With the new financial year looming, now is a good time to review your Microsoft 365 licenses

Microsoft 365 is the productivity engine at the heart of many SMB businesses across Australia. Having the right licenses for the applications the business needs are critical. Licensing can sometimes be complex to understand, however, which is why SMBs should make sure they’re sourcing their licenses from the right places.

Having a trustworthy and proven location to source Microsoft licenses, such as the Lenovo Pro Small Business Store, SMBs can efficiently stay on top of their Microsoft licensing requirements, without risk of dealing with unlicensed copies of the software. According to Lenovo Head of Ecommerce, Kirat Khara, the company is very committed to being this trusted partner and expert for SMBs.

“Lenovo is building a relationship with SMBs where we become a trusted solution partner beyond a transactional relationship,” Khara said “As businesses move along the digital transformation journey, hybrid working, productivity, capital outlay, security and ROI become critical elements in their decision making. Lenovo, with our breadth of bespoke solutions, can partner with businesses to support this journey.”

The benefits of Lenovo Pro Small Business Store

As noted in a recent Lenovo white paper: “SMBs seize opportunities in the cloud”, the COVID-19 pandemic forced SMBs to adopt new and flexible ways of working. However, within those organisations, 43 per cent of IT professionals believe that the IT team can’t handle all of their challenges, and a full 545 hours of lost staff productivity occur each year from IT outages.

The same white paper highlights that with the right cloud configurations, SMBs stand to see greater levels of productivity, and that 65 per cent of them see reduced capex and opex spend, and are able to better manage risk.

The potential is there, but as Khara said, it’s important that SMBs don’t over-extend their use of IT, and make sure they have the capabilities to take full advantage of the investments that they do make.

“Microsoft Cloud can include multiple elements from a very basic license to complex security and management solutions built-in. It’s a Software as a Service model giving flexibility to businesses to scale up and down based on their requirements,” he said. “However, it’s important to understand which part of the solution adds most value to a company.  My advice is: if the expertise does not exist within a small business then it’s best to speak with a solutions consultant to explore suitable solutions based on the company’s current infrastructure.”

This is what Lenovo Pro Small Business Store has been designed to help address. Its key benefits for SMBs include:

1. Deep support both on the hardware and software side – Lenovo has a long history of working with Microsoft on devices, and its hardware is designed specifically to take full advantage of the Microsoft software suite. It is also available and ready to help guide its SMB customers to the right solutions for their needs.
2. Confidence in making a purchase for the organisation: Lenovo can deliver whole-of-business technology solutions and ensure consistency in the IT environment.
3. Reliability: SMBs can make purchases from Lenovo knowing that the store only stocks tier-1 tech solutions.

Better understand your Microsoft licensing requirements

Microsoft does have a wide range of 365 licences available, designed for everything from personal use to business, cloud and enterprise. The features available under each type of license can be varied, and for businesses that aren’t entirely sure of their needs (for example, those still trying to standardise their approach to flexible working and cloud), understanding which license meets their requirements can be challenging.

This is why the Lenovo Pro Small Business Store does feature 24/7 hour support for subscriptions, billing or portal access in all CSP enabled markets, and expertise that can help ensure you find the right licenses for your needs. “Our SMB IT specialists are just a phone call away and can help pull in multiple subject matter experts depending on the complexity of the solution,” Khara said. “We are a pocket-to-cloud company wherein sales and solution specialists can build a holistic solution encompassing hardware and software. We also provide multiple payment options and subscription models to suit any small business needs.”

SMBs often struggle to get the support they need around IT. Having a resource such as Lenovo allows these businesses to make the most of their investment into Microsoft and the cloud.

For more information on Microsoft 365 Business and the Lenovo Pro Small Business Store, or to sign up and start exploring business solutions, click here.