The hidden costs of poor Microsoft licence management

Running a successful organisation is all about finding balance—increasing agility, cutting costs, and driving efficiency. But one often-overlooked area that can derail your budget? Poor management of Microsoft licences.

Unused or mismatched licences could be silently draining your budget every month. It’s critical to maximise the return on your Microsoft investment, but licence management can be tricky and time-consuming, often leaving stretched IT teams in a bind.

Here’s a closer look at the challenges of managing Microsoft licences, the risks of getting it wrong, and how you can turn this into a cost-saving opportunity.

Why Microsoft licence management matters

Managing Microsoft licences is a juggling act. Enterprises face frequent organisational changes with new hires, transfers, and departures that can throw off your licence count. Added to that, Microsoft’s licensing rules are complex and constantly evolving, making it hard to keep on top of compliance and avoid fines.

Poorly managed licences can lead to:

• Wasted resources: Paying for unused licences or features without any return on investment.
• Administrative burden: Tracking licences manually can overwhelm your team.
• Compliance risks: Excessive access to sensitive information or licensing audits could cost big.

The bottom line? Failing to optimise your licensing is like leaving money on the table.

Common challenges (and how they’re costing you)

1. Unused licences = unnecessary expenses

Signed a post-pandemic three-year E5 licence contract? You're not alone. But businesses are now realising that many employees haven’t fully utilised those features and yet continue to pay $57 per licence every month. Similarly, other examples include Teams Room Pro licences left unassigned or virtual machines spun up but never used. Each of these results in steep, recurring costs.

2. Keeping up with organisational changes

Start-ups or enterprise-level organisations both face the same issue. New hires need to hit the ground running, but without proper processes, unused or misplaced licences become a financial black hole. Some companies even discover Microsoft 365 accounts they’ve been paying for that haven’t been logged into in years.

3. Staying compliant and audit-ready

An infrequent review of your entire licensing setup can leave you vulnerable. Licences incorrectly assigned could expose excessive access to critical data, creating both compliance and security vulnerabilities. If Microsoft audits you (which happens every few years), you might be in for an unpleasant surprise.

The solution? smarter licence management with SoftwareOne

If this sounds all too familiar, you're not alone. However, the good news is there's a simpler way to stay efficient, compliant, and cost-effective.

At SoftwareOne, we transform how businesses manage their Microsoft licences with a threefold approach:

Licence optimisation 

We help you identify unused licences and reveal where downgrades or add-ons can save costs without jeopardising productivity. For instance:

• Do employees need $57/month E5 licences, or will E3 suffice?
• Would frontline or add-on licences better suit certain roles?
• These small changes add up to big savings.
• Automation to streamline workflows
• Goodbye human error, hello efficiency! Our automation tools can:
  • Track and manage licences effortlessly
  • Generate on-demand reports highlighting cost variances
  • Scale flexibly with seasonal demand
  • Imagine onboarding a new hire with just a click or automatically revoking a licence when someone departs. It’s that simple.

Ensuring enterprise compliance

With over 30 years of licensing expertise, our team ensures you're always audit-ready. Our tailored governance strategies protect your business without draining internal resources.

Unlock value, drive innovation

SoftwareOne research shows that 48% of companies are uncertain whether they have funds for their next wave of innovation. What if optimising your licences could unlock that budget?

By cutting wasted spend, you'll not only save but redirect those resources toward game-changing initiatives. From cloud migrations to making the most of underutilised Microsoft 365 features, we'll help you do more with less.