How to Gain Value from the Microsoft 365 Price Increase
The Microsoft 365 price increase will go into effect March 1, 2022. While price increases are never welcome, bear in mind that this is Microsoft’s first substantial increase since the launch of their Microsoft Office suite over a decade ago. Over that time, the functionality and suite of business tools have increased dramatically. So, the best way to make this price increase work for your business, is to make sure you’re getting all the value you can from Microsoft 365.
How to Get More Value from Microsoft 365
Microsoft has justified the price increase by touting the value they are delivering, but that is no good if you’re not using those tools to achieve the optimum benefits.
Look at this change as an opportunity to improve your efficiencies. You have several months before the price increase, so this is a good time to take stock of the Microsoft tools at your disposal and assess your team’s use of them. It’s very likely that the majority of your employees are underutilizing the functionality of the apps they use every day and are not even aware of some newer apps that are available.
Most Microsoft customers are using as little as 20% of the tools at their disposal – for example, the classics such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Publisher. Many are now using Teams, but Microsoft’s range of tools goes far deeper than just these. You may not have even heard of To do, Power Automate, SharePoint, or Kaizala. You may be using alternatives instead, when it may be better to have all that functionality in one inter-connected bundle.
At the bare minimum, it’s important to be familiar with the main tools that you and your team are frequently using to be sure you’re getting the full potential. It would be eye-opening to have your team share with each other how they use their apps. Some may be doing things “the hard way” while others may have found efficiencies no one else knew existed.
Once you’ve assessed your current use of Microsoft 365, and explored the newer apps, you can change your plan with Microsoft so that it’s cost effective for you. If you run into a snag, communicate with Microsoft. They will not leave you with tools that aren’t doing the job they are advertised to do. They may provide you with a better alternative for specific tasks.
There is practically no business in the world that can eek value out of every single tool that Microsoft offers, but using the right tools in the right way will increase productivity and minimize the impact of their higher cost.
In the next article we will look at the apps you may be using within your organization and explore the Microsoft alternatives that can do the same job within your subscription.