Getting started

This section covers what Q Hub is, accessing the platform, uploading data for Microsoft 365 and system requirements.

What is Q Hub?

Purpose

Q Hub is a SaaS platform that helps organizations understand and optimize their Microsoft 365 licensing position. It turns Microsoft 365 tenant and usage information into a clear overview of (1) what you are paying for, (2) what is being used, and (3) where measurable optimization opportunities exist. The goal is to support better licensing decisions, reduce waste, and create a repeatable governance system ahead of key moments such as true-ups, renewals, and audits.

High-level capabilities

At a high level, Q Hub provides:

• Dashboards and KPIs showing prepaid cost, consumed cost, modeled cost after optimization, and the estimated savings opportunity.
• Optimization categories and recommendations (e.g., inactive users, unassigned licenses, downgrade candidates, overlapping functionality), supported by evidence lists and drilldowns.
• SKU- and user-level transparency through views such as Optimized BOM and Recommendations, enabling you to validate findings and prioritize actions.
• Exports and reporting so you can share findings internally (IT/SAM, procurement/vendor management, finance) and build a fact-based baseline for upcoming contract events.

Q Hub provides data-driven insights and recommendations. It does not automatically apply changes in your tenant. Any implementation actions remain your responsibility and should be validated against your internal policies and Microsoft contract terms.

Supported data sources

Q Hub connects to your Microsoft 365 environment through Microsoft Graph and related Microsoft reporting endpoints. Depending on the permissions granted, it can retrieve licensing, identity and activity signals needed to generate optimization insights. In practice, this includes (among others) license assignment information and workload activity indicators across Microsoft 365 services.

Required permissions and data scope are explained later in this guide.

Who Q Hub is for

Q Hub is built for organizations with a substantial Microsoft footprint (typically 1,000+ users, often under EA, MCA, or CSP/NCE contracts) that want to optimize licensing, reduce waste, and improve compliance.

You will get the most value if:

1. Your Microsoft 365 spend is material to your IT budget.
2. You have multiple license types, plans, or tenants in use.
3. You are preparing for or regularly going through renewals, true-ups, or audits.

What Q Hub does NOT do

Q Hub provides data-driven insights and recommendations. It does not:

• Automatically change licenses or settings in your tenant.
• Replace your contractual documentation (e.g., Microsoft Product Terms).
• Provide legal or formal licensing advice.

Final decisions on license changes, contractual negotiations, and compliance remain your responsibility. For complex or high-impact changes, we recommend involving your internal stakeholders and, where appropriate, LicenseQ consultants.

How to Access the Platform

• An in-depth guide can be found on this page
• You can access the platform in two different ways:
  • Sign up through the Microsoft Azure Marketplace
  • Directly through the LicenseQ website
• Upon invitation from Q Hub, customers can sign up via either option above, at which point an account is created.
• When the account is generated, your tenant is not yet linked. The account admin can do this on the settings page (after logging in, click on your name in the bottom left and then click settings).
• The screen that shows up has an option to add the tenant(s) to the environment. In doing so, you connect the tenant(s) with the tool, and grant permissions to Q Hub to retrieve the data (see data & privacy section here and the website here if you want to know which permissions).
• On this screen you can also invite additional users to the tool/environment.
• You can add owner status (= admin) if these users need similar access to you as admin, otherwise these invited users receive read-only status to the environment.
• Admins can manage the environment as per the above, like adding/removing tenants and/or users, and looking through and selecting different tenants. Standard users have read-only access to the dashboard.

Data Upload Guide

• Q Hub works best using the dashboard itself, but it also allows you to export the data directly from the dashboard as well. This holds a few benefits:
  • You can export every detail to .csv and work on your own edits from the comfort of Excel.
  • All the raw data is available for export from the dashboard. This means you can investigate the unedited data yourself if there are additional requirements that aren’t captured by the tool (yet). We’re always interested in new use-cases, so do let us know if you have additional requirements.
  • You can give access to employees in your company without the need to grant them access to your admin dashboard, adding an extra layer of security.
• Exporting Microsoft 365 usage data: you can export all the relevant data from the optimized Bill of Material, the different savings categories, the SharePoint dashboard, the raw data, and everything else.
• Data exports are available exclusively in .csv format, providing maximum flexibility for use in Excel and other tools.