Memphis Professional Services Firm: How Managed IT Services Cut Licensing 40% on an 80-User M365 Migration

Client: Memphis Professional Services Firm

Before founding Netcosa, Joe Pennel worked with a Memphis professional services firm of 80+ employees running on a mix of legacy Microsoft licensing. This was not a Netcosa engagement. It is a story about what a license audit is worth in managed IT services, and it is the kind of experience Joe now brings to Netcosa.

The team depended on consistent access to email, documents, and collaboration tools across the full workday, so any disruption to that access carried a direct business cost. The firm came to Joe as its new IT provider with a straightforward question: why was its previous provider telling it to buy all-new licenses to move to Microsoft 365?

Challenge: Full License Replacement Quoted for a Microsoft 365 Migration

The firm’s prior IT provider had quoted a full license replacement as a prerequisite for migrating to Microsoft 365. The pitch was simple: move to M365, but start fresh and buy new licenses for all 80+ users.

That recommendation didn’t hold up to scrutiny, and it wasn’t cheap. For a firm of that size, a full license repurchase was a substantial upfront cost, and the previous provider treated it as the only path forward.

Joe saw it differently. Nobody had looked at what the firm already owned, so before recommending any purchase, he audited the firm’s existing agreements.

Wondering whether your own Microsoft licensing has room to cut costs? A free IT assessment reviews what you’re actually paying for before you sign off on a costly upgrade or replacement. Schedule your free assessment or call (901) 306-7575.

Solution: Microsoft 365 License Audit and Phased Migration

Joe started where the previous provider hadn’t: the client’s existing agreements.

Step 1: License audit. Joe reviewed the firm’s Microsoft licensing agreements in full, mapping what it had against what M365 required. The audit confirmed the firm’s existing licenses covered the migration, with no new purchases needed. Microsoft’s own licensing and plan comparisons span several overlapping tiers, a detail providers sometimes skip when they’re pricing a fresh sale instead of evaluating what a client already has.

Step 2: Phased migration plan. Rather than a single cutover that would put 80+ users offline at once, Joe designed a phased rollout. Users moved to Microsoft 365 in controlled batches, so the workday was never interrupted.

Step 3: Full migration execution. Joe carried the migration from start to finish: tenant configuration, identity setup, data migration, and user onboarding, all within a 6-week window and without downtime.

The work billed was the migration itself. The client kept the money the previous provider would have directed toward unnecessary new licenses.

Results: 40% Licensing Cost Reduction With Zero Downtime

• 40% reduction in licensing cost. The firm’s existing agreements covered the move, so no replacement purchase was required
• Zero downtime during cutover. The phased migration kept every user working throughout the 6-week project
• 6 weeks start to finish, from initial audit to fully migrated tenant
• 80+ users migrated. The full organization moved to Microsoft 365, with no one left on legacy systems

The lesson carries straight into Netcosa’s managed IT services: accepting a vendor’s or provider’s first answer is often the most expensive option. A license audit cut the firm’s licensing costs by 40% and replaced a non-starter recommendation with a concrete plan.

This engagement is part of a 100+ cloud migration track record Joe has built across Memphis-area businesses in healthcare, professional services, logistics, and finance.

Services used: Managed IT Services | Cloud Services

Ready to find out whether your current licensing is working for you or against you? Get your free Microsoft 365 license review. Netcosa will audit what you have before recommending what to buy.