According to Web Tribunal, over 731,000 companies in the United States use Office 365, and Microsoft Teams boasts 250 million daily active users. For business owners, this means managing several Microsoft licenses for their employees. What’s so exciting about software licensing, you might ask? You’d be surprised at the number of issues businesses have when they don’t handle licensing appropriately.

Why Managing Employee Licensing Matters 

While it’s often forgotten as a background logistical problem, managing employees’ Microsoft licenses matters. There are several aspects of your business that these licenses that can affect. Here are just a few:

  • Efficiency: Employees who don’t have licensed access to the right tools and software can’t perform to the best of their ability, thereby negatively impacting the overall success of their team and the business. Once licenses are granted, providing software training to employees elevates their use of the tools at their disposal.
  • A Note on Training: Some organizations don’t want to spend extra money or time training their employees on software. But that’s like buying a Porsche with a manual transmission and never learning how to drive a standard. It doesn’t make sense to invest so much money into a tool for your business and then not provide employees the training necessary to obtain ROI from that software.
  • Cost: It’s essential to audit your licenses regularly to ensure you’re not paying for unused licenses. As a part of your audit, you should also double-check the licensing fees to see if you’re utilizing and gaining benefits from everything your investment covers.
  • Compliance: Did you know that poorly managed licenses can cause compliance issues? Depending on your industry and the software you’re utilizing, keeping your licensing current is essential to compliance. A trained IT professional can help you keep track of this and avoid any problems.
  • Security: If you have an employee who leaves your organization, their access to software licenses should be removed and either discontinued entirely or transitioned to another employee. While this does tie to cost, it is also a security issue. Allowing former employees to hold onto licenses leaves your business vulnerable.

How to Manage Microsoft 365 Licensing  

Microsoft offers documentation to help you manage licenses. However, if you’re working with a managed service provider, they can handle all your license changes and needs, so you don’t have to. At Smooth-IT, were happy to help businesses ensure they are utilizing their software licensing appropriately. Learn more here.