How to Fund Your Copilot Deployment Budget Using Your Existing Microsoft 365 Investment

Kevin Peters July 23, 2025

TLDR: How to Fund Your Copilot Deployment Budget Without New Spend

Switch every user from a $15–$30 legacy PBX seat to the Teams Phone service already bundled in your E5 license. The reclaimed cash funds the $30 Copilot fee, covers rollout, and unlocks AI productivity, all detailed in this 4-step funding strategy and expert-led webinar. .

What Is the Real Copilot Deployment Budget Breakdown?

Most teams start with the licensing cost of $30/user/month, but this is just the beginning. If you’re rolling out Microsoft 365 Copilot for 500 people, you’re looking at around:

$180,000 a year just for licensing
$25,000 to $35,000 for implementation

With this the total climbs to nearly $220,000. Additionally, to activate Copilot, each user also needs a Microsoft 365 Business Premium, E3, or E5 subscription.

For most organizations, that’s where the conversation stops. CFOs see a six-figure line item and ask the inevitable question: ” Do we really want to pull $200K from next quarter’s roadmap? “

Where Is Your Copilot Funding Already Hiding?

The answer lies in a massive blind spot affecting nearly every enterprise: Microsoft 365 underutilization.

The $7.4 Million E5 Underutilization Crisis

One of the opening stats from our webinar drew attention for a reason: TechRepublic reports that large enterprises waste $7.4 million annually on underused Microsoft E5 features.

It’s not just a few missed tools. As Kevin Peters, Director of Business Strategy said:

“There’s a budget right there for almost every customer who owns E5… they’re not using Teams Phone, Power BI Pro, or Purview.”

4 Steps to Fund Your Copilot Deployment Budget

Step 1: Create the Business Case

Whenever we undertake migration projects, we always stumble across the same thing: less than 40% of E5 have Phone enabled. That’s your business case right there. That is the budget you can utilize for Copilot adoption.

With Forrester report stating an average saving of $86 per user/year through consolidation you can roughly reclaim a quarter of your Copilot budget.

Step 2: Teams Phone for Every Teams User

With more than a decade of helping with thousands of migrations, we understand that it’s a tedious, complex and painful process. This is why we see so many organizations just stop after migrating 10% or 20% of their users to Teams Phone.

With ZIRO Platform for Teams Phone, you can automate up to 80% of provisioning and migration tasks. Our platform offer an intuitive interface that even help desk staff can confidently use without relying on UC specialists.

By eliminating the extra phone system, you create savings that go right to your Copilot budget.

Step 3: Engage Copilot in Every Call

Do you want an intelligent Copilot that actually delivers the ROI your organization is expecting?

Then let it access the conversations happening across sales, support, and all your other business functions by consolidating voice in Teams and ditching legacy systems. Let Copilot be part of every interaction. That’s the goldmine of raw insights that allows Copilot to deliver the value it is capable of.

Step 4: Improve Every Interaction

At the heart of our mission is a commitment to making every conversation count. By integrating Teams Phone with Copilot, organizations can automatically capture, organize, and act on the information shared in every interaction. This approach ensures that meetings, whether brief check-ins or lengthy strategy sessions, result in clear, actionable outcomes without the need for endless follow-ups.

Tools to Help You Unlock Your Hidden Copilot Budget

We want to ensure that you are taking the right step forward. Therefore, we have created a list of tools to help you with budget assessment.

ZIRO PBX Assessment

This is a FREE assessment that allows organizations like yours identify the six-figure savings migrating to Teams can help you unlock. What you can expect:

Complete picture of PBX configuration so you can understand what you use and don’t before migration

ZIRO Platform for Microsoft Teams

ZIRO Platform automates up to 80% of the migration workload from user mapping and config ingestion to license validation and batch provisioning.

Ready to see it in action? Book a demo and discover just how easy voice migration can actually be.

Your Copilot deployment budget isn’t a future problem. It’s a present opportunity hiding inside your E3 or E5 license. By fully leveraging Microsoft 365—especially Teams Phone—you can redirect underused budget toward your Copilot rollout.

If you’re interested in more detailed insights, we’ve got you covered. Get free access to our exclusive webinar where industry experts Steven Karachinsky (CEO, ZIRO) and Kevin Peters (Director of Business Strategy) break down exactly how to fund your Copilot deployment using Teams Phone consolidation.

Frequently Asked Questions

How to Create Funds for Microsoft Copilot Deployment?

Microsoft offers several funding programs to support Copilot adoption. Copilot Deployment Vouchers are available for organizations with 1,000+ licenses and help offset implementation costs through FastTrack Ready Partners. You can also explore Copilot Vision & Value Engagements through Microsoft’s top partners for Proof of Value programs. Additionally, Microsoft’s partner network can guide you through various funding applications and options.

How Much Does Copilot Really Cost?

Copilot costs $30/user/month on top of your existing Microsoft 365 Business Premium, E3, or E5 subscription. Add another 10-15% for deployment and training to ensure proper adoption.

Is Copilot Worth the IT Budget?

Forrester reports up to 353% ROI over three years, with users saving an average of 1.6 hours weekly. But the real value goes beyond numbers. When Copilot has access to voice conversations, decision-making improves significantly because the AI understands your business context. It automates repetitive tasks, reducing employee burnout and freeing them for strategic work. Think of it this way: you’re not just buying productivity tools, you’re investing in competitive advantage and employee satisfaction.