The Hidden Cost of Business Technology

The pressure is on today’s organisations to innovate, cut costs and operate more efficiently. As a result, most are scrutinising every penny spent, especially on technology.??

Despite this, businesses could be losing tens of thousands of pounds per month on dormant licenses.??

Of course, you want to see a healthy return on your expensive yet essential Microsoft investment. But how can you achieve that when license management is so complex? It requires time and skilled resource that overstretched internal IT teams simply don’t have.??

In this blog, we’ll discuss the challenges and risks associated with managing Microsoft licenses, including how IT teams attempt to overcome them today and the pitfalls of poor management. We’ll also explore how to prevent organisational changes, be they joiners, movers or leavers, from adding to your already rising ongoing costs.??

?As you well know, managing Microsoft licenses is a hugely time-consuming, resource-intensive and complex task. To assign the correct licenses and access, your team needs to first understand the ever-changing ins and outs of license provisioning and configuration, checking a wide range of boxes along the way. Meanwhile, conducting infrequent enterprise-wide license reviews can be costly in terms of time and resources, demanding the right skills and availability to optimise your Microsoft licensing spend.?

Microsoft license management not only adds unnecessary administrative burdens for your team, but it also increases compliance-associated risks. For example, data may not be secured according to your industry’s standards if too many people have access to sensitive information. As an organisation that uses Microsoft software, you can expect to be audited every few years, with potentially hefty penalties for non-compliance.?

The balancing act of managing movers, leavers and joiners??

When it comes to managing licensing for those new to your business, departing from it or switching teams, even some of the biggest organisations we talk to don’t have a refined process in place. Most don’t have a dedicated person or team assigned to licensing. As a result, some of our customers have reported Microsoft 365 accounts that haven't been logged into for as long as three years. On top of this, managing licenses is a balancing act. You want joiners to hit the ground running, and to do that, you need to have licenses available and assigned to them. On the flip side, what you don’t want is 100s of licenses based on your new starter attrition rate alone.?

Unused E5 licenses equate to steep monthly costs??

Another common challenge we encounter is the tactical move to Microsoft Teams that many companies carried out post-pandemic. These businesses signed three-year E5 license contracts regardless of their end-user requirements in order to take advantage of competitive Enterprise Agreement (EA) discounts based on a minimum number of licenses. As contracts are now drawing to an end, we’re seeing those companies realise that their employees aren’t using all the features available to them, yet the licenses are still costing around ￡50 each per month. We also speak to many businesses that purchased Microsoft Teams Room Pro licenses, often for a specific project, but never assigned them. This creates another significant monthly cost. Others say they have spun up virtual machines that have never been used, wasting over ￡100 a month.??

Free up IT resources with managed Microsoft licensing?

Managing Microsoft licenses is tough, yet businesses today simply can’t afford to take their eye off the ball. Internal IT teams are well aware that poor software license management introduces risk and wasted spend but with so many existing responsibilities, they have limited time to keep their Microsoft licensing knowledge up to date.??

This is where an expert managed service can be transformational. In addition to taking license management off your plate, it can also help you achieve tangible results, from streamlining manual workflows and migrating workloads to Azure to implementing more of the Microsoft 365 features you’re already paying for. With an expert partner by your side, the entire process can be managed for you, ensuring the best ROI and business outcomes.??

With over twenty years of experience, Applicable is trusted to solve its customers’ biggest challenges and reduce the ‘cost of change’. We take the time to really understand our customers’ pain points and turn challenges into opportunities by identifying and fixing broken processes. For example, of 20 global enterprise customers we recently surveyed, those using automation reported only 3-4% licensing wastage compared to those without automation, who reported 16-19%. As an accredited Microsoft and Azure Solutions Partner for Modern Work, we exist to help you simplify and make the most of your Microsoft technology. Our work benefits your business and its people – from your bottom line to your frontline staff.?

Automation that turbocharges license management capabilities?

As part of our managed service offering, our advanced automation capabilities can supercharge your Microsoft 365 usage and significantly reduce the time and cost you dedicate to change. Take the employee onboarding process, for example. Imagine the benefits of ensuring a seamless start for a new recruit that’s triggered by the push of a button or a simple form entry. Entering the details of a new employee into your HR system would trigger automatic account setup, including email and phone number assignments, Microsoft SharePoint access and even laptop provisioning. When an employee leaves, automation also enables you to track and manage licenses, produce reports that pinpoint any variances and introduce the governance needed to stay compliant. Not only does this help save time, it ensures a smooth, consistent employee experience and gets your people up and running faster.??

Transform IT ops and reduce the cost of change?

Another important consideration is the cost of doing things manually. If you’re processing 1000 IT support tickets per month at ￡35 per ticket, that’s a cost of ￡420k just to make these changes. Of course, this figure doesn’t account for any errors along the way. This could potentially double the original ticket cost, especially if the complexity of the issue requires escalation to an authority.??

To start with, Applicable can identify your licenses that aren’t being used. Next, we can look at what features your end users are using and, therefore, which license agreement is going to be the best fit moving forward. Take E5 licensing, for instance, especially those signed up to as part of attractive, time-limited Enterprise Agreements. We can check whether employees with an E5 license really need them or whether an E3 license will suffice. In fact, for some customers, we have enabled them to use add-on licenses to uplift in the areas they need to, allowing them to become more cost-effective. For other customers, we’ve replaced many of their E5 licenses with a frontline license, ensuring they still have the right tools to do their job.??

We’ve helped many customers in this way, providing them with stress-free management and effortless scaling of their Microsoft 365 licences. Using our automation tools, you can decrease human error while boosting system security, efficiency and compliance. This ensures you don’t have a cache of costly licenses sitting idle but just enough to remain prepared for change, elevating efficiency while reducing unnecessary costs. Meanwhile, your technology can grow with your business and market peaks thanks to licensing that flexes with seasonal demands, such as hiring additional retail staff for the holiday season.??

Beyond optimising your licensing and preventing wasted spend, we also enable you to re-utilise the resources you have committed to managing that process, freeing them up for higher-value work instead of tedious admin.??

As a natural byproduct of our ongoing partnership, you can unlock greater efficiency, accuracy and governance alongside substantial cost reduction to make a tangible difference to your bottom line.??

Ready to maximise your IT investment??

Perhaps you’re approaching the end of your three-year EA contract and want to re-evaluate how and where your licenses are being used. We can perform an audit and work out how many licenses you need, empowering you to make informed decisions on where to invest next. Through automation, we can also ensure you have the right level of infrastructure, allowing you to choose the best contract and pay the right amount based on your needs.?

If you’re ready to transform your IT operations, Applicable's Automation Service Workshop can help you unlock the full potential of Microsoft 365. Our in-depth advisory process will assess your needs and build a bespoke automation strategy to address your specific challenges. In a hands-on 3-day workshop, we ensure that you walk away with a fresh approach to squeezing maximum value from your IT investments, increasing efficiency and driving business growth.??

Talk to Applicable about your business goals and see how our managed services can help you achieve them faster. Get in touch with a member of our expert team today at: [email protected]