How to save M365 licensing costs

Hello, my name is Sven, and today I want to share some quick tips on saving M365 licensing costs using our tool, Rencore Governance.

Let's dive right in and watch the video below!

Step 1: Log In and Access the Cost Dashboard

Once you log in to Rencore Governance, you'll be greeted with your dashboards page, which includes a tenant overview. On the left side, select the "Cost Dashboard" for a more tailored and customized view specific to cost-saving use cases.

Step 2: Explore Cost-Saving Tiles

Upon selecting the Cost Dashboard, you'll see various tiles tailored to cost-saving use cases. For example:

Top Left Tile: Potential monthly cost savings for disabled user accounts. 

Far Right Tile: Potential monthly cost savings for inactive user accounts.

Step 3: Review Policies and Violations

In the cost overview, you'll find all the policies and violations detected in your environment, tailored to your needs. For instance, you might see high-severity violations for over-licensed user accounts. These are accounts that meet specific criteria you’ve defined, indicating they are over-licensed and thus violate the policy.

Step 4: Dive Deeper into Specific Use Cases

Disabled User Accounts

Go to Report: Click on "Go to Report" for disabled user accounts. 
Visual Overview: You'll see a visual representation of the licenses contributing to monthly cost savings. 
Detailed List: Scroll down to see a list of licenses and the users they are applied to. For example, you might find users like Adele, Alex, Diego, and Ellen with an AM 365 E5 license but are disabled user accounts.

Inactive User Accounts

Go to Report: Click on "Go to Report" for inactive user accounts.

Visual Overview: Similar to disabled accounts, you'll see a visual representation of licenses attached to inactive users. 

Detailed List: Identify users who haven't signed in for 90 days or more and see which licenses are attached to them.

Step 5: Customize Report Logic

You can quickly edit the logic that generates these reports. For example: 

Add conditions to exclude specific SKU part numbers or licenses that should not be applied to disabled user accounts.

Customize the report to ensure it only includes licenses that are costing you money and should not be applied to inactive or disabled accounts.

Step 6: Save and Generate New Reports

After customizing the conditions, save the report. The data will be re-aggregated, and you'll receive a new report based on your custom options.

Step 7: Save Money by Reallocating Licenses

By identifying over-licensed accounts, you can save money by reallocating these licenses to other users or not using them at all. Click here for more information on our how our advanced automations resolve policy violations.

These are just a few quick tips on saving licensing costs using Rencore Governance. I hope you found this guide helpful. Stay tuned for more tips and showcases in our upcoming videos! Feel free to reach out if you have any questions or need further assistance. Happy cost-saving!

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If you have any questions about Rencore Governance or would like to see it in action, please feel free to reach out directly!