Last weekend I went to an all you can eat Chinese food buffet. Every time I go to one of these places I usually end up going through the buffet a total of three times(first time to sample different foods, second to get more of the foods that I like, and third is for dessert). I feel like I should indulge in everything to get the maximum amount of value for my money.
In regards to Unified Communications, many people will purchase different license types of Office 365. Hopefully you feel like you are getting maximum value for your money, but many people are making this decision blindly. Once you are subscribed you have to decide on an ongoing basis if you are receiving the value for what you are paying for or if you should change your subscription type.
To determine what type of value you are receiving it is critical to have information. Prior to going to an all you can eat buffet you may want to ask yourself if you are hungry, when is the last time your kids ate and are they hungry, are you close to a place where you can take a nap after you stuff yourself? Here are some questions you may ask yourself prior to going to Office 365:
-Do all my users need the same license type?
-How many people currently use teleconferencing (perhaps you already have Skype on premise or Cisco)?
-Do I need legal hold capabilities for all of my users?
-Would my workforce take advantage of the voice capabilities?
After moving to Office 365 you need to make sure you are still receiving the value you originally expected. There are questions that you will ask yourself on an ongoing basis that helps ensure you are receiving the maximum value:
-How many users are licensed for Skype for Business online?
-How many users are USING Skype for Business Online?
-What office locations are using Skype for Business?
-How do we chargeback to different departments for services they are receiving?
-Are any of my licenses inactive?
By having this knowledge you will be able to make better decisions as to what is best for your organization. Every organization is different, and having information will let you decide if you want to go to an all you can eat buffet or if you should purchase something a-la-carte. Perhaps you can use this data to educate departments not using the service of it's value. Feel free to check out Unified Communications Analytics so you can have the information to choose what is best for your organization: https://www.quest.com/products/unified-communications-analytics/