5 Microsoft 365 Features You’re Probably Paying For (But Not Using)

Most organisations see Microsoft 365 as email, Word, Excel, and Teams… and stop there. But in reality, Microsoft 365 is a broad productivity and security platform, and many businesses are already paying for features that never get switched on or aren’t even noticed.

This usually isn’t due to lack of value, but because Microsoft 365 grows quietly over time. Features are bundled into licences, renamed, moved, or improved, without any direct grand announcements to state the obvious. And so unless one is actively keeping up with updates that are pushed out, day-to-day IT mainly focuses on keeping users working rather than exploring what’s already included.

This can often result in wasted licence value, or even security tools sitting idle while organisations spend money on third-party solutions.

Here are five Microsoft 365 features many businesses already pay for, but rarely use to their full potential.

1. Microsoft Secure Score: Your Built-In Security Roadmap

Microsoft Secure Score is included with Microsoft 365 Business Premium and Enterprise plans, yet many IT teams never actively review it. That’s a missed opportunity.

Secure Score provides a measurable view of your tenant’s security posture across multiple crucial areas such as identity, devices, apps, and data. More importantly, it doesn’t just show problems, but also gives clear, prioritised actions to improve security. Explanations of impact and effort included!

Instead of guessing whether your environment is “secure enough”, Secure Score shows exactly where you stand compared to Microsoft best practices. As an example, it highlights common gaps: missing MFA enforcement, risky sign-ins, weak password policies, or unmanaged devices. These are all small things, but very important in the grand scheme of things.

Many organisations invest in external security audits while ignoring Secure Score, even though it’s continuously updated and tailored specifically to their tenant. If your business is eligible through licencing, perhaps it’s worth reviewing it monthly - this can dramatically improve security, and that with minimal cost.

2. Sensitivity Labels: Protecting Data Without Blocking Users

Data protection often fails when it’s too restrictive. Sensitivity Labels, included in Microsoft Purview, take a different approach by protecting data, without too much disruption to the users.

So what is their actual purpose? With Sensitivity Labels, organisations can classify documents and emails as Public, Private, or Restricted. Labels can automatically apply encryption, restrict sharing, add watermarks, or prevent forwarding…  all without users needing technical knowledge.

What makes this feature underused is the assumption that it’s “too complex” or only relevant to highly regulated industries. In reality, even basic labelling can prevent accidental data leaks, especially when staff share files externally via OneDrive or Teams.

3. Power Automate: Removing Manual Work From Everyday Tasks

Power Automate is – and as Power Platform experts, we can claim this confidently - one of the most overlooked tools in Microsoft 365, despite being included in many licences.

At its simplest, Power Automate allows you to automate repetitive tasks across Microsoft 365 apps. That might mean automatically saving email attachments to SharePoint, notifying managers when a form is submitted, or triggering approvals when a document changes status.

These automations don’t require advanced development skills. Many common workflows can be built using templates, and even basic flows can save hours each week when multiplied across teams.

The real cost of not using Power Automate isn’t financial - it’s time! Teams often accept repetitive tasks as “just the way things are,” unaware that the tools to fix them are already available.

4. Microsoft Lists: More Than Just Another Spreadsheet

Microsoft Lists is often dismissed as “Excel in disguise,” which undersells its value significantly.

Lists provide structured data tracking with built-in rules, views, formatting, and permissions, and these are all tightly integrated with Teams and SharePoint. Unlike spreadsheets, Lists support validation and versioning without the risk of accidental overwrites.

Lists is normally used for asset registers, onboarding trackers, issue logs, change requests, and simple CRM-style tracking. Yet many teams continue to rely on shared spreadsheets stored in SharePoint, creating version confusion and data quality issues.

But because Lists feels simple, it’s frequently ignored. When used properly though, it replaces countless ad-hoc spreadsheets and can bring structure to everyday data.

5. Audit Logs and Activity Tracking: Visibility You Already Have

Ever wanted to check an access trail for a document? You might be easily able to do that! Microsoft 365 audit logs provide detailed visibility into user and admin activity across services like Exchange, SharePoint, OneDrive, and Teams.

This capability is truly invaluable for things like security investigations, compliance, or even troubleshooting. It allows IT teams to answer questions like who accessed a file, when it was shared externally, or which admin made a configuration change.

Regular use of audit logs improves accountability and shortens incident response times. For many businesses, simply knowing this data exists (and how to access it!) is a significant step forward.

Why These Features Go Unused

The most common reason these features aren’t used is surprisingly not cost, or even the complexity… it’s awareness.

Microsoft 365 is constantly evolving, and businesses rarely revisit what their licences include. IT teams are busy, end users aren’t trained on new capabilities, and features remain disabled because “no one asked for them”.

Unfortunately, this may lead to unnecessary spend on overlapping tools, avoidable risks, and missed improvements.

Getting More Value From Microsoft 365

Fortunately, unlocking these features doesn’t require a full tenant redesign. In most cases, it starts with a simple review: understanding what licences you have, what’s already included, and where quick wins exist.

Many organisations find that enabling just one or two of these features delivers immediate return.

If you would like to explore what you have included in your Microsoft 365 subscription, our expert consultants can help you determine the next best steps on how to improve your working environment.