I'm in charge of IT for a small non-profit with about 10 full-time staff members and 10 PCs, including a mix of laptops and desktops. Currently, we're leveraging Microsoft 365, which has been free for us as a non-profit. All our devices are Entra Joined and managed via Intune. However, Microsoft has announced that they will no longer provide free M365 Business Premium licenses for non-profits, which means we'll lose access to Entra ID and Intune. I'm exploring our options: should we invest in on-prem Active Directory and buy a server? Is there a budget-friendly alternative to EntraID for device management? Should we consider switching to local accounts? What are the advantages and disadvantages of each option? Since funds are tight, I'm particularly interested in the most cost-effective solutions. Thanks for your insights!
2 Answers
I'm in a similar situation supporting a non-profit too. We use Google Workspace for email and collaboration, but I started integrating EntraID into our setup. You might want to look into using the Google Credential Provider for Windows to manage your machines without switching everything up completely.
If you can swing it, budgeting around $792 a year can help you keep the licenses. Sometimes the cost of setting up and maintaining a server will actually end up being about the same after a few years, so it's worth considering staying with the licenses.
That tool sounds really useful! I have a Google Workspace for my music production, and it would be great to use the same account on my Windows machine. I'm considering updating my setup and will keep that in mind.