Microsoft’s licensing options have never been simple; with many products, suites and versions, it was all too easy to get confused. With the change in the licensing model for Office 365, paying a low rate per user per month, the issue is somewhat simpler, but there is still every chance that your business is paying too much.
Getting the right license for each user
In days gone by, the license assigned to a user was associated more with the PC they were running their applications on. With the move to cloud-based, online applications, licenses can be maintained centrally, making it easy to add and amend licenses for Office 365, Dynamics 365 etc.
In addition to this, particularly with Dynamics 365/CRM, your users may not necessarily need a full license in order for them to work. By downgrading their license, you can save money without any effect on their day-to-day tasks.
Is buying licenses direct from Microsoft the best approach?
Microsoft certainly make it easy to buy licenses directly from them; but is that the most cost-effective method? You might think that buying software direct from the source would be the cheapest option, but often, Microsoft Partners can obtain licenses at a discount, and although the saving could be small on an individual user, once multiplied out per user, per month across your business, the annual savings can be surprising.
The advantages of partnering
In addition to potentially saving money by teaming up with a local Microsoft Partner, should you require technical support for your software, beyond the scope of your in-house IT resource, assistance can often be obtained much quicker via a partner than if you had gone directly to Microsoft yourself. Microsoft’s Service Level Agreements with their partners are often superior to those with their direct customers.
To find out if Strategy 365 can help your business to bring down its licensing costs, simply complete the form below and one of our experts will be in touch.
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