Holding your Microsoft licensing with your SharePoint, ERP or CRM partner can provide numerous advantages and significantly add value to your business operations.
Unlock a range of benefits that contribute to the seamless integration, cost efficiency, expertise, regulatory compliance, and future-proofing of your business applications systems.
Here, we look closer at the benefits of keeping your Microsoft licensing with your business applications partner.
Support
Business applications partners will have extensive expertise in customising and supporting Microsoft SharePoint, ERP or CRM solutions. But even they can come up against barriers inherent with Microsoft software.
If your development partner does not hold your licensing, it can be very difficult for them to access the necessary support from Microsoft. And if your license distributor doesn’t know anything about the product, it can significantly slow down the pace of support and development.
Regulatory Compliance
Maintaining proper licensing ensures compliance with Microsoft's terms and conditions. By working closely with your ERP or CRM partner, you can ensure that your organisation adheres to licensing requirements, minimising the risk of non-compliance.
Procurement & Management
Consolidating your licensing with your ERP or CRM partner simplifies procurement and management processes. You have a single point of contact for all licensing-related matters, reducing administrative overhead and potential confusion that may arise from dealing with multiple vendors.
Ensuring you have the right licensing available when you need it is valuable, such as when you’ve got new starters joining your business. Large licence providers are unlikely to have the fast response times of a business applications partner.
Equally, larger licence providers are unlikely to want to think as strategically about reassigning old users’ licensing to new users. So potentially, you could end up paying more by going with the licence-only partner.
Seamless Integration
By holding your Microsoft licensing with your business applications partner, you’re able to make your ERP or CRM system fully compatible with wider licensed Microsoft products. Akita, for example, can support organisation to not only integrate their Dynamics 365 licensing with SharePoint Online, but also wider Microsoft 365 applications, Teams, Outlook or Azure. Integration allows for smoother data exchange, improved collaboration, and better productivity. This service is unlikely to be offered by a standalone licence provider.
Future Updates and Upgrades
Holding your licensing with your ERP or CRM partner ensures that you receive timely updates and upgrades for your Microsoft products. This can include new features, security patches, bug fixes, and compatibility enhancements. Staying up-to-date with the latest versions can help improve system performance, security, and functionality.
Typically, this isn’t information that a standalone licence provider will communicate. Nor will they be available to support feature releases such as the Dynamics 365 Wave updates.
Holding Licensing With Your Business Applications Partner
It's important to note that the value of holding your Microsoft licensing with your ERP or CRM partner may vary depending on your specific requirements, the capabilities and offerings of the SharePoint, ERP or CRM partner, and the nature of your business. Therefore, it's advisable to evaluate the benefits beyond pure costs in relation to your unique circumstances before making a decision. What may seem like a fast saving at the start can quickly prove a limitation and a headache later.
Akita can provide Microsoft licensing at the same cost as buying directly from Microsoft. For a licensing quote please get in touch:
