Office 365 is one of the first things our clients mention when they talk to us. Its one of the top concerns or challenges that they have and one of the common things that we hear from them is that they are tired of purchasing software or services that they never use. In the world of Office 365 not subscribing to this is a very difficult task based on how Microsoft creates Office 365 bundles and the way they price the product vs the service that they offer.
MetrixData360 has developed an Office 365 Decision Model for you to use to help you determine how best to approach Microsoft depending on three key factors:
- Your Unique Business Requirements as they relate to Office 365
- Your Actual deployment roadmap of the services (regardless of Office 365 licensing bundles)
- Costs of not just licensing but deployments, upgrades etc.
Depending on where you intersect on this simple Venn Diagram will determine what you should do with regards to negotiating an agreement with Microsoft on Office 365. If you fall into the following category (where the circles intersect), the following is our high-level guidance for you:
- Office365 costs more than your costs to maintain your current infrastructure. At this junction, you should delay your purchase of Office 365 as you will not have the financial business case and TCO to move forward with a deployment.
- You have not determined your roadmap and the timeframes within which you will deploy the components of Office 365. You should not proceed with a purchase of Office 365 (regardless of price) as the months that you do not use the product will cost you more than any savings you may have from pricing.
- You are unable to identify any solid business reason to move to Office 365. Deploying to the cloud would not provide the business or your IT organization any added benefit so there is no reason to move forward with a purchase of Office 365.
- You have all the requirements necessary to move forward with a negotiation. Go forward and negotiate your best deal with Microsoft.
