“An assessment will identify the number of licenses and the utilization of those licenses as well,” Juarez says. “Are there A3s, A5s that are being purchased and not used? And then, it also goes into compliance around things like the privacy of student data, HIPAA and payment processing.”
IT teams can also leverage an assessment to look at the security posture within those licenses. This helps to ensure the security of data and systems and potentially eliminate the cost of redundant tooling.
All of these insights are essential to effective software management.
“The Microsoft ecosystem is so large,” she says. To manage the current state, and to plan effectively for the future, “it’s important to ensure that operational effectiveness is in place, and to streamline what is needed.”
LEARN MORE: Managed services can support understaffed IT teams.
CDW Education’s Ecosystem Discovery and Design Assessment helps higher education institutions to uncover the full potential of their Microsoft 365 Education products, tools and services. It can help schools eliminate redundancies and build strategic blueprints tailored to their unique needs.
The assessment includes a comprehensive review of the current IT ecosystem, with tailored guidance from CDW Microsoft Education licensing experts. “These are people who have been in academic settings,” Juarez says. “They understand the nuances in education — the resources available, the budget constraints.”
Leveraging that expertise, a CDW assessment delivers not just an inventory of the licensing landscape but an action plan. “We run this report, we provide them with an analysis, and then we also prioritize recommendations” based on specific institutional needs, she says. “That report analysis would include the licensing analysis and the configuration across all the admin centers. It’ll talk about security, compliance, identity and their device posture, as well as adoption and utilization.”
UP NEXT: Windows 11’s built-in security features keep students and staff protected.
All of this happens with little effort on the part of the in-house IT team. “It’s all virtual. We don’t need to be boots on the ground. It feels like a managed service,” she says.
With a professional assessment, schools can minimize redundancies, shed extraneous tools and ensure they are getting maximum value from their Microsoft Education investments. But at the end of the day, this is about more than just tidying up the IT ecosystem. It’s about helping colleges and universities meet their mission goals.
“The final customer is the student, and schools want to give their students a good learning environment — one where the IT tools are smooth and seamless,” Juarez says. “By helping IT to understand the licensing landscape, we empower them to put the right tools in place for faculty, students and staff. And that improved environment tracks directly to improved student experiences.”
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