Microsoft introduced self-service licencing in 2019 and rolled it out in 2020. The main premise of this is to skip the need for admins in the IT team to authorise and assign licences.

 

What exactly is Microsoft Self Service Licencing?

As mentioned above, the main purpose of self-service licencing is to remove a burden on IT teams which have to make contact and then assign/provision licences to members of staff.

 

How does Self Service Licencing Work?

This works by an end user purchasing a licence that they require by using their payment method. This means that instead of a user needing to contact the IT team and then them possibly needing to contact finance, it is straight from end user to licence. This cuts out the IT team and consequently, raises alarm bells to many.

What Licences can be Self Served?

The most common Microsoft licences which would be self-served are Microsoft 365 and Microsoft Copilot.

 

What are the Business Benefits to Self Service Licencing?

As with anything, there are both benefits and weaknesses. In this section of the blog, we will discuss the benefits of self-service licensing i.e. why as a company we should do it, and the weaknesses i.e. why we should not.

Fast Access to Tools – Undoubtedly, one of the biggest benefits of this is that you can access your new tools quicker. Be this the new and exciting AI tool named Copilot or a less exciting but much needed tool such as Excel, your staff will access the things they need quickly.

Reduced IT Burden – As mentioned previously, the main point of Microsoft introducing self service was to streamline processes and reduce the load on IT teams. By taking the “middleman” step out, your IT team can focus on other more important tasks.

 

What are the Negatives to Self Service Licensing?

Alongside the benefits of self-service licensing, there are a handful of negatives. These are the following.

Lack of Control – With staff being able to self-serve licences, the control over provisioning which an IT team had formerly is lost. This also makes it difficult for businesses to track which users have what licences.

Licencing Inconsistencies – With members of staff provisioning their own licences, inconsistencies will form as not all users will get the same licences. This means that things such as security protocols aren’t consistently applied.

Higher Costs – With self-service licencing, staff members can licence themselves whenever. This means you lose control over how much expense you have per month on licencing.

 

Should we allow Self-Serve Licencing?

Depending on your business size and needs, self-serve licencing can be effective. If the burden on your IT team is low, having self-serve enabled may cause more issues than its worth. This is simply because the team have the time and resources to provision licences. If your IT team is under pressure and struggling with load, then self-serve licencing is a handy feature. Read this blog to find out how to disable it if you’re an admin.

 

Three Cherries: Helping you Understand Self-Serve Licencing

At Three Cherries, we are celebrating our 25 year anniversary. Over these years, we have seen it all and changes in licencing patterns is one of them. If your business requires any assistance or advice, contact us today and let one of our experts help you out!