Any organisation that claims to have true visibility of all customer engagements will be, at best, telling only half of the truth.

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Organisations house huge quantities of communication and collaboration data, from voice calls to chat messages and contact centre engagements. Yet for so many businesses, this information remains inaccessible, working in isolation or buried under layers of complexity.

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This data is key to unlock greater value and enhance business decision making; it’s time to recognise the actionable intelligence that lies beneath the surface.

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Here’s what you can do in three simple steps, and how Soft-ex helps at each stage.

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Step one: Consolidate your data

Data siloes are the enemy of true visibility. Enterprises operate across multiple platforms, including MicrosoftTeams, Cisco Webex, Zoom, legacy PBX systems and contact centres. The insights gathered from each individual channel is valuable, but it still leaves businesses with a fragmented view of their customer engagements and operations.

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Soft-ex simplifies data integration across multiple disparate systems, giving organisations a central view of every customer interaction. Teams will gain full visibility into usage patterns, customer engagement and service quality, rather than manually collating data from different platforms.

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Step two: Apply business logic – yours and others’

Unlocking data is only the first step; extracting value from it and applying it to genuine business cases is the ultimate objective. And your own business experience is crucial for doing this successfully.

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The expertise your team brings to the table should not be overlooked and instead championed. At the same time, external partners like Soft-ex come armed with a wealth of insight that can elevate the experience your own team offers, based on years of solving specific customer challenges. In the pursuit of better customer experience, don’t be afraid to bring in outside support.

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Step three: Deploy AI-powered analytics

Artificial intelligence is the final missing piece of the puzzle. AI-backed analytics helps businesses go beyond basic, manual reporting and replace it with real-time, data driven intelligence.

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With tools like Soft-ex’s intelligent analytics platform, organisations can gain detailed analytics on voice, video and conferencing channels, and use AI-powered insights to save costs and inform critical business decisions. Having access to personalised dashboards and informative visualisations also helps make sure stakeholders at every level have access to the right data to drive greater efficiencies, cut costs and improve overall customer service.

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Ready to take the first step?

Let us help you turn your data into a competitive advantage. If you want to get the most out of your communication and collaboration data, get in touch with Soft-ex today.

Microsoft 365 has been the go-to platform for workplace productivity, facilitating seamless communication and collaboration across its extensive suite of cloud-based applications. Managing M365 effectively requires visibility and control, especially during times of big business growth, but this is often where organisations struggle.

What are the barriers to effective M365 management?

One of the biggest issues that businesses face is wasted money on unused licenses. Without intuitive or granular data into active usage, it’s difficult to assess licensing needs across departments or teams.

This can lead to dormant accounts, improper permissions, or non-compliant usage, exposing the business to security or audit risks. Equally, there is a real issue with keeping license records updated in the case of leavers and joiners. Employees come and go, but licenses often remain active or forgotten.

The impact extends to finance teams who need accurate data to determine how to distribute software costs across the organisation. Without proper reporting though, it’s hard to factor M365 expenses to the appropriate cost centres.

What should businesses look for in 365 management software?

To get the most out of an investment, businesses need to know what they should expect from their tech from the outset.When it comes to Microsoft 365, here’s a checklist for what to look out for:

1.      Comprehensive license management. Your software should allow you to track, optimise and reassign licenses easily.

2.     Clear cost allocation. Make sure you choose a solution that helps break down and allocate costs by department, user group or whatever division is most useful for you.

3.     Automatic reporting and advanced analytics. Getting your data more organised is only half the battle; your tool should leverage analytics to help you maximiseROI.

4.    User-friendly dashboards. The solution dashboard should be customisable, visually clear and easy to use for every team, including both IT and non-technical stakeholders.

5.     Seamless integration. The ideal solution should integrate directly with Microsoft APIs to capture real-time and accurate data.

6.    Security and compliance monitoring. Your tool should help you identify unused accounts, unusual user patterns and overlooked permission errors.

7.     Easy scalability. Your chosen solution should be able to grow with your business, including support for multi-tenant environments if needed.

8.    Customer support and onboarding. Alongside the tech, you should find a solution provider that delivers ongoing support, onboarding assistance and access to training resources.

Benefits of choosing Soft-ex

Managing Microsoft 365 shouldn’t become a headache for your business. To make it a painless process, Soft-ex’s 365Analyser…

…proactively tracks and manages your license renewal dates

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Missing deadlines is a root cause of unnecessary licenses renewals. So instead of leaving it to chance, we provide a consolidated view of all yourMicrosoft license agreements, including important dates. This provides teams with plenty of time to assess current usage, negotiate renewal terms and avoid unexpected cost hikes or service disruptions. In short, we make sure you only pay for what you need.

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…implements robust policies and procedures for license allocation

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Permission errors can cause significant problems later down the line if left unchecked. That’s why we help establish clear policies and procedures for license allocation to make sure the right person always has the right license.By monitoring user activity, teams can tailor license assignments to specific roles and needs. The platform identifies inactive accounts so that teams can decommission or reallocate as needed.

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…continuously monitors for Microsoft license changes

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It’s not just internal factors that can trigger change. We deliver insights into current license consumption so teams can make an informed decision should they need to reassess in the face of changes from Microsoft. With a greater understanding of the features included in each license type and how each is being used, it becomes a lot easier to identify where upgrades or downgrades are needed.Having this information at their fingertips allows businesses to respond quickly to license changes, minimising potential disruption to operations and unnecessary, unexpected costs.

Do you want to take all the pain out of managing your Microsoft 365 suite? Find out how Soft-ex can help by getting in touch today.

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Microsoft 365 sits at the heart of modern businesses, yet many struggle with their license management. According to Gartner, not only do businesses end up paying for unused licenses, but fewer than 10% feel they are getting maximum value from their investments.

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Businesses are actively seeking solutions to control and optimise their Microsoft spending, so we’ve put together three top tips for effective Microsoft license management, alongside how Soft-ex’s 365 Analyser solution can help every step of the way.

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Proactively track and manage license renewal dates

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A great place to start is license renewal dates. When you’re head down in the day-to-day, it’s very easy to lose track of when renewals need to be completed (or contracts cancelled) by. Without clear visibility into start and end dates, organisations can easily find themselves locked into unfavourable contracts, left to then pay for another year of unwanted licenses, or not enough licenses for the team.

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But Soft-ex’s 365 Analyser can help. Instead of relying on memory alone, or simply overlooking one of the deadlines, Soft-ex provides a consolidated view of all your Microsoft license agreements, including important dates. This provides teams with plenty of time to assess current usage, negotiate renewal terms and avoid unexpected cost hikes or service disruptions. In short, we make sure you only pay for what you need.

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Implement robust policies and procedures for license allocation

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One of the biggest contributors to ineffective license management is not having the right information to inform license allocation. Take joiners and leavers; given the amount of onboarding and offboarding hoops there are to jump through, it’s not uncommon for Microsoft licenses to be left off the checklist. In some cases, when new workers join, they’re automatically assigned a higher tier license where it’s not required. Then, when someone leaves, licenses are left unassigned and subsequently overlooked when it comes to renewals – meaning wasted spend.  

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Soft-ex’s 365 Analyser helps establish clear policies and procedures for license allocation to make sure the right person always has the right license. By monitoring user activity, teams can tailor license assignments to specific roles and needs. The platform identifies inactive accounts so that teams can decommission or reallocate as needed.

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Proactively monitor for Microsoft license changes

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Microsoft licensing changes fairly regularly, which can cause big problems for businesses that don’t have visibility. Examples of these updates include price adjustments, changes to feature sets within different tiers (like E3 and E5), and modifications to consumption models are common occurrences. It can come as a shock to businesses when their bill unexpectedly spikes, and once again leaves teams feeling out of control of their spend.

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Soft-ex’s 365 Analyser delivers insights into current license consumption so teams can make an informed decision should they need to reassess in the face of changes from Microsoft. With a greater understanding of the features included in each license type and how each is being used, it becomes a lot easier to identify where upgrades or downgrades are needed. Having this information at their fingertips allows businesses to respond quickly to license changes, minimising potential disruption to operations and unnecessary, unexpected costs.  

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If you’re ready to guarantee maximum value from your Microsoft licenses, get in touch today to find out how our 365 Analyser could help you.