Microsoft 365
You are probably paying for more than you use.
Almost every business we look at is carrying licences for people who left, sitting on a plan that does not match how they work, or paying separately for something already included. We licence you for what you actually use, set it up so it is secure, and review it every year.
The invoice this is about
Nobody in the building can tell you what you are paying Microsoft for.
The bill arrives monthly and it has crept up. Somewhere in it are seats for three people who left last year, a plan bought when you had different needs, and an add-on somebody enabled for a trial that never got switched off. Underneath that, half the features you are already paying for are switched off because nobody set them up.
None of this is anybody’s fault. Licensing changes constantly and nobody in a small business has the job of tracking it. It is also, every single time, worth an afternoon of somebody’s attention.
What actually gets done
Four things, in roughly this order.
First
Work out what you are paying for
Every licence, every seat, every add-on, against who actually works here and what they actually do. Empty seats come off. People on a plan heavier than their job needs come down.
This step pays for itself often enough that we lead with it.
Then
Turn on what you already own
Multi-factor authentication, device management, data loss rules, retention settings. Most businesses are paying for these and running with them off, which is the worst of both positions.
Switching them on properly is usually cheaper than the add-on product being pitched to solve the same problem.
Then
Make it work the way you work
Shared mailboxes, distribution lists, permissions that reflect your actual structure, files organised so people can find things without asking. Teams set up deliberately rather than growing by accident.
The dull configuration work is what separates 365 being useful from 365 being a place files go missing.
Ongoing
Keep it that way
New starters set up before their first morning and leavers shut down the same day, which is a security control as much as an administrative one. Licences reviewed yearly. New features assessed before they arrive rather than after somebody notices.
The thing worth knowing
Microsoft is not backing up your data.
It catches nearly everybody, and it is written plainly in Microsoft’s own terms. They guarantee the service stays available. Protecting your data from a deleted mailbox, a compromised account, or somebody clearing out a SharePoint site is explicitly your responsibility.
The built-in retention gives you a window measured in weeks, and it is not designed for the case where somebody deliberately destroys things or where nobody notices for two months. If your business runs on 365, this is the most likely hole in your recovery plan. More on backup and recovery.
- Email and shared mailboxes
- SharePoint and OneDrive
- Teams files and conversations
- Retention set to what you need
Included in the platform
What you get, in plain terms.
Depending on the plan. Part of our job is telling you which plan actually reaches the things on this list.
The everyday tools
- Outlook, Word, Excel and PowerPoint, current versions
- Teams for calls, chat and meetings
- SharePoint and OneDrive for files
- Works on computers, phones and tablets
Working anywhere
- The same files from the office, home or a client site
- Documents several people can edit at once
- Company data reachable without a VPN to maintain
- A new computer set up from almost nothing
Security you can use
- Multi-factor authentication across every account
- Rules about where company data is allowed to go
- Company data wiped from a lost phone, personal data left alone
- A record of who accessed what, when somebody asks
Choosing the plan
- Business or enterprise, costed against your actual headcount
- Frontline plans for staff who do not sit at a desk
- Nonprofit pricing where your organisation qualifies
- Canadian data residency where your obligations require it
Moving to it
- Email migrated with history intact
- Files moved with permissions rebuilt properly
- Staged, so a problem affects one group rather than everyone
- Staff shown what changes before it changes
What we watch
- Licence count against real headcount, yearly
- Storage growth, before it becomes a surprise
- Sign-ins that do not look right
- New features, assessed rather than switched on blindly
Questions we get asked
The things owners actually want to know.
Pulled from the central library, tagged for this page. All questions and answers →
Related
Often taken alongside this.
Let us look at your licence bill.
Half an hour, no charge, and you keep the findings whatever you decide. We will tell you what you are paying for that you are not using.
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