Why define your Microsoft licence position?
Compliance - if you need to know the compliance position for Microsoft products used within your organisation, you need to create the MLP.

If you do not know the compliance position of MS products, there is the distinct possibility that non-compliance will exist.

Expect an average of £100+ per PC of non-compliance in an environment where the licence position is not maintained regularly (e.g. at least once a year) - Non-compliance costs

The software authorities - If nothing else there is a very good chance that at some point your organisation will have to declare its Microsoft licence position to one or more of the software authorities, either Microsoft themselves or the BSA.

Cost avoidance - If a licence position is established and maintained, corrections can take place in house that mitigate huge financial risk - Correcting a licence position

Cost savings - As you establish your MLP, areas of weakness in your organisation's purchasing practices will be identified and so improvements can be made - Reduce software costs

Self control - Managing your own situation without Microsoft’s or any other third party's  “assistance” in your own time is a massive advantage. - Microsoft audits

The worst situation you can be in is to not have control over the following exercise in your own time.

If Microsoft or one of their ‘helpers’ are at the door, then we absolutely recommend that you read the following immediately and take action accordingly - How to handle A Microsoft audit

For the experienced as well
We also recommend strongly that every organisation that has already carried out licence reconciliation activities for Microsoft products reads the following as well.

We have lost count of the number of times that customers have sworn blind that everything was in order, but on further investigation (often from one of Microsoft’s partners) it most definitely wasn’t, which caused huge unplanned expenditure.

Please, even if you are 110% sure that everything is OK, either read this through yourself as a check on your current MS licence reconciliation practices, or get someone in your organisation to do so, you might be surprised.

Let's begin with what it takes to define your organisation's MS licence requirement...