Licences & Compliance
Information about software licensing, auditing and compliance.
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The main plans: Business Basic (€6/user/month — web apps, email, Teams, 1TB OneDrive), Business Standard (€12/user/month — plus the desktop Office applications), Business Premium (€22/user/month — plus advanced security, Intune, Azure AD P1). Enterprise: E3/E5 for companies with 300+ users. Neoxis helps you choose the right plan for your number of users and your actual security needs.
An audit checks whether all the software in use is correctly licensed. Why: to avoid fines (BSA and Microsoft can audit at any time, with fines starting at €1,000 per licence), to identify unused licences (typical savings of 15-30%) and to stay legally compliant. Neoxis runs a complete audit: a software inventory, a comparison against the licences you own, and recommendations for optimisation.
Optimisation strategies: Rightsizing (downgrading users who never touch the Premium features), Removing duplicates (dropping unused licences), Volume licensing (discounts on bulk purchases), Open-source alternatives (LibreOffice, Linux where they fit), Annual vs monthly (an annual subscription is 15-20% cheaper), Academic/nonprofit (discounts of 50-90% if you qualify).
The major risks: Legal: fines from the BSA or the vendors (€1,000–10,000 per licence), Security: pirated software frequently carries malware, Functionality: no security updates, Reputation: being listed in the BSA register, Business: being unable to bid for public tenders. Our advice: a full audit followed by regularisation — it costs far less than the fines.
Volume Licensing lets you buy software licences in large quantities at reduced prices. Microsoft programmes: CSP (Cloud Solution Provider) — a flexible monthly subscription, ideal for SMEs. Open License — a discounted purchase (minimum 5 licences). Enterprise Agreement — for large companies (250+ PCs), with the deepest discounts. We help you choose the right programme for your number of users and for your budget.
A standard process: 1) Disabling the user account (immediately on departure), 2) Reassigning the licence (to another employee, or releasing it), 3) Backing up the user's data (email, files), 4) Revoking device access, 5) Updating the licence inventory. With Microsoft 365 the licences are per user and can be reassigned instantly — no money is lost.
Viable alternatives: LibreOffice (replaces Microsoft Office — free and compatible), Thunderbird (email client), 7-Zip (archiving — replaces WinRAR), GIMP (image editing — replaces Photoshop), Linux (servers — saves Windows Server licences). A word of caution: not every alternative is suitable — we check compatibility with your existing applications before recommending anything.
The transition is gradual: 1) An inventory of current licences (what expires, what is perpetual), 2) A three-year cost analysis (perpetual vs subscription), 3) A phased migration (move to a subscription as the perpetual licences expire), 4) User training on the new features. The advantage of a subscription: always the latest version, support included, cloud functionality.