Creative agency optimises Microsoft 365 and cuts licensing costs
25% reduction in licensing costs with a clean, structured Microsoft 365 environment.
A fast-growing creative agency with 50 users had a chaotic Microsoft 365 setup that had evolved organically over several years. They were paying for a confusing mix of E3, E5, and Business Premium licences with no clear rationale for the allocation.
Files were scattered across OneDrive, SharePoint, and Teams with no consistent structure. Staff struggled to find documents, multiple versions of files existed everywhere, and powerful features they were already paying for sat completely unused.
Industry
Company size
Timeline
The challenge
What we found when we looked under the hood.
Licensing confusion
A mix of E3, E5, and Business Premium licences with no clear rationale. Some users had enterprise features they would never use, while others lacked tools they needed daily.
File chaos
Files scattered across OneDrive, SharePoint, and Teams with no consistent structure. Multiple versions of documents existed in different locations, and nobody could reliably find what they needed.
Underutilised features
The agency was paying for Planner, Lists, Power Automate, and other productivity tools but none were being used. The investment in Microsoft 365 was delivering a fraction of its potential value.
Security gaps
External sharing was wide open with no controls. Conditional access was not configured. Former employees still had active accounts and access to company data weeks after leaving.
“We did not realise how much time we were wasting until it was fixed. Finding files, sharing with clients, just getting work done. It is all so much easier now. And we are paying less for it.”
Creative Director
Our approach
How we delivered the solution, phase by phase.
Discovery and audit
We audited every licence, analysed usage patterns across all 50 users, and interviewed team leads to understand how each department actually worked. This gave us a clear picture of what was needed and what was waste.
Licensing optimisation
Right-sized every licence based on actual usage and role requirements. Moved users to appropriate licence tiers and removed unused add-ons. Achieved a 25% reduction in monthly licensing costs.
SharePoint restructure
Designed and implemented a logical site structure organised by client and team. Migrated files from scattered locations into the new structure with clear naming conventions and permissions.
Teams cleanup
Reduced the number of Teams from over 80 to 15 well-structured workspaces. Each team had clear channels, proper membership, and a defined purpose. Archived inactive teams and removed duplicates.
Security hardening
Configured conditional access policies, implemented controlled external sharing with expiring links, and enforced MFA across all accounts. Removed access for former employees and established a proper offboarding process.
Training and adoption
Ran training sessions for each department covering the new structure and tools. Created quick reference guides and provided drop-in support sessions for the first month after rollout.
Reduction in licensing costs
Teams reduced from chaos to clarity
MFA adoption across all users
Staff satisfaction with new structure
What changed for users
The practical difference the optimisation made to daily work.
Finding files
A clear, logical structure means everyone knows where things live. No more searching through multiple locations or asking colleagues where the latest version of a document is saved.
Client collaboration
Secure external sharing with expiring links and guest access controls. Clients can access project files without compromising the agency's security or creating permanent access.
Project management
Teams channels organised by project phase with Planner boards for task tracking. The tools the agency was already paying for are now actively improving how work gets done.
Mobile working
Proper mobile app configuration means creative teams can access files, join meetings, and collaborate from anywhere. No more being tied to the office for basic tasks.
Want results like these?
Every business starts somewhere. Whether you need to optimise your Microsoft 365 environment, reduce licensing costs, or improve how your team collaborates, we can help.