The rise of cloud computing is encouraging organizations to invest in software subscription models as opposed to perpetual licenses. One of the most popular business software is Microsoft Office 365, launched less than a decade ago in June 2011.

Office 365 has now become popular in the workforce as Microsoft fills the needs of all size businesses with their multiple Office 365 subscription plans. From individual business owners to enterprises, there are subscription plans for every business’ needs. It does take time to determine your specific management needs and the number of licenses to purchase. However, with the help of your IT Asset Management (ITAM) solution, this process is faster.

Most organizations have software that manages their IT assets. It oversees IT costs, accountability when lending devices, and manages the entire lifecycle of IT assets.

Here’s how to save you money on your Office 365 subscription:

1. Prevent Double Licensing

2. Choosing the right subscription plan

3. Revoking licenses

1. Prevent Double Licensing

As businesses are switching from Microsoft’s perpetual licensing to an Office 365 subscription, they need to prevent employees from having both licenses. It’s a waste to give an employee an Office 365 subscription while the individual may have many Microsoft licenses already installed on their computer.

In order to prevent this issue, it’s important to review the software inventory collected by your ITAM solution to check which computers already have a perpetual license. By identifying if an employee has both licenses, ITAM processes revoke the perpetual license and easily give the employee access to the cloud subscription. It gives you better control over who has what and exactly what licenses are available, without wasting any. The revoked licenses can then be reassigned to employees who don’t need access to Office 365. After it is properly set up in your IT Asset Management solution, this can take just a few minutes to execute.

2. Choosing The Right Subscription Plans

You must be wondering, how can my ITAM solution automate this process if different employees need different licenses? Not all employees need access to the full MS Suite.

Microsoft offers a wide variety of subscription plans that range from non-profit to enterprise plans. Although it can take a lot of time to decide on plans, your ITAM solution has software license optimization and reporting capabilities to help. Your ITAM solution then uses its role-based provisioning to distribute the appropriate license to an employee based on their title. For example, a factory worker only needs a license for occasional use. Meanwhile, a purchasing officer needs a more extensive license. As a result, your organization can buy different subscriptions to accommodate separate departments without losing control over costs and distribution.

3. Revoking Licenses

Optimal ITAM processes manage your Office 365 subscription which includes the distribution as well as the removal of licenses. There are several instances when employees leave but still have access to company property like having access to a software license. Especially an Office 365 subscription that is easily accessible through the internet can be harder to manage. However, ITAM solutions can easily take away a license and redistribute it accordingly so licenses are not wasteful. Even when an employee doesn’t need the license anymore, ITAM processes remove access to their license and put it in a central repository to redistribute.

The software license recycling process ensures you only buy the actual number of licenses you need when it is time for renewal. ITAM solution can perform a status check before renewals. However, it’s also able to produce user reconciliation and synchronizing. These regular checks give wider productivity and security benefits to HR and IT teams and ensure your Office 365 spending reflects your current personnel requirements. ITAM processes revoking licenses reduce costs and establishes security measures that were otherwise not there.

How ITAM helps save money on Microsoft Office 365

Save money on your Microsoft Office 365 subscription by taking advantage of your IT Asset Management solution. It prevents users from having access to two of the same licenses which are expensive and inefficient. The solution produces detailed reports to help decide which subscription plan is best for your organization. It can then distribute different plans to the correct employees by using its role-based provisioning capabilities. Rest assured that you will only ever purchase the Office 365 licenses you need with your ITAM solution.

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