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TBSC case study

Solution improves Microsoft 365 app usage levels for managed service provider’s customers

Seeking business growth and customer retention

Managed service provider GCC Group faced the challenge of gaining new clients for Microsoft 365 subscriptions and improving app usage for existing customers.

Monitoring and optimizing Microsoft 365 app usage

GCC Group worked with Microsoft partner The Business Software Centre, which used its Smarter SaaS for Microsoft 365 solution to benchmark Microsoft 365 app usage.

Analysis and benchmarking enable better utilization of licenses

By benchmarking best practices from the most efficient users and applying these to poorer performers, the app increased GCC Group customers’ Microsoft 365 usage levels.

Partner in England helps customers manage clients’ Microsoft 365 licenses

Based in Basingstoke, England, The Business Software Centre (TBSC) specializes in conversion, e-commerce, and ecosystem consultancy for Software as a Service (SaaS). For more than 20 years, TBSC has provided quick, efficient, and cost-effective software asset management. TBSC’s Smarter SaaS for Microsoft 365 app, available on Microsoft AppSource, provides important data for Microsoft 365 licenses.

The app monitors active and inactive users, with the option to anonymize user names and data. Data can show usage of Microsoft 365 E3 apps, such as SharePoint, OneDrive, Teams, and Outlook, and present opportunities to increase it. License optimization can be achieved through reharvesting (taking an inactive subscription and redistributing it to an active user). The app also provides visibility into licensing compliance. These measures help companies fully utilize the licenses they're paying for.

“Smarter SaaS for Microsoft 365 is recommended to our partners looking to manage their clients’ Microsoft 365 licenses,” said Phil Hames, Director of TBSC. “Our product is an automated, cloud-based service that ensures an improvement on clients’ Microsoft 365 investment. This allows for an opportunity to not only manage Microsoft 365 licenses but also build loyalty with clients, since partners can showcase how their organization can be optimized with Microsoft 365 usage through accurate and actionable data.”

Implementing the solution for GCC Group

GCC Group provides IT services for small and medium-sized businesses from its offices in London, Gloucester, Birmingham, and Bristol. Its mission is to offer everything that customers need to maximize the return on their IT investment. Analysis and benchmarking revealed some GCC Group customers had Microsoft 365 app usage levels as low as 52 percent, indicating GCC Group intervention was needed to improve utilization. To address its needs, GCC Group turned to TBSC’s Smarter SaaS for Microsoft 365, which provided information about lapsed users, unallocated apps, and more from a single dashboard.

GCC Group now performs free 365 health checks, included with Smarter SaaS for Microsoft 365, to benchmark usage and reveal to customers how to become more efficient Microsoft 365 users. This helped one customer boost its licensing and application usage by 43 percent and enabled 95 percent usage for its highest consumers.

By deploying Smarter SaaS for Microsoft 365 to optimize app usage and improve return on investment, GCC Group also differentiates itself from competitors who provide only the licensing of Microsoft 365 subscriptions.

“We want to keep our customers for the long term. Using TBSC’s Smarter SaaS for Microsoft 365 enables us to quickly identify ways to optimize subscription licensing, see opportunities, and increase usage adoption.”

—Jeremy Hemus, Infrastructure Director, GCC Group

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