How to save money on your Microsoft licensing

5 Ways to lower your licensing bill

Setting up your Microsoft environment is a large, and often daunting task. There are plenty of 'gotchas', pitfalls, and mistakes that all first-time and seasoned administrators can fall into. If you're not using an outsourced IT helpdesk service, this can result in lost time and money. This article lists 5 ways to save money on your Microsoft licensing.

1. Annual Billing

Microsoft have multiple billing options, namely Monthly/Monthly, Monthly/Annual, and Annual/Annual. While monthly/monthly might look attractive from a short-term cashflow perspective, Microsoft add a premium on to the licensing cost for the flexibility. On the other hand, the annual/annual option can be expensive up front. Managed IT Services pricing can be a bear-pit, so reach out to Mason Infotech to understand it fully.

2. Take Advantage of Licensing Inclusions

Microsoft 365 is a huge platform, with the capability to perform a host of tasks. Microsoft themselves report that 80% of their users only use 4 apps: Word, Excel, Outlook, and Teams. For Business Premium licenses, the 365 suite includes Power Automate applications, security features, and utility apps that help businesses with a whole host of tasks. Mason Infotech's IT MSP services help businesses to make the most of their existing infrastructure, and trim the fat on extraneous pieces of software. Remember, when it comes to software, the goal is never to find the cheapest plan, but the one that actively serves business goals in the most efficient way possible.

3. Monitor and Maintain your SharePoint storage

Every Microsoft 365 Business Premium account user is given a storage pot of 1TB. This means that if your businesses purchases 20 licenses, you get access to 20TB of data. It's worth being mindful of your storage capabilities, as it's common for businesses to reach their storage limits without realising, and be presented with an unexpected bill. Normally, a business is then faced with a choice: audit their data, which is cost and time intensive, or purchase more storage, which can be expensive. An IT MSP like Mason Infotech can help businesses to monitor this and audit their storage long before it becomes a problem with out Office 365 support products.

4. Make Use of Mason Infotech's Microsoft 365 Managed Services

Mason Infotech's Microsoft 365 managed services provide comprehensive support for your Microsoft cloud-based productivity suite. By partnering with an MSP like us, that specialices in Microsoft 365 management, you can ensure efficient deployment, configuration, and ongoing management of your Microsoft 365 licenses. This proactive approach can help you avoid costly licensing mistakes and optimise your investment in Microsoft 365.

5. Save on Inactive Licenses with Backup Services

Microsoft 365 users must have an active license to access company data. If a user leaves your business, but you still want access to their email account, project data, or files, it can be tempting to keep their license active. This can result in paying around £300/year for access for a user that is no longer active within your business. A Cloud Backup service can make sure that user data is backed up before deactivating their license, and make sure you can access their data even once you have deactivated their licensing.

Save on Microsoft 365 Licensing with Mason Infotech

Mason Infotech have been helping businesses to make the most of their IT infrastructure since 2002. As a leader in the IT MSP industry, we confidently deliver IT solutions that work across the UK. If you're interested in learning more about Managed IT Services and support from Mason Infotech, please follow the link below to speak to us!

In short, optimising your use of Microsoft licensing can free up expenditure for other projects like new hires or marketing. But planning your license usage can be time consuming and resource intensive. Partnering with an MSP like Mason Infotech and using our managed IT services for small businesses, can help businesses to save money while making the most of their Microsoft services. Reach out to your Mason Infotech team to learn more about how we can help!