Microsoft 365 Modern Work or separate licences? How to choose

You can take Microsoft 365 in two ways: you buy separate licences and arrange the management yourself, or you choose a fully managed workplace such as Microsoft 365 Modern Work. On paper the difference looks small, in practice it is large. In this article you read what the two options involve and when each choice is more advantageous.

Separate licences: the software, but you do the management

With separate licences you buy only the Microsoft 365 software. Your staff have Office, email and Teams, but you arrange the set-up, the security, the updates and the support yourself or have it done per job. That can work fine if you have technical knowledge in-house. But what does not happen, such as setting up multi-factor authentication, arranging backups or keeping security up to date, you only notice when it goes wrong.

Modern Work: the licence and the management in one

With a Modern Work workplace you get the licence and the full management, the security and a dedicated point of contact in one package, at a fixed price per employee per month. We set up the workplace, keep the security in order and solve problems before you notice them. You choose the level that fits per employee, from Modern User from 39 euros to Secure Workspace, and you extend with add-ons whenever needed.

The comparison at a glance

• Management and updates. With separate licences you do this yourself. With Modern Work we handle it, proactively.
• Security. Separate licences deliver the building blocks, but someone has to set them up. With Modern Work multi-factor authentication, Conditional Access and monitoring are set up as standard.
• Support. With separate licences you pay per incident. With Modern Work you have a dedicated team that knows your environment.
• Cost. Separate licences look cheaper, but the management, the outages and the risks come on top separately. Modern Work is a fixed price in which that is included.
• Hourly rate. Customers with a Modern Work agreement work at our lower hourly rate of 107 euros instead of 134 euros. That way you partly earn back the switch on the hours you use anyway.

When do you choose what?

Do you have your own IT department and want to keep everything in your own hands? Then separate licences can fit. Do you want to be sure you work securely and up to date without having to worry about it, and do you want to know the cost in advance? Then Modern Work is almost always the calmest and, in the long run, most advantageous choice. In doubt? Work out your situation with our IT cost calculator or schedule a no-obligation consultation, and we will look at what fits together.