Is Microsoft 365 E5 Worth It?
Is Microsoft 365 E5 Worth It?
The short answer… Yes! Microsoft 365 E5 is the “Cadillac” of licenses. It provides the most capabilities and features within the Microsoft 365 ecosystem. That also means it comes with the highest cost. For a lot of organizations, cost is a top factor in determining which licenses to procure—looking past the cost is a challenge.
Microsoft is becoming more and more like the cable company of the cloud with their bundled licenses. You can obtain a lot of services for a single price. However, to get the most value and return on investment (ROI), you need to understand what you’re paying for and also utilize those services, while not paying for duplicate services. You wouldn’t pay for a fully-loaded Cadillac with GPS navigation just to buy a separate navigation system, would you?
Microsoft 365 Licenses
Microsoft 365 is comprised of three bundles of licenses: Office 365, Enterprise Mobility + Security, and Windows 10 Enterprise. Whether you have E3 or E5 determines which tier of each bundle you are getting. There are also variants for Education (A3/A5), Government (G3/G5), and Frontline (F3/F5) each with subtle differences, but mostly similar.
Microsoft employee Aaron Dinnage has created a fantastic resource to illustrate the many different licensing options within the Microsoft 365 ecosystem.
If you are only going to utilize 1-2 features from each of the bundles, it may not make sense to uplift to E5. However, if you have E3 and require two or more features from E5, typically the additional cost of two or more individual add-ons will bring you close to (if not more than) the cost of E5.
Let’s look at what is included in both Microsoft 365 E3 and E5 bundles.
Microsoft 365 E3 Features (97 Total)
Microsoft 365 E3 licenses are the most common licenses I see in customer tenants. This is mainly because the depth of productivity capabilities it provides within Office 365 is necessary for most organizations. There is a sprinkle of common security and compliance features provided, such as multi-factor authentication, device management, and encryption capabilities. However, these alone will not be enough to provide an end-to-end Zero Trust environment, so additional solutions will be required.
Here is what’s provided with Microsoft 365 E3 licenses currently:
-Productivity
Microsoft 365 E5 Features (34 Additional)
Microsoft 365 E5 licensing bundle includes everything previously mentioned with Microsoft 365 E3, as well as a plethora of additional productivity, security, and compliance solutions. This bundle includes productivity features such as Phone System and other full feature solutions; however, most customers uplift to E5 for the Security and Compliance features. Here is what the Microsoft 365 E5 licenses currently provide in addition to the E3 features:
Additional Features Not Included In E5
Microsoft 365 E5 is the highest tier of license you can procure, but unfortunately, that doesn’t mean you really do get everything. As Microsoft continued to innovate and develop new features and solutions, most of the time new features and improvements are simply added into existing license bundles. Occasionally, they determine these new solutions require an additional cost in addition to E5 licenses.
There are several features that may be required in addition to E5 licenses to obtain the desired end state you are looking to achieve. Here are some of the features and solutions that are not included in Microsoft 365 E5 licenses:
Microsoft provides an ROI Calculator as well as a Total Economic Impact analysis for Microsoft 365 E5. These provide great high-level insights on the potential of savings and benefits. However, the Net Present Value (NPV) is always skewed in Microsoft’s favor.
Let’s take a sample 1000 employee company. Microsoft’s ROI calculator claims to provide $15.68 million NPV over three years. The number could be correct, but you would have to be all-in on every single Microsoft suggestion, from cost displacement, travel reduction, automation, etc.
It is a great starting point to obtain some initial insights and guidance on the potential. But most likely, you will require a custom ROI analysis geared specifically towards your environment. You may have no desire to automate or have limited third-party solutions to provide cost displacement potential. When looking at your own environment, there are generally three categories to evaluate against the cost of Microsoft 365 E5 licenses: Cost, Benefits, and Solution Replacement.
Calculate total costs of deploying Microsoft 365 security solutions including:
Calculate cost savings and benefits achieved by adopting Microsoft 365 security solutions. Benefits are calculated across three areas: platform adoption costs and benefits, security Total Cost of Risk, and platform synergy benefits.
These can include:
Organizations can choose to stop using solutions that are now covered by the capabilities included in their Microsoft 365 solutions licenses. This is a critical component to justify the cost of Microsoft 365 E5 solution. While some security solutions may work well together in a defense in-depth methodology, you will want to consider replacing solutions and their subsequent cost to make best use of the Microsoft 365 E5 license investment.
Here is a sample chart to help document current solutions and cost to come up with initial ideas of cost reduction potential. This list is not fully inclusive, and each solution replacement decision requires a deeper conversation tailored to their situation.
Category | Current Solutions | Current Cost |
Identity Management |
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Conditional Access |
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Multi-factor authentication |
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Privileged Identity Management |
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Compromised Identity Protection |
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User Entity Behavior Analytics |
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Identity Governance |
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Mobile Device Management (MDM) |
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Mobile Application Management (MAM) |
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Threat Intelligence and Protection |
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Message Hygiene |
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Phishing Protection |
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Phishing Simulation |
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Email Archiving/Journaling |
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Cloud Access Security Broker (CASB) |
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Cloud Application Discovery |
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Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) |
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SOAR Automation |
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Endpoint Protection and Response (EDR) |
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PC Anti-Virus/Malware (endpoint protection) |
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Surface Area Reduction |
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Data Loss Prevention |
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Data Classification and Encryption |
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Information Protection and Governance |
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Compliance Management |
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Email Platform |
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Content Management/Workflow/Collaboration |
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Telephony/Phone System |
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Audio Conferencing Solution |
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Telephony/PSTN |
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Maintenance/Service Contract/Other |
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Managed Services |
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Other |
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Total cost reduction potential |
| $$$ |
Let’s be frank. Microsoft 365 E5 licenses can appear expensive at face value. $60/Month/User comes out to be $720 per year per user. Enterprise Agreement and bulk discounts can slightly reduce the overall cost, but it’s still easily a large chunk of any organization’s IT budget.
If you have Microsoft 365 E3 today and are on the fence about uplifting to E5, primarily due to the increase in cost, let eGroup Enabling Technologies help you with an ROI analysis of your current environment. In many cases, with proper planning and road mapping, we have had success with clients in significantly reducing the face value of Microsoft 365 E5 licenses by realizing the true cost and benefits of the entire package. With cost reduction and solution replacement potential, you may very well find yourself offsetting the entire cost of the uplift to E5, plus improving overall efficiencies and security within your environment utilizing Gartner and Forrester leading solutions.
Contact the eGroup Enabling Technologies team today to sign up for a Licensing Optimization Workshop, or a Microsoft 365 Roadmap. Connect with us at info@eGroup-us.com to help you properly prepare for moving to the cloud based on Microsoft Best Practices and utilizing a secure and productive environment.
