With Cloud-Based Software, Who Really Saves Money?

Posted on October 21, 2021July 15, 2022 by philhdiscountl

With Cloud-Based Software, Who Really Saves Money?

In August 2021, Microsoft announced changes to their commercial pricing for Microsoft 365. This is the largest single rise in over a decade and comes on top on other currency related increases recently experienced in the UK.

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This latest increase for Microsoft services begs the question of who really saves money when it comes down to cloud-based software. Is it cheaper to own your own software or stay liable to third-party price changes?

Who Really Saves Money?

There’s no denying that Microsoft Office 365 is popular amongst businesses, with the company benefitting from over 300 million commercial paid seats in a decade. Yet it’s arguable that Microsoft gets more out of this arrangement than it’s paying customers.

Although cloud-based software is sold at controlling costs, users are unfortunately left open to unexpected and high prices – as Microsoft’s price change dictates. This this always the downside of renting verses full ownership.

Once you overlook the package deal in place – such as communications, security, and automation services – you come to realise that you’re paying more for innovations that may not concern your business.

For example, the Microsoft 365 price change is a response to its new dial-in capabilities for Microsoft Teams. This allows users to communicate in Teams through phone calls when suffering from a bad internet connection whilst on the move.

The asynchronous collaboration of Microsoft Office components means that users are unexpectedly paying for features that don’t concern them or hold no value.

Additionally, as Microsoft Office continues to grow its integrated solutions with more apps and installations, users need to consider the impact this is having on their hardware storage.

That is, although important documents can be stored in a secondary location, various apps and add-ons can compromise your computer storage. For instance, Microsoft released over 300 new in-app capabilities in 2020 alone. It is also probably fair to say that the majority of users won’t utilise these new features, certainly not straight away, if at all.

With this information in mind, cloud users should turn to alternative forms of software solutions to save money.

How To Save Money On Cloud-Based Software

To prevent unexpected or unwanted fluctuations in software prices, we recommend owning your own software.

Owning your software allows businesses to exercise total control over its costs during its lifecycle. You can properly assess any new features and development so to ensure that these functions meet your exact needs, doesn’t create training issues or conflict with other software you may already be running.

At Discount-Licensing, we sell pre-owned Microsoft Volume software which allows you to grow your business whilst exercising full control over your costs. Pre-owned Microsoft infrastructure is a good way to benefit from brand security and operation procedures whilst lowering your expenditure as a small or medium business.

For more information, get in touch with us on +44 (0)1283 511524 or email Enquiry.UK@discount-Licensing.com.

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What You Need To Know When Selling Your Software

Posted on July 2, 2021July 15, 2022 by philhdiscountl

What You Need To Know When Selling Your Software

If you have redundant Microsoft software licenses that are sitting around doing nothing for your business, one of the best options available to you is to sell them.

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Doing so allows you to release your invested capital back into your business, presenting you with the opportunity to reinvest that money where it is really needed. Many Discount-Licensing clients redirect the funds raised from selling Microsoft software licenses to mitigate the costs associated with upgrading to newer technologies.

Discount-Licensing purchase fully paid perpetual Microsoft software licenses that originally came onto the market within the UK or European Economic Area, and diligently ensure full compliance with UK and EU laws. You can find out more detailed information on our FAQs page, but here’s all you need to know about selling your Microsoft software.

How Do I Know If I Have Redundant Microsoft Software Licenses?

If your organisation has previously purchased perpetual licenses (also known as ‘On Premise’ licensing) and have either moved on to a newer version or to a subscription/cloud-based model, it is likely you will have redundant licenses available to sell that may still hold a residual value. If you aren’t certain, Discount-Licensing can offer support in identifying any perpetual Microsoft software licenses you have to sell and give an indication of their potential worth. You are under no obligation to sell to us if we offer this support, and all your data will be kept confidential. If our indicative offer is of interest and you would like to go ahead and sell your licences, the process goes like this:

Offer: DL supply an indicative purchase offer listing the licences and explaining the process to follow if the clients wishes to sell.

Acceptance: To accept our offer, the client signs the offer using Adobe sign. This shows their acceptance of the offer, process and T&Cs.

Diligence: The client supplies DL with all evidence of licence ownership. This includes MLS and VLSC access plus agreement documentation when applicable.

Purchase order: If the client is able to satisfy the diligence check we send them an order confirmation detailing the licences to be purchased.

Transfer: The client sends DL an invoice and a signed deletion statement (wording provided by DL) on letterheaded paper confirming that the licenses are no longer in use and have been made unusable.

Payment: Payment is made once all the necessary documentation has been received.

All software licences DL purchase are remarketed to other companies within the UK and EU/EEA. This allows our customers to purchase the software they need, rather than what the vendors push them to buy, allowing them to maximise their own profits. DL purchase a wide variety and age of Microsoft software licences, so if you have disused Microsoft software it’s always worth checking with DL to see if it has potential value. DL do not charge to value your software.

With over 16 years’ experience, Discount-Licensing are one of the longest established pre-owned software resellers, having helped businesses, both large and small, to generate additional revenue from often-overlooked software licensing assets. If you would like more details, please call our office on +44 (0)1283 511524, selecting option 3, or alternatively drop us an email to procurement@discount-licensing.com.

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Are People Waking Up To The Cloud?

Posted on March 4, 2021July 15, 2022 by philhdiscountl

Are People Waking Up To The Cloud?

There was a time, fairly recently in fact, when the “cloud” was seen as the be-all and end-all of the ways businesses were going to manage their data in the future. As a business owner, you yourself have already had multiple offers to join cloud-based services, offering all manner of supposed benefits.

But is the cloud really all it’s cracked up to be? As time goes on, more and more people seem to be saying no.

Slowing Growth And Changing Outlooks

Amazon, Microsoft, and Google recently released their latest user figures for their cloud-based platforms, AWS and Azure and Google’s cloud-based service. The figures, contrary to projections, actually show growth slowing throughout the various platforms – which could be construed as troubling news given the way cloud use was projected to be exponential.

Why Are People Turning Away From The Cloud?

Does the cloud have its benefits? Of course – every piece of software installation and managed IT service has its benefits – but the issues are arising because the cloud in many ways is proving to not be as useful as the marketing would lead you to suggest.

The first issue is security, and the transfer of your security considerations to your cloud service provider – namely your data security is only ever as good as theirs is. That’s not to infer cloud providers are lacklustre in their security measures, but there is a very considerable leap of trust required which many business owners are shying away from. For many, it offers a much more compelling argument to simply handle their security measures internally.

Another very serious roadblock to the supposed supremacy of the cloud is the concept of ownership – it offers none. All it offers is a potentially endless subscription service, and many business owners are deciding they instead prefer to actually buy and own their software licensing.

Is The Cloud Your Only Option?

No, far from it. At Discount-Licensing we still stock a broad range of affordable software solutions suitable for the needs of every business. Whether you have a specific software requirement or you just want something to make your word processing and spreadsheets easier to complete, you’ll find what you need. You can own it outright across the licence installation limit, and it can offer you considerable savings against new software or monthly cloud subscriptions.

If keeping your software in-house appeals to you, you’re not alone, and you’ll find the software you need at Discount-Licensing.

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When Is Capital Expenditure Better Than Operational Expenditure? This Is When.

Posted on May 7, 2020July 15, 2022 by philhdiscountl

When Is Capital Expenditure Better Than Operational Expenditure? This Is When.

When a 24/7 service provider decided it was time to refresh their Office 2013 Standard, they looked towards the Cloud. Being a subscription, it would be Opex rather than Capex expenditure so would possibly be easier to get approved internally. They had observed that other decision-makers in their industry were making the switch to Microsoft Cloud that led them to think that the Cloud was a more cost-effective option for their 4000 seats.

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They approached a Microsoft reseller, who sold them the Cloud-based Microsoft Office 365 ProPlus licences. The reseller sold the concept that “the Cloud is the future” – the move that “everyone is making” and failing to get on board could mean the business would get “left behind”. The Office 365 ProPlus option was the most comparable to their previous software package, costing £9.80 per user every month.

Currently Cloud-based products differ from on-premise licences in that the former is user-based while the latter is device-based. This means that although the company has just 4,000 seats, they were required to purchase 12,000-user licences since their 24-hour working day involved three separate shifts. There would be three different people using a single PC over a 24-hour period, and now each of them needed their own licence.

At this point you might be thinking that one single payment for a perpetual licence that can be shared makes too much sense to ignore, but the allure of the Cloud is strong, apparently!

This threefold licence increase caused the costs to skyrocket. Paying for 12,000 users at £9.80 each meant a total outlay of £117,600 per month and £1,411,200 per annum as an Opex spend! In short, the actual cost of providing this new IT solution for the workforce was a major increase from their previous setup – a far cry from the aim of gaining a more cost-effective solution.

Within a few months, the increase in IT expenditure began to get noticed by the finance team. As the subscription gave little to no productivity benefits over their previous solution, it was quickly concluded that it was a very expensive way to operate. It was at this point that they approached Discount-Licensing to explore options for reducing costs. Providing an on-premise licence, our team were able to sell Office 2016 Pro Plus for their 4,000 seats that adequately met the needs of the business. Despite being a Capex, each perpetual licence cost less than a single year’s user subscription to the Cloud services.

This is why on-premise perpetual licences can be far more cost-effective than Cloud-based ones, and there are many solutions to choose from so you’ll definitely be able to find exactly what you need. We were able to swiftly find the optimal solution for the customer and save them a huge amount of money versus the outlay for a cloud-based subscription plan. Let us also not forget that as perpetual licensing is an owned asset, there is always the potential to reclaim value at the end of the usage period.

This is just one example that demonstrates why no business should overlook the option of acquiring on-premise perpetual licences. Franchised resellers will tell you that the Cloud is the only way to go, as that is where the manufacturers want to take the market. Why sell a product when you can rent it instead and give yourself a constant revenue stream that you have full control of? Most of us would rather buy than rent in most cases as we see the latter being the more expensive option longer term.

You will also see that many of your competitors are turning to the cloud model for their operations. The important thing is to be realistic about what your business needs. No-one knows better than you how your business operates and what it requires, and you should explore on-premise perpetual licences to find out if there is a simpler, more cost-effective option to meet your needs. Be careful not just to follow the crowd as it may not be the right path for you!

Discount-Licensing is able to assist with your enquiries, and will work hard to find a solution that ticks all your boxes. Contact us today to discuss what your business needs and we’ll point you in the right direction.

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You Don’t HAVE To Make The Jump To The Cloud – Perpetual Software Has A Lot Of Benefits

Posted on January 31, 2020July 15, 2022 by philhdiscountl

You Don’t HAVE To Make The Jump To The Cloud – Perpetual Software Has A Lot Of Benefits

Purchasing pre-owned software is quick and easy, saving you a significant sum of money. We have many satisfied customers across Europe – in fact, as much as 60% of our business takes place around Europe. Opting for pre-owned perpetual software licensing over cloud-based upgrades means you get permanent access to software for a fraction of the original price.

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These days, more and more businesses are making a move to cloud-based software even though it costs more than any other option and data could be at risk of being compromised. So why?

The answer is a simple one: many businesses don’t realise that they can still opt out of the Cloud. Vendors don’t make it clear that perpetual software licensing is still an option. Microsoft and their distributors will try and push you towards cloud-based subscriptions. Of course they do – that means more money for them, both in terms of the move itself, and the subsequent license fees that you keep paying for as long as you want to use that software. This means that if you ever stop paying for that software, you will need to retrieve all your data or risk losing it all together.

What traditional resellers don’t tell you is that perpetual software hasn’t suddenly dropped out of existence – it’s still around and as accessible as ever. So next time your software supplier tells you “you’ll have to move to the cloud for that” keep in mind that they may have a vested interest in convincing you to make the move, and there may be a perpetual alternative that they’re not telling you about.

Here are just a few reasons why you should stick with perpetual Microsoft volume software licenses.

It’s Cheaper

Perpetual software licenses ask for just one single fee. If you want to move to the cloud, however, you’ll pay a recurring cost every month – essentially paying for the software several times over, in the long run. Similar to how if you hire a car for a few years and then eventually return it, you will not get any money back when you hand the car back. This is because you never owned that car. Not only is it cheaper to buy perpetual licenses, the ownership would be transferred to you and your company and you will be able to recoup some of that value should you choose to eventually stop using it and sell it on to a vendor like Discount Licensing. In the case of cloud-based software, you’ve been paying for something that you will not get to keep – and you will have likely paid extra, “hidden” costs over the years….

Active users of software are assigned a “seat”, each of which costs money. Every time one of your seats becomes inactive – meaning the user no longer uses their own account – you will need to manually disable that seat yourself. This requires you to employ someone to keep an eye on seats – yet another extra cost that comes with cloud-based software. The constant monitoring of active users to avoid charges for services that aren’t being used adds up to a lot of extra money over the years – unless you simply continue to pay for a seat that isn’t being used. Avoid either of these scenarios by choosing a perpetual software licence that you pay for once, and then own forever.

It’s More Secure

However secure the cloud may be, the fact is anyone can access your data if your details fall into their wrong hands. When you choose the cloud, you are storing your data on someone else’s server, entrusting it to someone else. If that server fails, you will not be able to access your data. You can lose any kind of information, from client information to personal information. Perpetual software, on the other hand, can only be accessed by people who have access permission within your organisation. This cuts down the risk of data breach significantly.

You Stay In Control

You have complete control over your software, where it is installed, on which devices within your organisation, and you decide when you upgrade or downgrade. With perpetual licenses, you own the data. but once it’s uploaded to the cloud, who owns the data then? No one is really sure.

Another question you should ask yourself – Is your Cloud Service Provider fully compliant with GDPR? How will you access your data if their server goes down or if you lose connection to the internet?

If you choose a perpetual software license, you will always have access to your data, no matter what.

The Cloud Or Perpetual licences?

When cloud first began people were rightly sceptical. Tech giants claimed it would be the next big thing and the implication that cloud would completely displace perpetual licensing was strong but there is evidence to say that perpetual licensing still has a very strong presence in the market because of its lower overall costs, better security, and control over data.

It may be sensible for organisations to use a hybrid system: part-cloud, part-perpetual. For example, for remote users it may be advantageous to use cloud, but perpetual licenses may be a better choice for those on your team who are rarely mobile, tend to work from your business premises, and don’t need to share many files and folders. Combine the best of both systems for a convenient, tailor-made solution that’s right for you.

Don’t believe the hype over the Cloud. Use perpetual software licenses wherever you can and save a significant amount of money while substantially cutting down on the risks.

We buy, sell, hold and supply a vast range of both current and previous versions of software for a mere fraction of its original price. Whether you need to buy Microsoft perpetual software licenses from us or sell on your unused Microsoft licenses to recoup some of your initial payment, we have you covered, no matter whereabouts in Europe you happen to be. For cheaper software that literally lasts a lifetime, call Discount Licensing today for more information.

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Category: Cloud Software

Category: Cloud Software