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Beyond Renewals: Why Continuous Microsoft License Optimization is the New Standard
Author:
Erik Hollander
Erik started his software licensing career in 2005 as a senior procurement officer at the Dutch TAX Office, followed by a large global LSP and Microsoft.
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Beyond Renewals: Why Contin... Beyond Renewals: Why Continuous Microsoft License Optimization is the New Standard
Author:
Erik Hollander
For years, Microsoft license optimization has followed a familiar pattern: six months before renewal, organizations run an internal audit, identify unused licenses, shuffle profiles, and try to cut costs at the negotiation table.
That approach worked when Microsoft licensing was relatively static. But in 2025, with constant product updates, new add-ons, and AI-driven services, once-a-year optimization simply isn’t enough.
Why Point-in-Time Optimization is Outdated
- License drift: Employees change jobs, new staff are onboarded, or old roles phase out. Licenses don’t always follow.
- Service sprawl: Add-ons like Security, Compliance, Copilot or Viva get enabled without clear governance.
- Cloud dynamics: Azure consumption and Microsoft 365 usage evolve month by month. A snapshot from last year or even last month doesn’t reflect today’s reality.
- AI adoption: New workloads appear faster than procurement cycles can track.
Waiting until renewal means you’re always playing catch-up and often negotiating from a position of weakness.
The Risks of a One-Time Approach
- Wasted spend: Dormant or oversized licenses accumulate for months before being noticed.
- Compliance surprises: Under-licensing goes undetected until it’s raised in an audit.
- Weakened negotiation leverage: Without continuous data, it’s harder to push back on Microsoft’s proposals.
Why Continuous Optimization is the New Standard
Enterprises are shifting toward ongoing license governance treating optimization as a process, not a project. The goal is always knowing your licensing is aligned to actual need.
This approach delivers:
- Real-time savings: Spotting and reallocating waste immediately.
- Improved compliance: Continuous checks reduce audit risks.
- Negotiation strength: Hard usage data turns discussions with Microsoft into fact-based conversations.
How LicenseQ Hub Powers Continuous Optimization
LicenseQ Hub is designed for exactly this challenge. Instead of waiting for annual reviews, it provides:
- Continuous usage monitoring across Microsoft 365, Azure, and Dynamics 365.
- AI-driven profiling that ensures the right license type is always assigned to the right user.
- Scenario modeling to test new mixes of M365 E3, E5, F3, and add-ons before renewal.
- Proactive alerts when unused or misaligned licenses creep back in.
With LicenseQ Hub, organizations move from reactive clean-ups to proactive governance
Case Example
A global professional services firm used LicenseQ Hub to monitor their 15,000 Microsoft 365 users. In just six months, the platform identified:
- Over 1,200 dormant and inactive licenses.
- Dozens of frontline employees licensed with full E5 suites they never used.
- Misaligned add-ons applied to entire departments unnecessarily.
- Users assigned with double functionality assigned.
By reallocating and right-sizing continuously, the firm achieved €2.4 million in annual savings long before renewal negotiations.
Final Thoughts
License optimization is no longer about preparing for renewal day. It’s about staying optimized every day.
With LicenseQ Hub, enterprises move from periodic audits to continuous oversight. This ensures every license is aligned, every euro is justified, and every negotiation is backed by hard data. Reach out today to request a free demo.