The ultimate cost overview for Microsoft Teams governance tools in ASG [2022]

Internal cost factors in phases up to the introduction of 3rd party governance software

All steps on the way to third-party governance software that cause costs and effort

Requirements assessment 

Determining the requirements is the first step. Which processes are to be automated and standardised by the governance software must be clearly clarified. 

If other systems and tools are involved in the process, their interfaces must be examined in detail.

For example, an SME with up to 1000 employees should allow three to five man-days for this. 

Conceptual Design

In the phase of conceptualising your governance rules, you determine which different authorisations there will be and how approval processes will look.

With regard to security compliance, special attention should be paid to external user administration.

Also determine the need for templates that will be used to create teams. Specify these as precisely as possible based on the requirements. 

Define when and according to which specifications the phases in the lifecycle are to be processed. If application forms are necessary for the lifecycle management, this must now be determined.

Determine the standards that should apply across the entire collaboration platform. 
This also applies to URL and naming conventions. labelling, keywording and minimum and maximum number of team owners.

Depending on the complexity and the size of the company, the effort varies. Allow at least five to seven working days for the conception. 

Tool Selection

Once you know your needs and ideas, start comparing the different providers of 3rd party software.

It is helpful to have already defined internally which functionalities are mandatory and which can be optional.

Book a demo, talk to technical consultants about your governance concept and get a test access to familiarise yourself with the possible solutions.

Include heavy users and early adopters here, who can give you valuable advice on user adoption or identify other weaknesses for your planned area of use. 

Purchase Decision 

The Buying Centre makes the decision after weighing up the options, which have been prepared in a transparent and comprehensible manner. 

In addition to the IT department and its department management, depending on the company, parts of the management may be involved, in particular the head of finance and human resources as well as the works council, if applicable.

Plan on one and a half working days per provider you shortlist. 

External and internal efforts for the implementation of a governance solution 

Implementation & configuration of the governance tool 

When connecting the solution to the existing IT infrastructure, resources must be planned within the company and by the solution provider.

Training and User Adoption 

You will receive support from your solution provider or a software consultant. However, the actual training of all employees requires an investment of time within the company. You may want to prepare training videos or provide tutorials and workshop sessions that conclude with a test. 

In this case, involve Corporate Communications & HR.  

Implementation & Go-Live Support

Once everything is prepared and configured, nothing stands in the way of the go-live. As the project manager, allow enough time to monitor the new tool closely at the beginning in order to identify problems early on.    

Operational support & updates  

Support costs are incurred irregularly for operational use and updates. This can vary greatly depending on the complexity and number of users in your company.

You should expect these costs 

Consultancy costs 

se external support in the two phases of analysis and conception and base the ratio on 1:1. 

For example, if you plan for 3 days, you should also allow 3 days for external consultancy.

Support-Packages and Service levels 

Most providers offer different packages here, because you decide whether, for example, you install updates internally yourself or prefer to use the service offered, depending on your resources. 

Support costs including SLA 

Set the support costs at between 20% and 30% of the list price of the product. 

These costs then include the warranty and updates.  

Costs for Managed Services 

Maintenance work such as database backups or the installation of updates can also be billed via Managed Services, as can consulting or coordination of changes to be made in the tenant.

Depending on the size of the company, a contingent is agreed upon.

Experience shows that 3 to 6 days per year are a suitable framework. 

Licensing costs 

The software itself may be subject to monthly rental or one-off purchase fees.

Check whether the manufacturer offers both options and which is the most suitable for your company.  

Licence fees for governance solutions in the ASG area 

A rental governance solution is usually associated with monthly costs for the software.

These can be in the form of a package price or per seat - i.e. per user.

Common packages on the market are, for example, for smaller companies with up to 250 users.

The scales vary. However, packages for SMEs up to 1,000 users, 2,500 users and 5,000 users are common. From 10,000 users, the enterprise solutions are suitable.

Likewise, graduated prices for the monthly licences at Valprovia's Teams Center are even calculated on the basis of the required number of users - i.e. per seat. Here, the costs per seat decrease with the increasing number of users.

A single licence can thus cost just over 10 ct per user and month.

*Vendor websites as of 2.5.2022 

Not all governance solutions are offered for one-time purchase.

Here, too, the costs depend on the number of users. The price starts at about € 20,000.

In all price considerations, a distinction must be made - depending on the provider - as to whether there are different product bundles or packages and which features they contain.

A distinction is made between basic functionalities in the standard and extended, more expensive packages with additional features. 

Adaptation and extension costs in operation 

Take into account that all adjustments to the business processes can also have an impact on governance and require corresponding adjustments.

These may be carried out internally with the appropriately qualified resources or may have to be outsourced. 

Return on investment calculation of a governance solution 

Consider the workload that arises in IT when you perform governance manually. 

The sample calculation calculates a workload of 4.5 hours per team from request and creation to archiving and deletion.

We assume that the internal costs of an IT employee in Germany are about 60 € per hour.

This means that you have a savings potential of at least 270 € per Microsoft Teams team.

If you carry out an ROI calculation, you will find that it is worthwhile to use a governance solution such as Teams Center from the 44th team onwards. 

This means that if it is foreseeable that more than 44 Teams Workspaces will be requested and created in your company in one year, Teams Center offers you a way to relieve your IT staff.

The additional personnel costs incurred in preparation for the roll-out will in no case exceed this amount, so you will find: Automated Microsoft Teams governance with 3rd party software pays for itself in the first year.  

In addition, the effort for the end users is reduced and thus simplifies your work.