Ask most Berkshire businesses what they spend on Microsoft 365 and they can tell you. Ask what they actually use and the answer gets vaguer. In almost every licence review we run, the same pattern appears: the business is paying for more than it uses, and using less than it pays for.
The waste hides in predictable places. Licences assigned to staff who left months ago. Everyone on a premium tier when half the team needs a cheaper one. Third-party subscriptions – file sharing, video calls, e-signatures – duplicating tools already included in the Microsoft plan.
None of it is anyone’s fault. Licences get added in a hurry and reviewed never. But at per-user-per-month pricing, small oversights compound into real money.
Where the savings usually hide:
- Licences still assigned to former employees
- Premium tiers for users who need basic plans
- Paid third-party tools that duplicate included features
- Unused add-ons bought for a project that ended
- Multiple licences for the same person
- Storage add-ons nobody checked were needed
- Annual commitments that no longer match headcount
- Features already paid for but never switched on
For Berkshire SMEs in Reading, Bracknell and Wokingham, a licence review typically recovers 10-20% of the Microsoft spend – and just as valuably, surfaces included security features the business was not using.
The cheapest IT improvement available is usually the one you are already paying for.
If your Microsoft 365 bill has never been reviewed, explore our Microsoft 365 and cloud services for Berkshire businesses.
For more information on our IT and cybersecurity services, view our IT Support and Cybersecurity services for Berkshire businesses.
