If you’re running a business of any size, chances are you’re a Microsoft customer and that you’re paying too much for Microsoft licenses.
The experts at Orro have years of experience in helping businesses improve the ROI on their technology investment. Our team can help to save your business money when it comes time to upgrade or purchase of new Microsoft 365 licenses.
Microsoft licensing can be confusing
Entire books have been devoted to Microsoft licensing, and the industry analyst firm Directions on Microsoft even holds a “boot camp” to help customers better understand Microsoft’s licensing schemes.
New features are constantly being added, and are offered in various other bundles, under different names and levels.
The plans are named based on Microsoft’s intended market such as Consumer, Business and Enterprise. Microsoft know that not everyone is the same within a given market, so they have different levels within each market, with varying features.
Plans range from a Microsoft 365 Business Basic for $6.90 per user per month through to a Microsoft 365 (Enterprise) E5 plan at $78.30 per user per month.
Microsoft 365 Licensing should match user requirements
If you are licensing all of your users in the same way, it’s probably time for a change. The first step is to consider how the employees in your organisation vary in their technology requirements.
It can be very tempting to go for the ‘all you can eat’ plan and just buy these licences for your entire staff. The assumption is that whatever feature you need will be included at the highest bundle level.
But, here’s the challenge…
Imagine in scenario 1, you have a team of 20 staff members. If you had them all on Microsoft 365 E5 ($78.30/month/user), you’d be paying over $1500 each month. Amongst other things, they’d be able to use Power Apps and advanced analytics capability.
In scenario 2, you realise your staff don’t need anything more than what is already included in the Microsoft 365 Business Premium plan at $27.50/user/month. These licences allow your staff to work collaboratively, efficiently and securely, and that is enough. You’d then be paying $550 every month, which represents a saving of over $11,000 per year, an excess of money that you could reinvest in other parts of your business.
As a Microsoft Gold Partner, our team makes it a priority to stay on top of the technology evolution and understand the minutiae of Microsoft licensing so that we can make the best recommendation for our clients.
If you are considering a Cloud migration, a Microsoft product upgrade or simply want to save money on your subscriptions and want to learn more about your options, talk to us today.
