Understanding the Impact of Microsoft Price Increases
Microsoft’s recent announcement of a 5% price increase on certain annual commitments paid monthly, along with additional costs for AI-powered Copilot integration, has left many organizations seeking ways to optimize their M365 investments. The discontinuation of the built-in VPN service and price changes for Teams Phone services further compound the financial impact.
These 5% increases affect the products with per-user monthly billing plans for annual subscriptions, including:
- Microsoft 365
- Office 365
- Enterprise Mobility + Security
- Windows 365
- Dynamics 365
Come April 1, 2025, organizations must also lock in place efficient license management tools and procedures, if they haven’t already. Because Microsoft is also updating pricing for Microsoft Teams Standard, Power BI Pro and Power BI Premium as follows:
- Teams Phone Standard licenses will be £8 per user per month – increasing from £6
- Power BI Pro licenses will be $11 per user per month – increasing from £8
- Power BI Premium Per User licenses will be £19 per user per month – increasing from £16
These price increases are no surprise for seasoned license managers. In April 2024 Microsoft had a global pricing realignment to align with the US dollar figures, after already increasing the base licensing costs for most plans by 10% to 25% a year prior.
What to look for to optimise license cost management and reduction
Cost management and reduction are critical since they contribute to profit maximization. To successfully implement this, your organization must have the proper tools for gathering accurate data, be accountable for costs and take appropriate action to optimise spending.
You will need to address:
- Inactive user with license – where a license is allocated to a user, but no login has occurred. Naturally, the user can define the period that can pass between logins.
- Underutilized licenses – For example, a user has an E5 license assigned, but they’re using only some of the services in it. This might be an opportunity to downgrade to a more cost-effective and relevant license.
- Duplicate licenses – when a user within the organization has multiple licenses and overlapping services. With careful monitoring, an informed decision can be made whether to unassign or disable them.
- Disabled with license – when a user has been disabled in AD but still has a license.
How Clobba License Adoption Can Help
Clobba LA offers a suite of features tailored to address these challenges, providing organizations with the tools they need to manage their M365 licenses effectively.
- Comprehensive Monitoring and Reporting: Clobba LA provides a complete overview of all M365 licenses within an organization. It captures unused or dormant licenses, ensuring that every license is utilized to its fullest potential. The module’s customizable dashboards and analytics tools offer insights into license usage trends, helping organizations make informed decisions about their licensing needs.
- Identifying Cost-Saving Opportunities: One of the key benefits of the tool is its ability to identify underutilized, duplicate, and inactive licenses. By highlighting these areas, organizations can reallocate or downgrade licenses, leading to significant cost savings.
- Ensuring Compliance and Optimization: Clobba LA helps organizations stay compliant with their licensing agreements by providing detailed reports on license usage. This ensures that organizations do not overpay for licenses they do not need or underutilize the ones they have. The module’s configurable rules allow organizations to tailor their license management strategies to their specific needs, further optimizing their M365 investments.
- Driving User Adoption and Training: Beyond cost management, Clobba LA also focuses on driving user adoption of M365 services. By identifying gaps in usage and providing actionable insights, the module empowers organizations to implement targeted training and education programs. This maximizes the value of their M365 licenses and enhances overall productivity.
Conclusion
In light of the impending Microsoft price increases, Clobba LA emerges as a vital tool for organizations looking to manage and reduce their licensing costs. By offering comprehensive monitoring, reporting, and analysis capabilities, it ensures that organizations can navigate these changes effectively, optimizing their M365 investments and driving greater value from their licenses.
Would you like to explore more about how Clobba LA can benefit your organization? Feel free to reach out for a demo or further information!
