The hidden costs of poor Microsoft license management

Running a successful organization 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 licenses.

Unused or mismatched licenses could be silently draining your budget every month. It’s critical to maximize the return on your Microsoft investment, but license 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 licenses, the risks of getting it wrong, and how you can turn this into a cost-saving opportunity.

Why Microsoft license management matters

Managing Microsoft licenses is a juggling act. Enterprises face frequent organizational changes with new hires, transfers, and departures that can throw off your license 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 licenses can lead to:

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

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

Common challenges (and how they’re costing you)

1. Unused licenses = unnecessary expenses

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

2. Keeping up with organizational changes

Start-ups or enterprise-level organizations both face the same issue. New hires need to hit the ground running, but without proper processes, unused or misplaced licenses 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. Licenses 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 license 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 licenses with a threefold approach:

License optimization 

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

• Do employees need $57/month E5 licenses, or will E3 suffice?
• Would frontline or add-on licenses 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 licenses 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 license 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 optimizing your licenses 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 underutilized Microsoft 365 features, we'll help you do more with less.