Date:
13 Apr 2023
Author:
PREO AG
Microsoft Licencing
Efficient software planning - combine Microsoft e-plans and used software in a clever way
For companies, organisations and public administrations of all sizes, continuous adaptation and optimisation of software planning is an integral part of daily business as well as short- and medium-term strategy. Cloud-based software solutions, such as Microsoft's Office 365 Enterprise plans, are playing an increasingly important role in this. These enterprise products, also known as e-plans, offer a wide range of functions and services to meet the specific requirements of an agile, collaborative, cross-location and automated working world.
In the context of their software planning, most decision-makers therefore cannot avoid relying, at least in part, on cloud products such as the Microsoft Enterprise Plans E1, E3 or E5. However, these are designed by the manufacturer to meet maximum requirements, which often exceed the necessary demand and cause high ongoing licensing costs. If this is followed by noticeable price increases, as is currently the case with Microsoft, many budgets come under sustained pressure. To actively counteract this, more and more IT managers are adjusting their software planning. Away from the "alleged" all-round carefree plans, towards more efficiency and independence, which hybrid solutions, among others, offer. We show with various examples how this can be successfully achieved by integrating used software into the respective e-plans.
Efficient software planning - clever combination of E1 plan and used software
The Office 365 E1 plan is the simplest and most affordable of the three Enterprise plans. It is particularly suitable for small and medium-sized businesses that need general collaboration and communication features, but not advanced security and compliance features. An E1 plan offers basic features such as email and calendar with Exchange Online, OneDrive for Business with 1 TB of storage per user, Microsoft Teams, and Office Online apps such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote.
Example hybrid cloud solution: Exchange Server and Office 365
For example, companies that already have an on-premise Exchange Server solution can combine their existing on-premise software with the Office 365 E1 plan by implementing a hybrid solution. The use of Exchange Hybrid Deployment enables seamless integration between the existing on-premise Exchange environment and Office 365. If the company now uses used licences for its required Exchange Server version including server CALs as part of the software planning, considerable savings can be achieved without having to forego necessary functionalities.
Efficiency in software planning - E3-Plan with hybrid SharePoint solution
In addition to the applications of the E1 plan, the Office 365 E3 plan primarily offers medium-sized and large companies extended functions for security and compliance. These include Data Loss Prevention (DLP), Advanced Threat Protection (ATP), Information Rights Management (IRM), eDiscovery or legal hold for Compliance. In addition, the E3 plan offers the desktop versions of Office apps, unlimited OneDrive storage per user, Microsoft Intune, Microsoft Power BI and SharePoint.
Example: hybrid SharePoint solution
Companies that already have an on-premises SharePoint server solution can combine it with the Office 365 E3 plan to implement a hybrid SharePoint solution. This enables seamless integration between the existing on-premise SharePoint environment and SharePoint Online. If the company now opts for used on-premise licences for SharePoint servers and server CALs, high cost advantages can be realised
Hybrid software architecture solution creates more efficiency when planning software needs
The Office 365 E5 plan is the most comprehensive and expensive of the three software plans. It offers businesses all the features of the E3 plan, as well as enhancements in the areas of business intelligence and VoIP telephony, and an extended security package with Advanced Security Management. Business Intelligence features include Power BI Pro, Power Apps and Power Automate, for example, while VoIP telephony is provided by Skype for Business Online and Cloud PBX. Advanced Security Management provides features such as access control and real-time threat detection.
Example: hybrid Skype for Business solution
Businesses that already have an on-premise Skype for Business server solution can integrate their existing on-premise software in the Office 365 E5 plan. This hybrid Skype for Business solution combines the existing on-premise Skype for Business environment and Skype for Business Online. If a company now uses used licences for Skype for Business servers including server CALs, high savings potentials can be raised.
PREO tip for more efficiency when planning your software needs
On the way to the cloud, more and more companies are using the possibilities of hybrid solutions to set up their IT infrastructure as efficiently as possible and in line with their needs. Our licensing experts will be happy to advise you personally on the various options for integrating used software licences from Microsoft into an existing enterprise plan and the resulting financial benefits.
Combination of E-Plan and used software ensures high savings for LMT
On its way to the cloud, LMT Group opted for a needs-based and efficient hybrid solution with integration of used software licences from PREO. In the course of a cross-site SAM project, they combined Windows 10 with Software Assurance in EAS, an Office 365 E1 plan with Office 2016 ProPlus as used software and Windows 2016 Server CAL for the first time, as these were not included in the E1 plan. More about the initial situation, the general conditions of the project, the realised licence cost savings in the six-figure range and the PREO advantages in terms of security and compliance can be found in this customer case.
The LMT Group is an internationally active group of companies in the field of special mechanical engineering and precision tools, with over 2,300 employees at more than 20 locations worldwide.
Software planning with used software from PREO
We are one of the pioneers in the European trade with used software and offer companies and public administrations a large selection of used Microsoft licences. Take advantage of the free and non-binding initial consultation by our PREO licence experts and benefit from:
- high savings in ongoing licence costs compared to the respective new version of up to 70 percent and in individual cases even more.
- Personal advice on software planning and the integration of used software into existing network structures and Microsoft Enterprise Plans Office 365 E1, Office 365 E3 and Office 365 E5.
- 100 percent legally and audit-proof licence acquisition with maximum transparency in all processing steps including complete documentation in the PREO licence portal "Easy Compliance".
- Existing capacities for software licence management in large IT infrastructure projects with thousands of workstations and transnational locations.
- Detailed market knowledge and extensive experience through the audit-proof transfer of over one million used software licences.
All this sounds good, but you are not yet completely convinced? Then take a look at our reference projects, which we have already successfully realised for numerous well-known companies.
