Identifying Unused or Underutilized Licenses

Regularly auditing your Google Workspace licenses helps spot underused or inactive accounts that drain budgets. Unused licenses often accumulate due to employee turnover, role changes, or incomplete offboarding procedures.

• User Activity Reports: Review reports in Google Admin Console to spot accounts with low or no recent activity.

• Account Status Checks: Suspended accounts continue to incur licensing costs. These accounts must be fully deleted, not merely suspended, to eliminate unnecessary charges.

• Offboarding Policies: Establish clear processes to promptly reassign or delete accounts when employees depart.

Consistent monitoring ensures your organization avoids paying for unneeded services.

Choosing the Right Google Workspace Plans

Selecting appropriate Google Workspace plans based on actual user needs can significantly reduce costs. Not every employee requires the premium features of the highest-tier plans.

Assess individual roles and match them with suitable Google Workspace plans. For example, frontline or administrative staff might only need basic functionalities, while developers or product teams may benefit from more comprehensive features.

Google Workspace allows mixed plan usage, enabling you to assign premium licenses selectively, saving considerable costs organization-wide.

Automating License Reviews and Cost Tracking

Automating license reviews ensures that inefficiencies are consistently detected and addressed, removing the manual burden from your IT team.

• Google Admin SDK: Leverage APIs to automate reporting of license usage and account activity.

• Scheduled Reports: Establish monthly automated reports on license utilization to catch and address issues early.

• Billing Integration: Integrate Google Workspace billing data with financial tools for real-time visibility of licensing costs.

Automation creates a proactive license management approach that maintains efficiency and cost-effectiveness.

Managing Temporary and Shared Accounts Effectively

Temporary or shared accounts (such as info@, marketing@, or event-specific logins) often generate unnecessary license expenses. Organizations can spend thousands annually on licenses for accounts that could be effectively managed through groups.

• Temporary Accounts: Use organizational units (OUs) to segment temporary users and set automated expiration dates or reminders for timely deactivation.

• Shared Accounts: Replace costly shared user accounts with Google Groups to handle email distribution and team communication, eliminating unnecessary licenses.

Adopting these simple yet effective practices prevents substantial hidden costs.

Leveraging a SaaS Management Platform for Optimization

As organizations grow, manual license management becomes impractical. SaaS management platforms provide visibility, automation, and proactive cost management.

A SaaS management platform offers:

• Centralized dashboards displaying real-time SaaS usage, including Google Workspace.

• Automated alerts for detecting underused licenses or sudden cost increases.

• Streamlined onboarding and offboarding to prevent license waste.

By adopting a SaaS management solution, you simplify license management, maintain cost efficiency, and redirect savings toward strategic IT investments.

Optimize Google Workspace Licensing with ShiftControl

ShiftControl’s SaaS management platform empowers businesses to proactively manage and optimize their Google Workspace licenses, reducing waste and improving financial efficiency:

• Real-time License Visibility: Instantly identify active, inactive, and underutilized Google Workspace licenses.

• Automated Tracking and Reporting: Schedule detailed reports and receive real-time alerts about licensing inefficiencies.

• Simplified Offboarding: Automate offboarding processes to quickly reclaim and reassign licenses.

• Cost Control: Set customized budget alerts and respond proactively to cost-saving opportunities.

ShiftControl ensures your organization maximizes the value of every license dollar, supporting smarter budget allocation and strategic growth.