In the budget of a startup or SME in 2026, the Microsoft 365 subscription line frequently represents a preponderant share of cloud expenses. However, during audits carried out by DZSIEC on structures with 20 to 100 employees, a recurring observation emerges:between 15% and 25% of the amount billed each month by Microsoft is spent without functional justification.
This waste results from empirical management of subscriptions throughout recruitment: residual licenses assigned to former employees, high-end packages subscribed for profiles that only use web messaging, or forgotten add-on modules.
Implementing a FinOps (Financial Operations) approach on its Microsoft 365 tenant does not require weeks of analysis. By applying a pragmatic method, you canoptimize the cost of Microsoft 365 licenses for your SMEand immediately recover several thousand euros of available cash.
The silent hemorrhage: where does your Microsoft 365 budget evaporate?
Microsoft's commercial cloud environment makes it easy to add licenses instantly, but penalizes teams that don't periodically review their assignments. The additional costs are concentrated on three major deviations.
1. Orphan licenses on inactive accounts
When an employee leaves, the usual tendency is to block their identifier without unassigning the associated license, for fear of altering their email archives. The subscription continues to be charged at full price month after month. Over the course of a year, five forgotten accounts cause a loss of between €1,200 and €1,800.
2. The systematic choice of the Business Premium formula
As a reflex of comfort, many managements allocate the most comprehensive offer to all staff: Microsoft 365 Business Premium (~€20.60/month/seat). However, the advanced Intune device management and Defender security features are superfluous for an intern or traveling employee, for whom a Business Basic plan at €5.60 covers all uses.
3. The contractual constraints of the NCE policy poorly arbitrated
With the New Commerce Experience (NCE) policy, Microsoft applies a discounted price for a firm 12-month commitment and increases flexible monthly subscriptions by approximately 20%. Committing 100% of your fleet to a firm annual contract with no room for maneuver requires you to pay for unoccupied seats in the event of unforeseen departures.
Pragmatic comparison of Microsoft 365 licenses for SMEs (2026 Grid)
To decide your expenses in an informed manner, here is the operational distinction between the key formulas:
| Microsoft 365 offer | Indicative monthly cost | Office applications | Cloud & Security Services | Recommended user profile |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Business Basic | ~€5.60 excluding VAT/month | Web and Mobile versions (Word, Excel, PPT) | Exchange (50 GB), Teams, OneDrive, SharePoint | Light profiles, interns, external speakers |
| BusinessStandard | ~€11.70 excluding VAT/month | Complete Office suite installed on PC/Mac | Exchange (50 GB), Teams, OneDrive, SharePoint | Heavy users of office software |
| Business Premium | ~€20.60 excluding VAT/month | Complete Office suite installed on PC/Mac | All Standard + Intune (MDM) and Defender | Developers, managers, nomads, sensitive positions |
| Shared Box | €0.00 (Free) | No apps installed | Storage up to 50 GB, delegated access | Ex-employees, generic boxes (contact@, compta@) |
The FinOps method in 5 steps to reduce your bill by 20%
To clean up your expenses without compromising the safety or comfort of your teams, apply these five measures:
Step 1: Accurate inventory via PowerShell and Microsoft Graph
Use the Microsoft Graph SDK PowerShell cmdlets (Get-MgUser, Get-MgSubscribedSku) to extract the complete list of accounts, their last activity dates and assigned licenses.
Step 2: Purifying accounts inactive for more than 45 days
Identify inactive users: immediately unassign licenses from departed collaborators, obsolete test accounts and unduly billed generic boxes.
Step 3: Converting to free shared boxes (€0)
This is the most profitable FinOps reflex:a shared mailbox (Shared Mailbox) is 100% free up to 50 GB. As soon as an employee leaves the company, transform their mailbox into a Shared Mailbox, delegate access to the manager, then delete the paid license to save €140 to €250 per year per account.
Step 4: Readjustment of plans to actual needs (Tiering)
For employees working only on a web browser, switch their subscription toBusiness Standard (€11.70)towardsBusiness Basic (€5.60). On 15 positions concerned, the net gain exceeds €1,000 per year.
Step 5: NCE contractual optimization (80/20 rule)
Apply a preventive ratio:80% licenses in annual commitmentreserved for the permanent permanent base at the discounted rate, and20% licenses in flexible monthly commitmentintended for short contracts and variations in workforce, cancellable upon release.
Concrete case: €7,820 in annual savings for an SME with 45 employees
During an audit conducted byDriss ZUFRI (DZSIEC)for an SME of 45 people (initial invoice of €34,800/year), we detected:
- 7 active Business Premium licenses on former employees (loss: €1,730/year).
- 5 generic boxes (
info@,contact@...) paying (loss: €702/year). - 18 Business Premium packages oversized compared to actual needs (potential gain: €3,240/year).
- 4 orphaned Teams Phone options (loss: €2,148/year).
By converting the boxes into free shared mailboxes and adjusting the license tiering, DZSIEC freed up€7,820 in net annual savings (-22.4%)without any negative impact on user comfort.
3 FinOps pitfalls to absolutely avoid
Pitfall #1: Downgrading to Business Basic without an alternative MDM
Business Premium integrates Intune. Removing this license on a mobile workstation without backup management removes BitLocker encryption and remote management.
Pitfall #2: Missing the 7-day NCE policy window
Microsoft allows only 168 hours after the annual purchase to cancel or reduce the volume of licenses ordered under the New Commerce Experience contract.
Pitfall #3: Delete a license without controlling OneDrive
Removing a subscription without first backing up the cloud directories may result in permanent deletion of personal files after 30 days.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Review your Microsoft 365 licenses now with DZSIEC
Don't let unnecessary subscriptions drain your business' cash flow. Optimizing your Microsoft 365 tenant is a quick and risk-free way to free up financial resources to reinvest in your development.
Expert in cloud outsourcing, Microsoft 365 governance and IT assistance for startups and SMEs,Driss ZUFRImade viaDZSIECan independent audit of your licenses in less than a day. You receive a quantified inventory and an immediate adjustment plan.
Request your free audit ondzsiec.netto optimize your Microsoft 365 invoice for your next due date.