Smarter Microsoft licensing: key strategies for M365 and Azure cost control

Visibility first: understand what’s in play

Before you can cut waste, you need clarity. Many organisations underestimate the complexity of their Microsoft estates, especially in hybrid and remote-first environments.

💡 Start with a full picture of what licences are active, what users are assigned, and how services are actually being used.

Learn more about IT asset visibility

Use data to make licensing decisions

Too often, licensing decisions are made based on assumptions or one-size-fits-all templates. But the real savings happen when you align licence levels with actual roles and responsibilities.

💡 Leverage reporting tools to identify patterns, eliminate over-provisioning, and assign only what’s needed.

Learn more about License Dashboard License Manager

Keep Azure costs predictable

While Azure’s flexibility is one of its strengths, it also makes overspending easy. Pay-as-you-go resources, orphaned services, and unmanaged growth can all eat into your budget.

💡 Review cloud usage regularly. Build governance around Reserved Instances, autoscaling, and resource tagging to ensure accountability.

Learn more about licence reconciliation

Factor in governance and lifecycle management

Software assets aren’t static. Users leave, departments change, services evolve. Without regular clean-up, inactive licences and cloud waste accumulate quickly.

💡 Introduce regular re-harvesting cycles for unused licences and establish processes for reallocation before renewal dates.

Learn more about software lifecycle management

Think beyond cost: build resilience

Licensing isn’t just about saving money, it’s about reducing risk. Inaccurate license data can lead to non-compliance, audit exposure, and reputational damage.

💡 Build a licensing strategy that prioritises accuracy, compliance, and agility. It’ll pay off in the long run.

Learn more about IT risk mitigation

Cost optimisation isn’t about cutting corners, it’s about making informed decisions.

With the right data and strategy, organisations can take full advantage of Microsoft’s cloud offerings while keeping spend under control.

Alternatively, please email us at [email protected] or call 01904 562200, and one of our specialists will be in touch to discuss your requirements.