Today’s business environment is more competitive than ever. Australia’s IT leaders must make strategic sourcing decisions for new products all the time.
In addition to new products, most enterprises already have access to applications which are not being used to their full extent. The concept of “shelfware”, or not making use of software already paid for, has been a problem for a long time, and it can be with either on-prem or cloud-based applications.
In this article we will look at five ways to get more out of existing Microsoft licences to save on costs and take better advantage of the Microsoft suite for the modern workplace.
- Know what’s on the roadmap
New features are being added to Microsoft’s suite of applications all the time, but are most customers aware of what benefits they bring? A new feature can compare with other third-party products and a good MSP will be able to improve your capability with new features as they are added. It’s important to know what’s on Microsoft’s roadmap so the new features of today don’t become the shelfware of missed opportunities of tomorrow.
Roadmap management for Microsoft, which is constantly releasing features across its Microsoft 365 suite, is important for value realisation. With a traditional MSP you pay fees for management, but don’t get enablement of new services. Australia-based MSP The Cloud Men have a real focus on new features that are released, and are experts at maximising Mircrosoft 365 while reducing costs.
- Teams calling
Teams has exploded in popularity since Microsoft began promoting it as its main video collaboration app. Microsoft Teams is a full unified communications suite, including support for file transfers and calling. Teams Phone supports voice and video calls through VoIP and regular phone lines (PSTN). With the appropriate licences your organisation might be able to take advantage of Teams Phone Calling without the need to integrate an external phone system. This will enable you to make calls within the company Teams account and regular telephone numbers.
- Cloud and productivity
Shelfware has been traditionally associated with an on-premises software product which was purchased but never used, or not used to its full extent. The same challenge can easily arise with cloud-based applications, which are procured as-a-Service but still not used effectively. If you have active Microsoft Azure Subscription or 365 licenses you might not be getting the full potential of Azure Cloud and Microsoft 365. You could also be using on-premises or private cloud infrastructure without a need for it, which adds even more cost. As an example, Microsoft 365 Enterprise includes a free Azure AD subscription so that you can integrate your on-premises Active Directory Domain Services to synchronize user accounts and passwords or set up single sign-on (SSO) with many external applications. Also, new OneDrive features allow you to connect all your files across Microsoft 365, including Teams and SharePoint.
- System and network security
Microsoft has a range of system and network security tools and many IT leaders might not be aware of the use cases. If your licensing covers them, you can enable that extra protection for free. For example, Microsoft Defender is known as a leading anti-malware product, but it also integrates with Microsoft 365 for email filtering. You can even enable real-time detection in the Microsoft 365 Defender portal. Another good example is VPNs. Organisations pay for VPNs depending on the use case, but Microsoft has Azure VPN. The Cloud Men have transitioned many organisations from hardware VPN appliances to Azure VPN saving them a lot of expenditure in the process. In addition, Azure VPN also takes advantage of Microsoft’s Global backbone network, which is one of the largest backbone networks in the world optimising the routes your traffic takes.
- Desktop and endpoint management
How well are your endpoints being managed and are you looking at a third-party MDM tool? Microsoft Intune is cloud-based unified endpoint management solution that’s included with a range of Microsoft 365 and Business Premium plans. The endpoint management solution works across Windows, Android and iOS and can now tell you the health of your endpoints. In keeping with knowing what’s on the roadmap, Endpoint Analytics was just released to Intune enabling organisations to proactively identify problematic endpoints impacting users productivity.
If you are looking to access your desktops and applications from anywhere Azure Virtual Desktop is a cloud-based desktop hosting service you can get with existing eligible Microsoft 365 licenses. By using Windows 11 multi-session support on Azure, you can further reduce your infrastructure costs.
Microsoft is ubiquitous in the enterprise so make sure you’re using any licencing arrangements to your full advantage.
* The Cloud Men specialise in management and deployment of Microsoft Modern Workplace solutions and the Azure cloud stack. Most MSPs have a suite of different products; however, they focus on the full suite of Microsoft products which are already included in many active licences. This approach gives customers the power of consolidation, rather than dealing with many different, often costly, products.
According to Richard Vicary from KnowledgePoint Limited, The Cloud Men has transformed KnowledgePoint's IT landscape through a series of impactful projects.
“Firstly, they meticulously reviewed our Microsoft Licensing, identifying opportunities to optimize costs by selecting the most suitable licenses for each role,” Vicary said. “The Cloud Men also guided us through the process of migrating away from third-party software, which not only resulted in significant cost savings but also ensured we harnessed the full potential of our existing Microsoft licenses.
“Not only have we saved money, but the solutions implemented by the Cloud Men integrate seamlessly, creating a smooth and efficient experience for our users which also enhanced our overall productivity.”
