Microsoft 365 E3 contains more than 150 components, E5 more than 225. Virtually no organization uses half of that. At the same time, the E3 price has risen by 25 to 30% since 2023, with further increases of up to 33% following as of July 1, 2026. The question is no longer whether you use Microsoft 365, but whether you are still purchasing the right suite and whether that needs to be the same suite for everyone.
Microsoft 365 has been Microsoft's number 1 suite for years, as well as the most widely used Cloud Productivity product within organizations throughout Europe. The M365 E3 suite contains more than 150 applications and functionalities, while the M365 E5 suite consists of even more than 225 components. But… is your organization actually making optimal use of this?
We dare to state that this is rarely the case. In fact, when organizations utilize 50% of the available functionality, that is already an exceptionally high amount. This means that the other half remains unused, even though this functionality definitely represents value and therefore impacts your costs.
Tegelijkertijd zijn de licentiekosten de afgelopen jaren fors gestegen. De M365 E3‑prijs is sinds 2023 met 25–30% toegenomen. En daarbij komen nieuwe prijsverhogingen aan per 1 juli 2026, waarbij sommige onderdelen zelfs tot 33% stijgen. Deze ontwikkelingen dwingen iedere IT Manager, CIO en CFO tot een cruciale vraag:
These are questions that are increasingly being raised, and for which you may not (yet) have a concrete answer. But you should.
With Geltec's M365 Assessment, you gain complete control over actual usage, adoption rates, and optimization opportunities within your organization. Our specialists analyze your environment based on data, license configuration, user behavior, and strategic needs.
The Enterprise Optimization Plan is part of our one-off and continuous optimization services that audit your software and cloud environment, identify areas for improvement, and ensure you fully comply with all contractual Microsoft obligations.
Data-driven, independent, and designed to ensure you never pay more than necessary.
By functionality and by user group: what is actually used, how intensively, and by whom it is not.
Which users can move to F3 or E1, who really needs E5, and where does a targeted step-up yield more than an organization-wide upgrade?
Do you pay separately for functionality that is already included in the suite? Think of telephony, e-signing, MDM, backup and security tooling.
Calculated over three years, including migration and management costs of both routes.
With attention to vendor lock-in, data residency, and the feasibility of a partial exit.
We do not sell licenses and receive no commission from Microsoft or resellers. Advising you to purchase less costs us nothing
For organizations with 250 or more Microsoft 365 users.
Relevant for CIO, IT-manager, CFO and Software Asset Manager.
Lagere M365-kosten door herijking van gebruikersprofielen
Suitefunctionaliteit die onbenut blijft
Doorlooptijd tot een besluitdocument
Een onderbouwde suitekeuze per gebruikersgroep in plaats van één profiel voor de hele organisatie.
Een concreet adoptieplan voor de functionaliteit die je al betaalt maar niet gebruikt, plus een besluitdocument waarmee IT en Finance dezelfde afweging maken.
You will receive a response from one of our licensing specialists within one business day. No sales pitch. If there is nothing to gain, we will tell you.
Microsoft 365 E5 includes everything from E3 plus advanced security and compliance (Defender for Endpoint P2, Purview, Entra ID P2), Power BI Pro, and telephony functionality. The additional cost is substantial. E5 is worthwhile if you actually implement those security components and replace individual tools with them; if you do not use them actively, you are paying for unused functionality. The trade-off differs by user group, not by organization.
Yes, and that is almost always more cost-effective. Within a single tenant, you can combine F3, E1, E3, and E5 and assign them per user. A production worker with limited digital work rarely needs E3; a security specialist might need E5. This profile differentiation is typically the largest area for savings within Microsoft 365.
In practice, rarely more than half. When an organization utilizes 50% of the available functionality, that is exceptionally high. The unused half does represent value and therefore influences the cost per user; the choice is always: activate it anyway and drive adoption, or scale down to a lighter profile.
