Microsoft, we all know and use their range of both on-premise and Cloud hosted tools (Microsoft 365) – most of us on a daily basis. The tools they offer have become staples in both our workplaces and homes for over 30 years now – helping you and your users to be more productive, deliver a better service to your customers, and – due to some of the most recent advancements in its capabilities – enable you and your team to remain connected no matter your location around the globe.
Microsoft have recently announced some changes to their price plan, but don’t panic – this doesn’t mean it is suddenly going to be ridiculously over expensive; the price rises aren’t extortionately big and are not only small but justified. Over recent times Microsoft have repeatedly increased the value they offer to their customers with their range of tools and the development of, and changes to, those tools. Consider the improvements and additional features that they have made over the last ten years – the differences are enormous.
Why the increase?
Microsoft are trying to focus your attention on the value they offer their clients to justify the increase in price, and rightly so. You need only look at the key tools in the Microsoft suite to see how much they have changed since the day they were released, in terms of improvements in functionality, usability, and overall increased user experience, to see that they have a point.
Microsoft aren’t the only ones to be changing their pricing. All Cloud providers are expected to raise their prices – this is the way that most judge their success if focusing on their average revenue per user. They do this because it is a good way of guaranteeing that they are providing the best service possible but also to be sure that they do achieve the profit levels they aim for from the various subscription types.
You may or may not be familiar with the way Microsoft sell their services – there are many ways to do it but predominantly they sell in bundles. One of the changes they are making is to the E5 bundle, which they are doing in an attempt to tempt you away from the E3 bundle. The E3 bundle comes with a full license to install the desktop version of Excel, Word, Outlook, OneNote, and Publisher. The E5 bundle is practically identical but with one key difference in that it has the Microsoft Advanced Threat Protection software included, which is an especially good addition when bearing in mind the modern world of cyber criminality that we operate in.
Microsoft – of course – have been clever in the way that they distribute the price increases across their services, by making the gap in value between their E1 and E3 bundles much smaller in comparison to the E3 and E5 bundles. They have even closed the gap in price between the E3 and E5 bundles (through an increase to the E3 bundle cost whilst keeping the E5 bundle as it is) – in turn guiding their customers towards the E5 bundle as this offers the greatest value for money, especially for those that had a lower bundle before and thought the E5 bundle was out of reach before the price change.
Your role in the lead up to the change
This is dependent upon the way you use the tools and products that Microsoft offer. You need to take a step away and strip your business back to its component parts, in the process assessing how you and your team use the tools at your disposal. Ask yourself, “Am I getting value from my subscription?”
Taking this one step further, don’t just look at how things are being done now, but also consider the future. Ask yourself, “How often do we use this tool?”, “Am I likely to use it more often?”, “Can we still achieve our goals and continue to be efficient without this tool?”.
It is fair for Microsoft to use value for money as the reason for the price rises, but that only works if you are achieving the full potential from the tools you have at your disposal – thereby ensuring that this will lessen the blow of the increase altogether.
If you find that you aren’t using the tools at your disposal as efficiently and cost-effectively as you would like, don’t be disheartened – because most aren’t. Most businesses have a myriad of tools from a variety of different vendors all doing different things. Some features overlap the abilities of other tools and many more don’t do as advertised. However, businesses continue to use these tools – even though Microsoft have an alternative that they are already paying for as part of their subscription. Why would you want to pay for two tools that can do the same tasks?
It is essential that you are familiar with the main tools you use in order to be certain that you are forcing the best possible benefits from them. If, after doing this, you discover you aren’t, as we said don’t panic, because changes can then be made to your plan with Microsoft or – more likely – the way in which you are using these tools which to make them cost effective. Microsoft will never leave you with tools that you either don’t know how to use efficiently or that aren’t doing the job they are supposed to do – show Microsoft what your problems with the tools are and they will provide you with something different.
The features that the Microsoft suite of products offer are vast. It is a shame that only a very small percentage of businesses are actually using them correctly, and therefore getting full value from the platform. Don’t get us wrong – we aren’t saying you must use every feature that they offer because that would be counterproductive, but the right combination of the right tools used correctly will achieve the same goal. We do understand how difficult – and time consuming – this can be, so if you think you need some help don’t hesitate to get in contact with our expert IT support team.
It is rare to get such a warning of price rises from a large company – especially in such detail, but this does allow you the unique opportunity to be prepared. Being prepared isn’t hard. It is essentially asking yourself, “Am I getting the value that Microsoft are justifying the price rise with?” If the answer is “no” – and we can almost guarantee it is – then you know something needs to be done.
In the following article we will guide you through some of Microsoft’s tools and some of the tools you may already be using in your organisation, hopefully enlightening you to the power of Microsoft’s suite of products, and in turn showing you where to force all the value possible out of your Microsoft 365 plan.
Are you concerned about Legacy apps and hardware?
Are you concerned that you and your team are using dated technology that is going Legacy? You can be confident that we will work together with you and your team to really get to the route of any problems with your existing IT infrastructure and tools. Together we will find a solution that fits you, implement it for you, and be there for you in case any changes need to be made to it. Get in contact with us now and see how, with the right tools, you can manage your documents safely and securely.
Contact us for more information on 0203 096 2220 or hello@Exi-Go.com
