updates + Copilot governance + BYOAI monitoring + policy maintenance. (2) Steady-state operations — Power BI workspace management + report performance tuning + license optimization. (3) Change management — feature rollout planning + user communication + adoption support. (4) Incident response — first-tier incident triage + escalation. (5) Advisory + planning — quarterly roadmap review + new-feature evaluation + capacity planning. (6) Executive briefing — quarterly stakeholder update. Standard exclusions: net-new project implementations (require separate fixed-fee), major migrations (separate SOW), custom development beyond configuration (separate scope).
Six triggers for managed retainer: (1) Post-implementation ongoing support — you've deployed Copilot or Fabric or Purview and need ongoing governance. (2) Small internal team — 1-2 Microsoft-focused internal staff need consultant leverage. (3) Regulated industry ongoing compliance — HIPAA/SOC 2/FedRAMP require documented ongoing governance. (4) Board-required AI governance — need documented vCAIO advisory. (5) Multi-workload complexity — Power BI + M365 + Purview + Copilot need coordinated oversight. (6) Business continuity — need pre-established consultant relationship for incident response. Retainer replaces the reactive "hire consultant when problem happens" model.
Retainer vs project comparison: (1) Cost model — retainer predictable OPEX; project variable CAPEX + OPEX. (2) Response time — retainer has same-week response commitment; project engagement takes 4-6 weeks from need to work start. (3) Consultant continuity — retainer keeps same consultants over time; project may rotate. (4) Scope flexibility — retainer flexes within monthly bucket; project SOW-locked. (5) Total cost year — retainer at a fixed monthly fee, 12 months all-in; equivalent project consulting priced after discovery. (6) Relationship depth — retainer builds ongoing relationship + institutional knowledge; project transactional. Most enterprises with mature Microsoft use retainer.
Overflow handling: (1) Rollover rules — unused hours roll to next month (typically 50% rollover, quarterly cap). (2) Bucket increase — permanent tier upgrade if consistent overflow (Basic → Standard → Advanced → Premium). (3) T&M overflow billing — hours beyond bucket billed at standard T&M rates, quoted by role and scope. (4) Ad-hoc fixed-fee — specific projects scoped separately (e.g., a fixed-fee accelerator). (5) Quarterly review — proactive scope adjustment. Retainers include monthly hour tracking + written reports so buyers see how bucket is consumed + can proactively scale.
EPC Group managed retainer methodology: (1) Discovery Onboarding (2-4 weeks) — inventory current state + define scope + name assigned consultants + establish communication rhythm. (2) Baseline Deployment (first 30 days) — establish governance baseline + monitoring + response protocols. (3) Steady-State Operations — ongoing governance + support + advisory per retainer scope. (4) Quarterly Business Review — written report + roadmap update + tier adjustment. (5) Annual Retainer Renewal — re-scope based on evolved needs. All retainers include Chief AI Architect Errin O'Connor escalation for material incidents. Contact (888) 381-9725 to size retainer for your environment.
Basic to Premium tiers, a fixed monthly fee scoped to tenant size. Quarterly reviews. Call (888) 381-9725.
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