Company Background
The client is a Chicago-based company with approximately 1,300 employees that offers fully integrated network solutions.
Business Challenge
The client already had a large Office 365 subscription and sought our assistance in identifying the best Microsoft 365 plan for their business and consolidating their licensing to contain costs.
Stratosphere Networks Solution
The client underwent a comprehensive audit of their Microsoft licensing, including thorough reviews of the following:
- Endpoint management
- End user accounts and subscriptions (including use cases and security risks)
- Third-party Software as a Service (SaaS) product usage and potential to consolidate by switching to Microsoft Cloud Services
Based on the audit, the client received the following recommendations:
- Move to Microsoft 365 E5, E3 and F3 USLs.
- Consolidate endpoint management with System Center Configuration Manager and integrate Mobile Device Management with Intune.
- Standardize deployments to Windows 10 Enterprise and upgrade to Microsoft 365 Apps for Enterprise
- Switch from a third-party cloud phone system to the unified communications capabilities included with Microsoft 365 E5 (Microsoft Teams for cloud PBX/unified communications)
- Transition from a third-party endpoint security solution to Microsoft Defender for Endpoint.
- Replace third-party anti-virus software with Windows Defender Antivirus.
- Switch from a third-party business intelligence solution to Microsoft Power BI.
- Review and remediate all identified user account risks.
- Switch to Stratosphere Networks as their Microsoft Cloud Services provider for lower pricing.
Benefits
The recommendations that resulted from their Microsoft audit will produce the following business benefits:
- Savings of over $20,000 per year
- Maximized return on Windows and Office investments
- Improved security due to remediated user account risks and standardized deployments
- Streamlined software deployment and management
Overall, a thorough Microsoft and Office 365 audit can lead to not only lower expenditures but also a more secure infrastructure that drives productivity.