Investing in Microsoft licensing is an important buying decision for organisations of all sizes, balancing both the size of investment and the potential impact on productivity.
Following the announcement of price increases for Microsoft 365 licensing, it’s a good time to evaluate your Microsoft 365 expenditure. Are you getting the business value to match your investment? Could you save any money on your licensing? In this blog, we’ll highlight the key considerations to ensure your licensing is optimised.
Audit your current licensing
Review your existing licenses to ensure all of your subscriptions are necessary; evaluate if any licenses can be removed or if licenses can be reduced by consolidation. Identifying licences that have been purchased but aren’t assigned can be a quick win.
Optimise your plans
Not all employees need the same level of features; many licences will contain tools that aren’t used or needed by all employees. Consider downgrading some users to basic subscriptions with a cheaper licensing cost. It’s certainly worth looking at a cost comparison to see how much you could save.
Explore different licensing options and promotions
Microsoft have different plans available for certain user types e.g. frontline worker, education and non-profit pricing. They also regularly run promotions and discounts, with offers that provide significant discounts, particularly for long-term commitments.
Consider cheaper billing options
If your organisation is currently on an NCE annual agreement with monthly billing, opting to switch to an annual payment will avoid the 5% price increase, that is otherwise effective from your renewal date after 1st April 2025.
Utilise features and educate your users
To get the most out of your licensing, ensure that your organisation is utilising the tools and features available in Microsoft 365. Investing in training sessions might be a way to encourage your team to use your licensing to its full potential, as user adoption is largely down to education. Educating users about the functionality included with certain licenses, how to use it appropriately to their role, and checking in regularly in an engaging way to help reinforce that education will have a positive effect. In addition to value for money, the benefits are two-fold with the productivity benefits.
What else can you do
Budget for the future
Setting aside contingency funds within your IT budget for unexpected increases can help to minimise the financial impact of unexpected changes.
Work with a trusted partner
A Microsoft Cloud Partner can help you navigate the complexities of licensing and ensure you’re getting the most value from your Microsoft 365 subscription, without overpaying. If you don’t have a Microsoft Cloud Partner and would like some advice, one of our technical team can be contacted here.