B://ASSESS25License Management
Stop paying for
what you left behind.
Licence management reconciles what you are billed for against what you actually use, and keeps the two aligned as people join and leave. It is for organisations whose subscription spend has grown faster than their head count.
THE PROBLEM
Subscription spend grows quietly. Licences for leavers, duplicate tools, and the wrong tier rarely get noticed by anyone.
The cost of leaving this alone is rarely one visible failure. It is the slow accumulation: the workaround that became the process, the thing only one person knows, the renewal nobody questioned.
Our starting point is always the same: establish what is actually true today, then decide what to change. Work scoped against an assumption tends to solve a problem you do not have.
- 01Nobody owns itIt sits with whoever touched it last, which is not the same as being managed.
- 02No current pictureWhat you have, what it costs, and who has access are all slightly out of date.
- 03Only handled when it breaksAttention arrives after the disruption rather than before it.
WHAT YOU GET
What the engagement covers
Scoped before it starts, so you know what is included and what is not.
- 01
Reconciliation
Billed against assigned against actually used. The third column is the one that surprises people.
- 02
Right-sizing
The correct tier per role, rather than the same licence for everyone because it was simpler to buy that way.
- 03
Renewal calendar
Every renewal date in one place with its notice period, so nothing auto-renews for another year by accident.
- 04
Joiner and leaver process
Licences reclaimed on exit automatically, rather than when someone eventually notices.
HOW WE WORK
Scope, assess, report, support
Four stages with a written output at each one. You always know which stage you are in and what comes next.
- 01Week 1
Scope
We agree what is being examined and what a useful answer looks like, so the work is not open-ended.
- 02Weeks 2 – 3
Assess
Evidence gathered from your systems and your people, because the documented process and the real one rarely match.
- 03Week 4
Report
Findings written for a decision maker: what is true, what it means, and what we would do about it, ranked.
- 04As needed
Support
We can hand the report over and step back, or stay and deliver the remediation. Both are normal.
WHAT CHANGES
What you should expect
- Someone other than you owns it, with that written down.
- The current state is documented and stays documented.
- Cost is planned ahead rather than discovered at renewal.
- Decisions are made against evidence rather than assumption.
FAQ
Questions we get asked
01What is license management?
Licence management reconciles what you are billed for against what you actually use, and keeps the two aligned as people join and leave. It is for organisations whose subscription spend has grown faster than their head count.
02How much do businesses typically overspend on software licences?
More than they expect, and the pattern is consistent: licences still assigned to people who left, everyone on the same premium tier regardless of role, two tools doing one job because different teams bought separately, and annual renewals that rolled over unexamined. We would rather find your actual number than quote an industry figure at you, and the first reconciliation usually pays for the engagement.
03What happens to a Microsoft 365 licence when someone leaves?
Nothing, unless someone acts. The licence keeps billing until it is unassigned, which is why leaver licences are the most common source of waste we find. The correct process is to convert the mailbox to a shared mailbox or apply a retention hold so the data is preserved, then release the licence. Done properly you keep the information and stop the charge, which most organisations assume is a trade-off and is not.
04Are we allowed to use one licence across several devices?
It depends entirely on the product, and getting it wrong is how organisations end up in an audit. Most modern subscriptions are per named user with an allowance of several devices for that same person. Sharing one account between two staff is almost always a breach, and it is also poor security practice, since you lose any ability to tell who did what.
05What is a software audit and should we be worried about one?
Major vendors periodically ask customers to demonstrate that their usage matches their licensing, and the settlements can be substantial. You should not be worried if you hold a current reconciliation and can produce entitlement records. You should be worried if nobody can say with confidence how many installations exist. Maintaining the record is far cheaper than reconstructing it under a deadline.
06Can you manage renewals for us?
Yes. We keep the calendar, flag each renewal ahead of its notice period with a recommendation, and negotiate where there is room. The value is rarely one big saving. It is that no renewal ever passes unexamined, which over a few years is a meaningful number.
07How much does license management cost in New Zealand?
We quote after scoping rather than before. Anyone pricing this work without looking at your environment is guessing, and the guess is rarely in your favour. Scoping itself is quick, and we tell you what it costs before we start it.
08How long does it take to get started with license management?
A first conversation takes about half an hour and costs nothing. Scoping is usually a week or two of our time depending on the size of the environment, and we agree the delivery dates with you before anything is booked in.
09Can you deliver license management alongside our existing IT team or provider?
Yes, and it is common. We are happy to work as an extra pair of hands under your internal team, or alongside an incumbent provider on a defined piece of work. We will set out in writing where the responsibilities split, so nothing falls between us.
10Do we have to use Atlas for the work the report recommends?
No. This can be delivered as a standalone piece of work for an organisation we have never worked with before, or folded into a managed agreement if you already have one with us. Plenty of clients use us for one thing and keep everything else where it is.
11Do you work with organisations outside Auckland?
Our team is based in Auckland and we attend sites across the wider region. Most of this work is delivered remotely, so we support organisations throughout New Zealand, and we will say up front where being on site genuinely matters.
12Who does the assessment, and who presents the findings?
Named people, not a queue. You get a lead who knows your environment and stays with it, which is the difference between explaining your business once and explaining it every time you make contact.
13What do we actually receive at the end?
You keep the documentation regardless, and anything registered in your name stays in your name. Whether we stay involved is your call. Some clients take it in house from there, others move it onto an ongoing agreement with us. We would rather you left cleanly than stayed because leaving was difficult.
Start with a conversation.
Tell us what you are dealing with and we will tell you whether this is the right service for it, and what it would take.
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