The sale of the licences generated additional revenue for the city budget. For hundreds of older licences in the same portfolio, however, it was already too late – once Microsoft support ends, there are no longer any buyers.
Customer
City of Boeblingen, City Administration
Sector
Local government, public sector
IT environment
The City of Boeblingen’s IT department supports around 1,500 users and more than 1,000 computers. A team of ten in the Organisation and Information Technology Department is responsible for this.
Sold Licences
The licences sold were Office 2024 Standard licences that had been procured for the Boeblingen Therme – a subsidiary of the City of Boeblingen
Background
The Office 2024 licences were acquired via an Open Value agreement. The correct approach would have been to use the existing Microsoft Select Plus agreement held by Boeblingen Town Council; as a result, the Boeblingen Therme was no longer able to use the software.
Way of contact
Bechtle, the systems integrator with which the City of Boeblingen collaborates on licence management, put the city in touch with MRM Distribution
Evidence
The town of Boeblingen had in its possession all the original proofs of purchase and Microsoft contract documents relating to the Office licences sold
Special feature
For the sale to go ahead, proof was required that the Boeblingen Thermal Baths is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the City of Boeblingen
Result
The sale of the Office licences to MRM Distribution generated revenue for the town of Boeblingen.
Unsuitable for resale
However, hundreds of older versions of Office held by the town of Böblingen were of little interest for resale
Get the complete case study of the City of Boeblingen as a PDF.
Background:
Why the Office 2024 licences at the Boeblingen Therme remained unused
The City Administration of Boeblingen actively manages its software licences and is in regular contact with the IT service provider Bechtle. Office 2024 Standard licences were purchased for Boeblingen’s thermal baths, a wholly owned subsidiary of the city, under an Open Value agreement. It later became apparent that the city administration’s existing Microsoft Select Plus agreement would have been the correct purchasing model for these licences. The thermal baths could no longer use the software.
The idea of selling licences that were no longer in use had already been considered in Boeblingen for some time. Manuela Ivezaj from IT User Services contacted Bechtle, and the IT service provider subsequently put the city in touch with MRM Distribution.
The requirement:
What supporting documents a local authority needs to sell a licence
Tim Bloemke, Purchasing Manager at MRM Distribution, reviewed the City of Boeblingen’s Office licences. He applies the same standard to every purchase: complete and reliable documentation.
In Boeblingen’s case, three documents were required:
> The City of Boeblingen had to provide the original purchase receipts for the Office licences.
> The relevant Microsoft agreement documents for these Office licences were also required.
> Proof was required that Boeblingen’s thermal baths are a wholly owned subsidiary of the City of Boeblingen. Only this entitled the city to sell the licences.
The City of Boeblingen was able to provide all three documents in full.
If the documentation required for the sale is incomplete
Not every local authority starts with complete documentation. Invoices may be held by other departments, filing procedures may have changed, or the person who originally purchased the IT may have retired. The question of whether a licence portfolio can be sold then becomes a review process.
In such cases, MRM Distribution organises the licence portfolio, identifies any missing documentation and determines step by step whether the licences are eligible for resale.
The solution: This is how the sale of Boeblingen’s Office licences to MRM Distribution was completed in five steps:
The result:
Unused licences generate revenue for the city budget
Financial benefit
The City of Boeblingen generated revenue for its budget by selling the licences.
Manuela Ivezaj’s conclusion is simple: “It pays off.”
Cost-effectiveness
For public-sector organisations, a sale of this kind is about more than the proceeds. They work with public funds, must be able to document their decisions and are expected to operate cost-effectively. When software that is no longer needed generates money for the organisation, it is more than just another accounting entry.
The time factor: Why software licences have an expiry date
Software licences have an “expiry date”: once Microsoft support for a particular version ends, it can no longer be resold. The remaining value of a licence portfolio therefore depends on when it is reviewed.
In Boeblingen, both situations existed side by side. The thermal baths’ Office 2024 licences could be sold. At the same time, the city administration had hundreds of older versions that were no longer in use and for which resale was hardly worthwhile.
“Looking back, we should have considered selling the licences when we migrated to Microsoft 365,” says Manuela Ivezaj from IT User Services at the Boeblingen City Administration. Her advice to other local authorities: do not wait too long, otherwise the licences will lose their value.
How much value is there in your licence portfolio?
MRM Distribution will assess it free of charge and with no obligation.
Manuela Ivezaj, IT User Services, Boeblingen City Administration, says:
“MRM explained transparently which licences were eligible for sale and which documents were required. We therefore had no concerns whatsoever about legal compliance. Especially in economically challenging times, it makes sense to turn licences that are no longer needed into revenue for local authorities.”
Manuela Ivezaj, IT User Services, Boeblingen City Administration
Tim Bloemke, Purchasing Manager, MRM Distribution, says:
“Many organisations do not know how much their licence portfolio is still worth. Boeblingen was different: the documents were available, responsibilities were clear – and that is exactly what quickly turned software that was no longer needed into real revenue for the city administration.”
Tim Bloemke, Purchasing Manager, MRM Distribution
Which local authorities and public bodies are affected by this issue
This is not an isolated case: in public administrations such as the City of Boeblingen, unused licences often arise for various reasons. Those affected include, for example:
Public authorities with server licences from previous procurement cycles
Public sector organisations using Office suites under old contract models
Local authorities with surplus stock following a cloud migration
Organisations whose subsidiaries have procured software through their own channels
IT managers who are unsure whether their public authority is permitted to sell used software in a legally compliant manner
Have unused licences in your own administration checked
MRM Distribution organises your licence portfolio, identifies any missing documentation and clarifies whether the licences can be sold, step by step — even if the documentation is incomplete.
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