I see it regularly: Companies pay 20 EUR per user per month for M365 Business Premium. That's 12,000 EUR per year for 50 employees. Then the team uses Outlook and Word. That's it.
The good news: You're already paying for a lot more.
What's included, what you don't use
Power Automate? Included. Power Apps (basic)? Included. SharePoint, Teams, Forms, Lists, Planner? All there. You own the tools. You pay for them. You just don't use them.
It's not your fault. M365 is a monster product. No one explains what's where. Microsoft itself can't communicate it.
The hidden cost calculation
Let's say your team needed these features elsewhere:
Invoice approval workflow: A classic task. With DocuSign, Nintex, or other specialized tools you pay 200–500 EUR per month. Integration, training, support included.
With Power Automate, which you already have? Free. One Friday of work. Done.
Simple business app: A field service customer management tool. With Mendix, OutSystems, or custom development: 50–200 EUR per user per month. For 20 field reps, that's 1,000–4,000 EUR monthly.
With Power Apps? Already paid for.
SharePoint intranet: You don't need an external intranet solution. Many companies spend 5,000–15,000 EUR for setup plus monthly fees. SharePoint is clunky, but secure. It doesn't cost extra.
Approval processes, document management, simple databases: All included in your price.
A real number example
A mid-sized company, 80 employees:
- M365 Business Premium: 80 × 20 EUR × 12 = 19,200 EUR/year
- Invoice approval workflow (would have bought elsewhere): 300 EUR × 12 = 3,600 EUR/year
- Mobile app for customer data (would have bought elsewhere): 100 EUR × 15 users × 12 = 18,000 EUR/year
- Intranet (would have bought elsewhere): 8,000 EUR setup, then 2,000 EUR/year
Total without using M365 features: 19,200 + 3,600 + 18,000 + 2,000 = 42,800 EUR/year
If you use the M365 features: 19,200 EUR/year
The difference: 23,600 EUR per year. For one team alone. Not counting: time savings, fewer manual errors, faster processes.
Why so few companies do this
Three reasons:
1. It's invisible. Microsoft sells you licenses, not solutions. The sales guy doesn't tell you: "With this package, you can also automate workflows."
2. It requires someone who knows how. Power Automate isn't Word. You need someone who understands low-code. For many companies, that's a barrier.
3. It's Microsoft. Most companies think: M365 = email and Office. End of story. The entire platform behind it hasn't landed.
What makes sense?
If you're already paying – use it.
Concretely:
- Process automation: Where do manual workflows still run? Invoice approvals, vacation requests, onboarding? Power Automate handles that.
- Simple apps: Where would a tool make daily work easier? Inventory management, service tickets, customer data? Power Apps handles that.
- Intranet / knowledge base: SharePoint isn't pretty, but it works. And you pay for it.
You need help? Someone to build it? Fair. But the license costs – you're already carrying those.
The uncomfortable truth
Most companies pay for features they don't know exist. They buy specialized solutions instead – even though the solution is already in the budget.
It's not malice from Microsoft. It's poor communication. And your opportunity.
Look at what you're paying for. Use it. Or stop paying for it.
Need help putting it to work? Let's see which processes can be automated at your company. Get in touch
Related articles:
