Microsoft 365 Cost Saving Tips

Reallocate unused licenses

Optimising licenses alongside adoption means managing the constantly changing needs of users. For growing organisations, this can be onerous to constantly track assigned and relevant licenses. Reallocating them helps you control excess licensing costs.

Locate users who are over-licensed.

If we investigate that notion of irrelevant licensing use a little deeper, we will understand that Microsoft 365 licenses come in various tiers. With small businesses, we mostly find 365 Business Basic, Standard, or Premium Plans. However, sometimes users have also been assigned a separate Exchange online plan, which is clearly a duplication as that functionality is already included in all three Business Plans. Furthermore, not every user in the organisation will require the extra features that a Business Premium license provides. Make sure only those who absolutely need higher-tier licenses are equipped accordingly.

Convert leavers' to shared mailboxes

Changing a mailbox to be shared is a good approach when its necessary for other users to take over responsibility for the work of a departed employee. For example, the manager of a sales representative who leaves the organisation needs to follow up on customer engagements and commitments. When a user mailbox becomes shared, it no longer needs an Exchange Online license unless it is larger than 50 GB or has an archive. If necessary, administrators can easily change the mailbox back to become a regular user mailbox.

Monthly billing

If you are on month-to-month billing, some plans, such as the 365 Business Basic and Premium have risen by 20%. If you have a static or growing estate, it is by far more cost-effective to sign into an annual agreement. Of course, if you have seasonal or part-time staff, this might not be a good fit for those users, but you can mix and match the contractual commitment.

How we can help

How can you be sure that you are only paying for what you need? Try our Free of Charge 365 auditing service and we will do all the work for you. We will spot if users are assigned to incorrect plans, highlight plans that are not required, and recommend changes to simplify the billing.

Please visit www.auditmy365bill.co.uk to find out more