Maximising your Microsoft 365 investment in 2025 is about more than just cutting costs – it’s about aligning your licensing and usage with your businesses’ needs today whilst positioning for greater adoption tomorrow. As 2025 brings an uncertain economic future and businesses aim to do more with less, ensuring your organisation gets the most out of its M365 investment is paramount. Our Microsoft experts have outlined the essential do’s and don’ts to make sure you make the most of your investment in Microsoft 365.
The Do’s
1. Understand what you’re using
Gain visibility into how your users are leveraging Microsoft 365 by utilising tools such as www.365hound.io. This visibility will help you identify underused or redundant features, giving a clear picture of how the solutions are used within your environment and whether that aligns with your expectations.
2. Understand what you’re entitled to
Many organisations don’t fully use the features included in their licensing. For example, Business Premium subscribers may not realise they already have access to Defender for Business for endpoint protection or that SharePoint and OneDrive for Business include significant storage entitlements. Reviewing your entitlements can uncover hidden gems within your current licensing.
3. Work with a Competent CSP (Cloud Solution Provider)
A trusted CSP can help you navigate the complex licensing landscape. They can:
- Identify the optimal licensing configuration for your needs (e.g., CAL entitlements with various Microsoft licences)
- Provide purchasing and product support
- Potentially offer volume discounts to reduce costs.
4. Get a handle on Identity Lifecycle Management (ILM)
Many licensing issues stem from poor user and licence management at the outset. Tools like www.houndid.io ensure licences are assigned appropriately, avoiding over-allocation or underutilisation. We have observed many customers spending thousands a month on disabled users with licences, or over-allocating licences when the user begins, and these costs can quickly add up. A strong ILM approach saves time, money, and effort in the long run.
5. Regularly review your licensing needs
Periodically assess your organisation’s requirements to ensure you are not over-licensed or under-licensed. Look for opportunities to consolidate licensing into a bundled plan such as Business Premium, ME3, or ME5. This can be an opportunity to consolidate technologies within your environment, whilst also driving down costs by taking advantage of bundled offers. This measure helps ensure you’re only paying for what you need, when you need it.
6. Get familiar with Frontline Worker licences
If your workforce primarily interfaces with Microsoft 365 through a web browser or mobile app and has lower technology requirements, consider exploring Frontline Worker licences. These licences are significantly cheaper than their more fully featured enterprise alternatives and are designed to provide cost-effective access to essential tools without overpaying for features your workforce doesn’t need.
7. Make sure you cancel unused trial licences
If you enable a trial licence, be sure to cancel it if you’re not using it, otherwise you will be billed for it once the trial finishes. This is a common mistake we see made within customer environments.
The Don’ts
1. Don’t pay for features you aren’t using
It’s tempting to overcommit to features you “plan to use someday.” Instead, purchase licences as needed and scale up only when necessary. This flexibility keeps costs manageable, whilst allowing you to grow into your new feature set .
2. Turn on Tenant-Wide features without proper licensing
Just because you can turn on a feature doesn’t mean you’re correctly licensed for it. Enabling tenant-wide features without ensuring all users are licensed is a quick way to attract a Microsoft compliance audit. Always verify licensing coverage before making widespread changes.
3. Lock every licence into an annual commitment
While annual commitments often reduce costs, they lack flexibility. Depending on your organisation’s needs, consider keeping up to 20% of licences on a month-to-month plan. This is especially useful for accommodating seasonal or project-driven workforce changes.
4. Forget to offboard users
Complete and timely offboarding is a key mechanism in the fight to reclaim unused licences while preserving critical user data. Use tools like www.houndid.io to manage offboarding efficiently and cost-effectively.
5. Ignore the short cooling-off period for annual licences
Under the New Commerce Experience (NCE), there is a 72-hour cancellation period for annual licences. Be mindful of this to avoid being locked into unnecessary licences for a full year. More than a few customers have been caught out by changes Microsoft made with NCE, which stopped customers from being able to cancel annual licences without cost.
6. Neglect Archiving and Retention Policies
Failing to set up proper data archiving or retention policies can result in unnecessary storage costs. We are increasingly seeing customers reach their allotted storage entitlements in SharePoint, leading to expensive storage costs that take time to undo. Microsoft Purview is a simple way to get a handle on data within your environment, aiding you in the creation of appropriate archive and retention policies.
7. Overlook the need for Windows licences
Microsoft 365 is a powerful suite of tools but getting the most out of it requires more than just a subscription. By following these dos and don’ts, you can ensure a seamless, efficient, and cost-effective experience with Microsoft 365.
If you would like to learn more about maximising your investment in Microsoft 365, feel free to book a discovery call with our team here.
