In higher education, it’s crucial to have a comprehensive understanding of the Microsoft 365 Education licensing environment.

“Budgets are tight in education, and licensing is expensive. You want to ensure that you are getting the most out of that investment,” says Leticia Juarez, product manager for Microsoft EDU at CDW.

This isn’t easily achieved in a complex IT environment. But a thoughtful strategy, supported by in-depth assessments, can help higher ed institutions stay on top of the situation.

The License Management Challenge

License management can be a daunting task for colleges and universities.

“Schools often just don’t know what they have, and the license mapping is super complex,” Juarez says. “They end up having a mixture of licenses: They may have trial versions, or A1 and A5 versions” — different tiers of Microsoft licenses for the same product, she says. “There’s overlap, which in turn equates to underutilization. Or they may be paying for additional licenses when they’re not aware of what’s already available in their current license bundle.”

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