Buying & Decision Guides
Which licence fits a given situation, and when the honest answer is to buy nothing.
25 articlesWhen Staff Leave: Reclaiming Licences Instead of Paying for Ghosts
An offboarding checklist for Microsoft 365 seats, antivirus devices and CALs, including how long to retain mailbox data before releasing…
New Starter, Day One: The Licences Every New Employee Actually Needs
A repeatable list covering Windows, Microsoft 365, antivirus and any CALs, so new hires are productive and properly licensed from…
Buying Microsoft 365 and Antivirus Together: Overlap Worth Avoiding
Where Microsoft 365 security features duplicate a third-party antivirus, what is still left uncovered, and how to buy the two…
Cyber Essentials and Insurers: The Licences Compliance Quietly Requires
Cyber Essentials names capabilities, not products: supported software, MFA on every cloud service, malware protection, and what that means for…
Backup, Antivirus and Server Licences: Building a Recovery-Ready Setup
How server, SQL and antivirus licensing interact with backup and standby servers, including what a warm spare needs before you…
Licensing a Business That Is Growing Fast: Buy Now or Buy Later?
How to add seats without stranding spend, which agreements flex with headcount, and the plan thresholds worth planning for well…
Replacing Twenty Ageing PCs: Which Licences Come With Them?
What a new PC includes out of the box, what still has to be bought separately, and how to move…
Merging Two Companies’ Software: Consolidating Licences After a Deal
How to inventory two estates, resolve duplicate tenants and overlapping antivirus contracts, and decide which agreements survive the merger intact.
The Essential Security Stack for a Ten-Person Business, Ranked
What to buy first when the budget is small: endpoint protection, identity, email security and backup, ordered by the risk…
Where to Buy Licences: Reseller, Marketplace or Straight From Microsoft
Compare purchasing channels on price, proof of licence, support and audit safety, and learn which route suits a business with…
Capex or Opex? How Software Licensing Choices Land in Your Accounts
Why finance teams often prefer subscriptions while IT teams often prefer perpetual licences, and how to frame the choice so…
Renew Early, Renew Late or Let It Lapse? Timing Your Licence Renewals
The risks of letting antivirus and Microsoft subscriptions expire, what early renewal buys you, and how to align staggered dates…