Microsoft 365 license usage, cost, and opportunity features in ControlUp for Apps are currently in Beta. To join the Beta program, contact your ControlUp representative.
ControlUp for Apps helps you review Microsoft 365 seat usage, license costs, employee activity, and potential savings.
ControlUp for Apps identifies opportunities based on the available license, account, and activity data. An opportunity highlights something that may be worth reviewing, such as:
- Unassigned seats
- Licenses assigned to disabled accounts
- Overlapping plans
- Plans with no detected activity for 90 days or more
Opportunities help you focus your review on areas where you may be able to reduce license costs. Use the available license, account, and activity data to decide which changes are right for your organization, then make those changes in Microsoft 365.
View Microsoft 365 License Data
To view Microsoft 365 license data, go to Applications > Details. In the table, select the Default Microsoft 365 app group, and then select the Licenses tab. If license data has not been set up for the app group, see Set Up Microsoft 365 License Data.
The information available depends on how license data was added:
- API Connection (recommended): Gets license and activity data directly from Microsoft 365. This provides the complete license experience, including opportunities, plans, employees, service activity, costs, and potential savings.
- Manual: License data is entered manually. This provides basic license cost tracking but does not include Microsoft 365 plan, employee, or service activity data.
With an API connection, use the following tabs:
- Opportunities: Review license, account, and activity data that may indicate potential savings.
- Plans: Review seat allocation, costs, opportunities, and license holders for each Microsoft 365 plan.
- Employees: Review each employee's account state, assigned plans, activity, costs, and opportunities.
The summary cards at the top of the page show:
| Card | Details |
|---|---|
| Estimated monthly cost | Estimated monthly cost of paid Microsoft 365 seats, based on the price used for each plan. Click Review prices to review or update plan prices. |
| Potential monthly savings | Estimated monthly savings associated with identified license opportunities. |
| Total paid seats | Total number of paid Microsoft 365 seats. |
| Unassigned seats | Paid seats that are not currently assigned to anyone. |
| Active employees | Employees with detected Microsoft 365 activity. |
Review License Opportunities
Select the Opportunities tab to review license conditions that may indicate potential savings.
An opportunity highlights a seat, account, or plan that may be worth reviewing based on the license and activity data available to ControlUp for Apps.
The following opportunity types are available:
- Unassigned seats: Paid seats that are not currently assigned to anyone.
- Disabled accounts: Employees whose Microsoft 365 account is disabled but still have one or more paid plans assigned.
- Duplicate plans: Employees assigned multiple paid plans with overlapping services.
- Inactive for 90+ days: Employees with no detected activity for measured services on one or more assigned plans in the last 90 days.
Potential savings are calculated using the price configured for each plan. When savings can be realized depends on your Microsoft 365 licensing agreement and renewal terms.
Microsoft does not provide activity data for every Microsoft 365 service. Activity data unavailable or Platform service (not tracked) does not mean that a service is unused. Review the available activity data before making license changes.
Unassigned Seats
Unassigned seats are paid seats that are not currently assigned to anyone.
Expand Unassigned seats to review:
- The affected plan.
- The number of unassigned seats.
- The total number of paid seats.
- The potential monthly savings associated with the unassigned seats.
Potential savings are based on the number of unassigned seats and the price used for the plan.
Disabled Accounts
Disabled accounts identifies employees whose Microsoft 365 account is disabled but who still have one or more paid plans assigned.
Expand Disabled accounts to review the affected employees, their assigned plans, last detected activity, and potential monthly savings.
A disabled account is a Microsoft 365 account state. It is separate from activity data and does not indicate why the account was disabled.
Select an employee to review the account and activity details before deciding whether the assigned licenses are still needed.
Duplicate Plans
Duplicate plans identifies employees assigned multiple paid plans with overlapping services.
Review the affected plans to determine whether all assigned plans are required. ControlUp for Apps identifies the overlap but does not determine which plan should be removed.
Inactive for 90+ Days
Inactive for 90+ days identifies employees with no detected activity for measured services on one or more assigned plans in the last 90 days.
Expand the opportunity to review the affected employees, inactive plans, and potential monthly savings.
Select an employee to review activity for the services included in each plan. Some services might not provide activity data, so missing activity data should not be treated as confirmation that the service is unused.
Review and Update Plan Prices
ControlUp for Apps uses a price per seat to calculate estimated monthly costs and potential savings.
To review the prices used for all plans, go to the Opportunities tab. In the Estimated monthly cost card, click Review prices. The Plan prices panel shows the estimated monthly cost and the price information for each plan.
The panel shows two prices for each plan:
- Default: The default price provided by ControlUp for Apps.
- Price: The price used to calculate estimated monthly costs and potential savings. If your organization pays a different amount, update Price and click Save prices. If the price differs from the default price, the box is highlighted in gray.
When a price has been changed manually, you can click Reset to restore the default price for that plan. To restore the default prices for all plans, click Reset to default prices.
Keep in mind:
- If no default price is available, Default is shown as
0. - Changing a price affects calculations in ControlUp for Apps only. It does not change the license price or plan configuration in Microsoft 365.
Review Plans
Select the Plans tab to compare seat usage, license costs, opportunities, and potential savings across your Microsoft 365 plans.
| Column | Details |
|---|---|
| Plan | Microsoft 365 plan name. |
| Assigned / Paid Seats | Number of assigned seats out of the total paid seats. |
| Cost per Seat | Price per seat per month used for cost and savings calculations. |
| Monthly Cost | Estimated monthly cost of all paid seats in the plan. |
| Opportunities | Opportunities identified for the plan. |
| Potential Monthly Savings | Estimated monthly savings associated with those opportunities. |
Select a plan to review its costs, license holders, and opportunities in more detail. To change the price used for the plan, select the plan and click Edit price. For more information about plan prices, see Review and Update Plan Prices.
Review Employees
Select the Employees tab to review Microsoft 365 license and activity information by employee.
| Column | Details |
|---|---|
| Employee | Employee name. |
| Account State | Microsoft 365 account state, such as enabled or disabled. |
| Account Created | Date the Microsoft 365 account was created. |
| Last Activity | Most recent detected Microsoft 365 activity for the employee. |
| Plans | Microsoft 365 plans assigned to the employee. |
| Monthly Cost | Estimated monthly cost of the paid plans assigned to the employee. |
| Opportunities | License opportunities identified for the employee. |
| Potential Monthly Savings | Estimated monthly savings associated with the employee's opportunities. |
Select an employee to review their assigned plans and activity details.
Review Employee Details
The employee drawer shows the employee's estimated monthly cost, Microsoft 365 account state, assigned plans, and identified opportunities.
Each assigned plan shows whether activity was detected. Expand a plan to review activity for individual Microsoft 365 services.
Depending on the information available from Microsoft, service activity can include:
- A date or relative time for the most recent detected activity.
- No activity detected when no measured activity was detected.
- No sign-in detected when no sign-in activity was detected.
- Activity data unavailable when Microsoft does not provide activity data for the service.
- Platform service (not tracked) for services for which activity tracking is not available.
Use this information together with the employee's account state and assigned plans when reviewing a license opportunity.
Export License Data
Click Download CSV to export Microsoft 365 license data for review outside ControlUp for Apps.