The Challenge
Naoui is a public utilities board, which means it answers for public money and has to show that every dollar is spent properly. Microsoft 365 licensing is deceptively complex: the wrong plan mix means either paying for features nobody uses or leaving staff without the tools they need. Renewals, true-ups, and compliance all have to be defensible. For a public body, getting that wrong is not just wasteful, it is a governance problem.
Naoui needed its Microsoft 365 licensing reviewed, right-sized, and supplied through a partner it could hold to account.
What Evocate Delivered
In 2022 Evocate delivered Microsoft 365 licensing as Naoui’s Microsoft partner:
- Role review: looked at the organisation’s user roles and how staff actually work, mapping requirements to the appropriate Microsoft 365 plans
- CSP supply: supplied and configured licensing under a Cloud Solution Provider arrangement, giving Naoui a single, accountable point of supply
- Aligned licence mix: matched entitlements so the board pays for what it uses and staff have the tools their roles require
Outcomes
Naoui has a Microsoft 365 licensing position that matches its needs, with billing it can predict and explain. Entitlements line up with roles, so there is no quiet overspend on unused features and no gaps that hold staff back. Having Evocate as the partner of record means renewals, changes, and questions go to one place rather than into a vendor maze.
Why This Matters
For a public utility, licensing is a stewardship issue as much as a technical one. Spend has to be justified, and the audit trail has to be clean. Right-sizing Microsoft 365 is the difference between technology that quietly drains the budget and technology that is sized to the job and defensible on review. A partner who knows the Microsoft licensing model can save real money and real headaches, and for an organisation accountable to the public, that clarity is the point.
