Manage and optimize
Microsoft 365 licenses
www.syskit.com
Introduction 3
What is Microsoft 365? 4
How does it work? 5
Pros and cons of Microsoft 365 6
Table of Contents
Benefits 6
Negatives 8
Managing and optimizing your Microsoft 365 license 10
Mechanisms to gain instant information about license data 11
Carrying out a health check 11
Designate and license pools 11
Institute a chargeback system 12
Recognize and take action on inactive licenses 12
What to look at 13
License Summary report 13
Active Users report 13
Usage report 14
Effective license position 15
How to choose the right Microsoft 365 plan? 15
Avail services of professionals 17
Introduction
In this day and age, a respectable business worth its salt cannot afford to
operate without technology or software. Going without the facilities and benefits
that technology offers is akin to relegating your business to the stone age of
modernity.
That being said, keeping up to date with technology is itself a hassle with
relentless frequent updates which can sometimes make it a jumble and pain to
figure out, particularly in terms of licenses for software suites.
This e-book is specially crafted to help you make your way through the Microsoft
365 ecosystem and its licenses. One of the most powerful and intuitive
software packages out there, it can sometimes be a challenge to make sense
of and manage your Microsoft licenses.
This book will, apart from the advantages and disadvantages, tell you how to
optimize your Microsoft 365 licenses.
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01
Microsoft 365 is the entire suite of services provided by Microsoft’s
platform formerly under the Office 365 or Microsoft Office product line.
It goes a step beyond Office 365 by not only including old favorites
What is Microsoft 365?
but also more technologically advanced services and features such as
artificial intelligence and cloud-based productivity tools.
It offers subscription-based plans which allow you to use the platform’s
products via a license as long as you continue paying over the life of
the programs you use.
This book will primarily deal with how to manage and optimize
those licenses, what problems can occur that can confound a
business, some possible solutions, and how best to customize a
setup that best suits your business needs.
Before that, however, it would be prudent to look at how it works, some
reasons why you should use Microsoft 365, its pros and cons, and other
aspects.
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02 How does it work?
Purchasing a Microsoft 365 subscription essentially means getting aboard a
set of apps and services which you can either pay for on a varying basis like
monthly or annual.
The access you gain to the particular apps and services depends on which
subscription package you signed up for.
How it works is that when you buy a subscription, you will have to specify
the number of licenses you will need according to a per head basis of the
employee count in your business. You can then create accounts for your
employees and assign them licenses once you have purchased a subscription.
What is great about this is the scalability it provides as you can buy additional
licenses for new people and organizational changes or reassign licenses
when employees leave your organization.
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03 Pros and cons of
Microsoft 365:
Benefits
A license for Microsoft 365 can serve to help Increased mobile access
your organization in several ways and posits
many benefits and advantages. Productivity takes a massive boost with
Microsoft 365 as its range of mobile apps
The main overarching benefit a Microsoft powered by cloud technology make it vastly
license grants your business is that of easier for employees to maintain the quality of
increased productivity and connectivity their output no matter where they are working
throughout your operations. from.
Here is how the following benefits join together The power and features of the apps that come
to promote the above in your business. with a Microsoft license effectively mean that
your business can focus on fulfilling its mission
Streamlining knowledge sharing instead of having to be bogged down in
concerns about employee productivity on the
Microsoft 365 takes sharing knowledge a step go or their connectivity.
further. How so?
Promoting innovation through social
SharePoint Online is one of the services offered integration
in Microsoft 365 and its better user interface
and interconnectivity make it easier to manage You cannot escape social media; it is better
documents in cloud libraries and also offer a to try and not escape that reality. Instead of
hassle-free data sharing mechanism. curbing social media use in your organization
amongst your employees, you can encourage it
Microsoft 365 also integrates Microsoft Teams through the use of social tools in Microsoft 365.
in SharePoint Online which aids employees in
communicating efficiently during their daily tasks Apps like Yammer and Teams operate much like
related to management such as document creation. pre-existing social media platforms and don’t
have a learning curve. Allowing your employees,
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the freedom to interact and communicate Continuous updates
freely through social platforms allows for
innovation and a free flow of creativity, not Most services and software ecosystems that
to mention maintaining a record of possible are maintained on on-site premises often
ideas floated and suggestions. require frequent physical patches and updates
for security needs which can, in turn, impede
Internal and external collaboration operations.
Microsoft 365’s tools and services allow your With a Microsoft license’s cloud-based
employees to collaborate effectively internally operations you need not worry about that
within the organization and with external since updates can be rolled out remotely
partners. and frequently thus allowing your IT team to
continue smooth operations without disrupting
With the services and apps in the suite, your their work.
organization can break geographic barriers
and physical boundaries thus allowing Improved return on investment
cooperation from various remote employees
which serves to improve overall productivity. Multiple software and services to keep track
of means additional costs in some ways from
Powerful data archive searching having to track license costs to costs consumed
in time wasted to administrative costs. All of
Unlike conventional file storage and archive this can bring down your overall productivity
options which can often cause disorganization and thus profitability.
and make it hard for employees to search
for and keep track of their files, the services A key advantage of Microsoft 365 is that all
offered in Microsoft 365 have been specifically services are contained in one suite ecosystem
designed and updated to keep up with some which means you don’t have to navigate and
of the largest companies and their needs. waste time doing so from one service to another.
Their search capability boosts document When everything from teamwork, automation,
management, social content, quick and easy file compliance, security, and more are integrated
searching, communication and collaboration, into one ecosystem then it will streamline
and overall productivity as redundant duplicate your organization’s workflow and reduce
activities are eliminated. redundancy.
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Negatives
Subscription costs
A reason for this is that a Microsoft license
Subscription costs go without being said but it is is more frequently updated than your custom
still pertinent to mention them. You will have to software so the latter may fail to keep pace
pay a monthly subscription for your Microsoft with the former and thus present more bugs
365 license and whether that is negative or not and issues with every update.
largely depends on how you see it and your
organization’s situation. Trying to resolve this process could incur quite
Some businesses can afford to pay a regular the costs which lead to the next disadvantage.
monthly subscription but some may think a
one-time yearly payment is better due to cash Constant updates
flow issues in some months of the year.
There is a side to every coin or even the moon
Compatibility issues with custom firm- has a dark side.
ware
Constant updates are great for keeping your
Most businesses use custom firmware or Microsoft license safe and secure and in line
bespoke applications in some shape or another with best practices and developments but they
to suit particularized needs. also require constant changes from your end.
Your business will have to consistently and
The problem with a Microsoft 365 license is frequently retrain its employees for any major
that since it is developed generally to scale update as failure to do so could mean lagging.
from the smallest to the largest businesses, its
environment may fail to properly integrate Apart from that, new changes also cause
with your bespoke software and instead actually different bugs, glitches, compatibility issues, and
creates some error that could impede the more which can take time to resolve and sort
performance of both. out.
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Internet dependency develop contingencies for since hacker groups
have shown the ability to cripple and destabilize
A Microsoft license, since it is a cloud-based major companies when they are combined with
operating platform, is dependent on the the backing of government might..
internet and your connectivity to work properly
and function. Bogged down in a variety of services
Normally none of us could even think about Another disadvantage of a Microsoft 365
living in an unconnected world devoid of the license, which stems from advantage and will
internet but recent incidents like natural disasters be the core focus of the e-book from now on,
show it doesn’t take a lot for us to go off the is how your business can get bogged down in
grid and base our entire operating infrastructure the variety of services on offer.
on something which has the potential to easily
go offline is a security risk. A Microsoft 365 license is an entire suite of
services with a plethora of options. This can all
Even if we remove those scenarios, this means feel overwhelming particularly if you or your
employees operating from areas with patchy employees have not been properly trained
connections won’t be able to perform to their and could lead to making use of only the most
optimum potential and may face significant issues basic features or a failure to identify the best
or if your business faces internet downtime. Microsoft license for your needs or how to
optimize and manage it.
Security concerns
This is a disadvantage because getting
Since all your data in Microsoft 365 is not stored overwhelmed can inhibit business processes
physically at on-site data banks but rather online, and also means you are paying for a service
this leaves it susceptible to attacks and hacks you are not fully using, which is a redundant
which is a major security risk for any business. cost. You should either avail yourself of the full
extent of your license’s offers or pick a license
Normally Microsoft 365’s security apparatus is that is more suited to your needs and ability.
robust enough to ward off attacks combined The eBook will now show you how to manage
with Microsoft’s larger security mechanisms and optimize your Microsoft licenses.
but it is still one risk to seriously consider and
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04 Managing and
optimizing your
Microsoft 365 licenses
To make the best use of your license means engaging with it
frequently to determine whether or not it fits the needs and
requirements of your business.
Let’s look at some of the types of problems that your business might face due to
unoptimized or poor license management.
• An employee does not receive license access due to some oversight
• A department head or manager makes use of a license from another department
• License is not retired upon an employee leaving the business which keeps
incurring monthly subscription costs
• The workload of different business units changes according to evolving needs
or technological changes which may make old licenses redundant or affect the
number of licenses required
Not all of the above situations are problems but they are rather examples that
demonstrate why it is not simple as buying a Microsoft license and calling it a day.
To make the best use of your license means engaging with it frequently to
determine whether or not it fits the needs and requirements of your business.
The following are some of the best practices to optimize and manage your
Microsoft 365 licenses to ensure any redundancies are caught in time and your
business continues to make full use of it.
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Mechanisms to gain instant information
about license data
There are many third-party and accredited dashboards about your Microsoft licenses that
analytical and reporting tools that can instantly answer questions such as how many licenses
conjure up information about your Microsoft are owned, how many people are using them,
licenses and its usage. Such reports and how are they being used, and whether they are
information can be usually tailored to produce the right fit for the job then they will be able to
whatever specific data point you want. make a better-informed decision about how
to accordingly adjust your license subscription.
When managers will have access to reports and
Carrying out a health check
How a license is initially brought into a business routinely carry out health checks of its Microsoft
and how it continues to be used and evolves is licenses.
very different. A health check will provide a snapshot of your
license’s overall performance and functioning at
Over time, a license and some of its features that time which will help to see that the needs
and services might become unassigned, inactive, of their users and your company’s licensing
or oversized therefore your organization should agreement are aligned with each other.
Designate and license pools
Another great and effective way to keep track In effect you will be assigned a pool of licenses
of and manage a Microsoft license is to return to look over that will belong to their direct
to a time-tested business technique: delegation. subordinates. This along with compounding
the traditional advantages of the delegation
Instead of assigning a hefty task such as will also ensure that your overall Microsoft
evaluating the overall licensing position of an licensing evaluation is more accurate since
entire organization to a single person, the your department heads will be most aware and
best practice is to delegate such a process to cognizant of the day-to-day needs and usage
managers or department heads. of their subordinates.
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Institute a chargeback system
A chargeback system is basically where the in its departments and match them with their
assorted costs of IT services, hardware, or overall productivity. If a department is running
software are assigned to the respective business high licensing costs without a corresponding
units or departments that assign them. increase in output or vice versa then it means
licensing needs are not being aligned and there
This mechanism to optimize Microsoft licenses is un-optimization.
follows in sync with the previous since instituting
a chargeback system will create more Apart from refining and optimizing your
responsibility in handing out licenses at the Microsoft licenses, this measure will also help to
departmental level. inculcate fiscal and accounting responsibility
among your department heads and managers
With a chargeback system in place, a business since they will know there will be an oversight
will be able to keep track of license usage in handing out licenses.
Recognize and take action on inactive licenses
A major reason for unoptimized Microsoft are shifted inter-departmentally or leave your
license management is the failure to identify organization.
and continue to pay for inactive licenses.
This will allow that particular employee’s license
You should have a license management solution to be retired or reassigned effective immediately
in place which is coordinated with your HR so your business does not continue paying for
department to account for any employees who a ghost license.
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05 What to look at
Three major report types come built into the Microsoft 365 environment. Microsoft
themselves explain how they work but here we will simplify it down for you a little.
You can access these three reports at https://admin.microsoft.com/.
1. License Summary report
Go to the License Summary report to see the following scenario or something
similar to it.
This page serves to provide a large overview and a quick snapshot of whether your
organization is correctly licensed or over licensed or under licensed.
You can tinker around with options here and take measures to rectify an over-
licensed position.
2. Active Users report
Going to this section will yield the following page or something similar to it.
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Clicking the three dots will give you the option to export to an excel file which will
show a detailed breakdown of users and their associated details.
This information will help you to identify duplicate, inactive and current users and
take according to action such as reassigning licenses or removing duplicate licenses.
3. Usage report
Going to the Usage report from the admin center will provide a picture similar to
this.
From here what you should do is set the period at the top right hand to a maximum
of 180 days.
Then you can go into the view report sections of the four report types and view
their various details.
The main ones to inspect are the first two, Active Users - Microsoft 365 Services
and Active Users - Microsoft 365 Apps, which show a breakdown of user activity on
different services and activity of app usage on the Microsoft 365 suite.
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06 Effective license
position
When you achieve all of the above and your licensing is in sync with your user needs then you
can be said to be in an effective license position.
That sounds technical but is basically what we said above, that your license matches your needs
instead of being over or under.
This is the ideal position that your position should strive to be in since it represents equilibrium. ELP
is also broadly used to refer to the methodology by which you bring about compliance in your
license entitlement to your software consumption.
How to choose the right Microsoft 365 plan?
1. Assess your current situation
The foremost step when thinking of going for a Microsoft 365 license is your current hardware and
software inventory.
This will allow you to assess the state of your current infrastructure and whether it is equipped
to smoothly handle and integrate a Microsoft license or would you need to make additional
investments to upgrade your computing needs.
The state of the software at your current disposal will also allow you to gauge the proficiency of
your employees and how much retraining they will need for a Microsoft license.
2. What are your needs?
This follows directly after the first step. You must assess and determine what your needs are in
signing up for a Microsoft license.
This is important because what your needs are will determine what kind of license you ultimately
end up going for. It would also be prudent to take stock of how your needs might change shortly
which will help pick a license that will thus account for future requirements.
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3. What is your budget?
Self-explanatory enough but what your budget is or how much you can increase it or expect it to
increase in the future will also factor in what license you ultimately end up going for.
A good rule of thumb is to always slightly keep at a higher amount than what you predict you
will end up needing since unexplained costs can arise anywhere at any time and you should have
contingencies in store.
4. Compare and select your license plan
5. Assess and review later
Assessing your needs and requirements at the time before purchasing a license is not sufficient.
If you want to optimize your effective license position then it will be prudent, nay required, to
reassess and review your operations once your selected license is in place and running.
This will allow you to analyze whether your predictions before purchase held true and if you
require any changes in your licensing scheme.
It is best to ensure this is a routine process since it ties back to best practices for optimizing your
license that we talked about above.
Below are some of the more popular licensing plans that are chosen, with the business licenses
meant for small to medium-sized businesses while the enterprise options are meant for larger
businesses.
• Microsoft 365 Business Basic
• Microsoft 365 Apps for Business
• Microsoft 365 Business Standard
• Microsoft 365 Business Premium
• Microsoft F3
• Microsoft E3
• Microsoft E5
Find the complete list of Microsoft 365 license plan options here.
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07 Avail services of
professionals
Many businesses and organizations opt to have the above processes carried out by qualified third-
party services.
Oftentimes, this ends up working more advantageously than carrying out the processes themselves
since the third-party specialized services are more keenly aware of the methodology for analyzing
license use and can more efficiently, effectively, and quickly complete the process.
SysKit Point’s License report and management system are one of the premier
services out there endeavoring to identify mismatches in license use for
businesses and provide comprehensive usage reports.
SysKit’s services have been described in the following words by its users which goes to show the
advantages and benefits of this reporting service to optimize your Microsoft license needs.
• “Invaluable management and reporting tools.”
• “Easy to manage, deploy and provide custom reports.”
• “Product-oriented to the customer’s needs.”
• “Fantastic governance feature!”
• “Saves time and provides good reporting.”
SysKit Point has the privilege of working with some of the biggest conglomerates and multinationals
out there in the tech industry which makes it well suited to be familiar with common issues such
companies face in their licensing needs.
You can arrange a personalized demo that will cater to your every question and thoroughly satisfy
you before you avail SysKit Point’s services or you can contact us here for more info.
Apart from this SysKit Point also provides a whole host of other services which are particularly
tailored for the Microsoft 365 environment from reporting to auditing to governance to analytics.
An effective license position is one that your business cannot afford to miss out on if it wishes to
stay competitive in today’s landscape. Follow our guide to do it yourself or contact us to do it for
you to show you how to do it best.
