Most software vendors sell their products in tiers: basic, standard, premium, enterprise. It is common to buy one tier for everyone because it is simpler, or because the premium features sounded important during the sale. The result is that many people pay for capabilities they never use.
Right-sizing means giving each person the plan their work actually requires. It does not reduce headcount or remove tools. It reduces the cost per user, often substantially, and it is one of the few savings levers users rarely notice.
Why "one tier for everyone" happens
Uniform licensing is rarely a deliberate decision. It usually comes from one of four situations:
The product was bought quickly for a pilot group who needed premium features, and the rollout copied that tier for everyone.
A vendor offered a better unit price for standardizing on the top tier, without anyone checking how many people would use the extra features.
IT chose one plan to avoid users hitting feature limits and calling the service desk.
Without feature-level reports, nobody could tell who needed what, so the safest choice was the most complete plan.
All four made sense at the time. None of them needs to be permanent.
Start with personas
A persona is a group of people who use a product in the same way. For a productivity suite, typical personas are:
| Persona | Typical work | What they need |
|---|---|---|
| Frontline | Shift-based, mobile, shared devices | Email, chat, basic documents |
| Knowledge worker | Office-based, documents and meetings | Full desktop apps, meetings, storage |
| Power user | Analysts, finance, heavy data work | Advanced analytics and automation |
| Compliance-sensitive | Legal, security, executives | Advanced security and compliance features |
The same approach works for any tiered product. For a CRM it might be full sales user, service agent, read-only manager, occasional approver. For a design suite it might be full designer, single-app user, reviewer.
Map personas to plans
For each persona, choose the lowest plan that covers everything they need, and list the features that justify a higher tier. People who need one premium feature can sometimes get it as an add-on rather than moving to the most expensive plan.
Use data, not opinions
Ask anyone whether they need the premium version and most will say yes. Usage data is more reliable:
- Feature usage reports from the vendor's admin console show which advanced features each user actually touches.
- Sign-in data from your identity provider shows how often and from which devices people work.
- Role data from HR helps assign new joiners to the right persona from day one.
A simple way to see the opportunity is to compare, for each premium feature, how many users have it with how many actually used it in the last 90 days:
Make the change safely
- Pilot with one group
Move a small persona group first, and watch support tickets and feedback for two to four weeks.
- Communicate what changes
Tell users which features they keep, which they lose and how to ask for more.
- Provide a fast route back
If someone genuinely needs a higher tier, upgrade them within a day. A slow route back turns a saving into a grievance.
- Time it with the contract
Many agreements only allow reductions at renewal or anniversary, so plan the change to land then.
- Set the default for new joiners
Place new hires in the right persona automatically, so the mix does not drift back to premium.
Products where right-sizing pays most
Right-sizing is worth the effort when the price gap between tiers is large and the user base is big. Common candidates:
- Productivity suites, such as Microsoft 365, where frontline, standard and premium plans differ widely in price. See Microsoft 365 license optimization.
- CRM platforms, where full licenses sit with people who only view reports or approve quotes. See Salesforce license optimization.
- Design suites, where many users only need one application rather than the full bundle. See Adobe Creative Cloud licenses.
- Collaboration and service-management tools with agent and requester tiers. See ServiceNow licensing.
How MI One helps
Frequently asked questions
Will right-sizing upset users?
Not if the persona mapping is accurate and there is a fast route to upgrade. Most people never notice features they did not use.
How much can right-sizing save?
It depends on the price gap between tiers. Where the top tier costs significantly more than the standard tier, moving even a third of users makes a material difference.
Can we downgrade in the middle of a contract?
Often not. Most agreements allow reductions only at renewal or anniversary, so plan ahead.
How often should personas be reviewed?
Once a year, and before each major renewal. Roles change, and so does what vendors put in each tier.