Publish date: 19.04.24

Microsoft 365 offers a comprehensive suite of productivity tools, including Office apps, communication solutions, collaboration platforms, and security features. But the licensing landscape can be intricate, with a large number of subscription plans, licensing models, and add-on options available. That's where our free Microsoft Licensing Healthcheck can serve to optimise your Microsoft 365 investment.

Challenges we see today

Effective management of Microsoft 365 licensing involves the following, which often presents challenges:

  • Understanding licensing options. From Microsoft 365 Business Basic to Microsoft 365 E5, there are multiple subscription tiers tailored to different organisational needs. Each plan offers varying levels of features, functionality, and security capabilities. Sometimes its difficult to establish need versus the features on offer.
  • Monitoring license utilisation. Tracking license usage across users and departments to ensure optimal utilisation and avoid unnecessary spending on unused licenses. This can prove immensely challenging as there can be important data that needs to be captured and analysed across as many as 22 different Microsoft portals.
  • Ensuring compliance. Compliance with Microsoft licensing agreements is crucial to minimise legal and financial risk. Organisations must adhere to usage rights, license assignments, and renewal policies outlined in their agreements. This can be hard when all of the information you need to ensure compliance may be spread across different platforms.
  • Identifying cost reduction opportunities: By analysing usage data and license allocations, organisations can identify opportunities to optimise costs, such as downgrading unused licenses or leveraging cost-effective licensing bundles. Probably one of the biggest customer headaches when it comes to licensing – ensuring there’s no overspend on licensing across your tenant, especially with regards to leavers and joiner processes.
  • Ensuring that all appropriate features are enabled to mitigate the risks of cyber attacks and data breaches.

Where we come in

We partner with HP and Microsoft to provide a leading management and optimisation solution for Microsoft 365 tenants. Our Licensing Healthcheck offers a comprehensive approach to Microsoft 365 licensing management, addressing key challenges and delivering tangible benefits:

License Use Analysis
We provide detailed insights into license utilisation across the organisation, allowing businesses to identify unused or underutilised licenses, inactive users, and potential cost savings.

Compliance Monitoring
We help organisations maintain compliance with Microsoft licensing agreements by automating and monitoring license assignments, usage rights, and renewal deadlines. This ensures adherence to licensing policies and minimises mistakes that translate to compliance risks.

Cost Optimisation Recommendations
Based on usage data and license use analysis, we give you actionable recommendations to rationalise licensing costs. This may include rightsizing licenses, reallocating resources, or renegotiating licensing agreements for better value.

Enhanced Security and Governance
In addition to licensing management, the M365 Healthcheck platform offers advanced security and governance features to strengthen Microsoft 365 environments. This includes user activity monitoring, access control, data protection, and compliance reporting.

Control via a single pane of glass
Control operations via one easy to use, consolidated portal which contains a powerful reporting engine with hundreds of pre-packaged report. Tenant segmentation capabilities also ensure that your environment supports your business structure.

Benefits to you and your business

Cost Savings: By optimising licensing utilisation and identifying cost-saving opportunities, organisations can reduce unnecessary spending on licenses.

Compliance Assurance: We can help ensure compliance with Microsoft licensing agreements, minimising the risk of audits, penalties, and legal issues.

Enhanced Efficiency: With centralised management and automation capabilities, we can help you to streamline licensing management tasks, freeing up IT resources for more strategic and valuable work.

Security: We can help enhance your security posture and governance in Microsoft 365 environments, mitigating risks associated with data breaches, unauthorised access and cyber attacks.

Conclusion

Effective management of Microsoft 365 licensing is essential for organisations seeking to maximise their investment, ensure compliance, and drive down costs. We offer a comprehensive solution, helping businesses to gain visibility across their M365 tenant, identify opportunities for better licence management, and strengthen security and governance.

Contact us today to book a FREE M365 Licensing Healthcheck and we can help you on your journey towards better optimised Microsoft licensing.