Get more from the Microsoft 365 you already pay for
Most businesses use Microsoft 365 for email and Office apps and not much else. Meanwhile, they pay for security features that were never turned on, licenses for people who left months ago, and a file-sharing setup that grew without a plan. Our blog post Getting More From Microsoft 365 covers the security, licensing and productivity wins most businesses miss.
Our Microsoft 365 consulting service helps Dallas-area businesses fix that. Whether you’re moving to Microsoft 365 for the first time, cleaning up a tenant that “just happened,” or looking for someone to manage it going forward, you get an experienced IT professional who has worked with Microsoft business systems for decades.
Microsoft 365 migrations
Moving email and files is where many businesses get burned: lost messages, broken calendars, phones that stop syncing and a very long Monday. A good migration is mostly planning.
We handle migrations from:
- On-premises Exchange servers and aging file servers.
- Google Workspace and other hosted email providers.
- Microsoft 365 purchased through a web host or domain registrar, moved into a tenant your business fully controls.
- Another Microsoft 365 tenant, such as after a merger, acquisition or rebrand.
Each migration includes an inventory of mailboxes, shared mailboxes, calendars and files; a written plan and schedule; pre-staging data so the final cutover is quick; and follow-up help to get Outlook, phones and Teams working for everyone. Cutovers are scheduled to minimize disruption, typically in the evening or over a weekend.
Licensing that fits the way you work
Microsoft offers several business plans, including Business Basic, Business Standard and Business Premium, plus add-ons and enterprise options. The right mix depends on who needs desktop apps, who only needs email, and which security features your business requires.
A license review looks at every seat you’re paying for and answers three questions:
- Is anyone licensed who shouldn’t be, such as former employees or duplicate accounts?
- Is anyone on a more expensive plan than they need?
- Are you missing a security feature that a different plan would include?
It’s common to come out of a review with better security and a lower monthly bill.
Security hardening
Microsoft 365 ships with sensible defaults, but defaults aren’t a security policy. We configure your tenant so it’s ready for real-world attacks:
- Multi-factor authentication for every user, with sign-in methods your team will actually use.
- Conditional access policies that block risky sign-ins and require trusted devices, available with Microsoft 365 Business Premium.
- Anti-phishing and email authentication (SPF, DKIM and DMARC), which makes it harder for attackers to impersonate your domain.
- External sharing controls for SharePoint and OneDrive, so sensitive files don’t wander.
- Admin account hygiene, with separate admin accounts, no shared passwords and alerts for suspicious activity.
- Intune device management, which lets you enforce encryption and security settings and wipe company data from a lost device.
Microsoft 365 security is one layer of a bigger plan. See our cybersecurity services for the rest.
Teams, SharePoint and OneDrive done right
Teams, SharePoint and OneDrive can replace an old file server, a mess of email attachments and a separate chat app. The key is structure. We help you decide where company files belong, who should have access, and how teams share work, then migrate your data and train your people to use it.
Don’t forget backup
Microsoft keeps its service running, but protecting your data is your responsibility. Built-in retention is limited and isn’t designed to recover from a malicious deletion, a compromised account or ransomware syncing encrypted files to the cloud. Microsoft 365 backup captures email, OneDrive, SharePoint and Teams daily, so you can restore a single message or an entire mailbox. Learn more about our backup and disaster recovery service, or read how to build a disaster recovery strategy you can trust.
Ongoing Microsoft 365 administration
Microsoft 365 administration and backup are included in our Business and Premium managed IT plans. That covers adding and removing users, licensing, mailbox and permission changes, security settings and everyday “how do I…” questions. Migrations and larger projects are quoted separately, in writing, before any work begins.
Google Workspace, too
Not every business runs on Microsoft. If your team uses Google Workspace (Gmail, Drive, Meet and shared drives), we help with setup, user accounts, migrations to or from Microsoft 365, 2-step verification, email security and day-to-day administration, with the same flat pricing and published rates as our other services.
Frequently asked questions
Will we lose email during the migration?
A properly planned migration doesn’t lose email. We copy existing data ahead of time, switch mail delivery at a scheduled cutover, then sync anything that arrived during the switch.
Our Microsoft 365 came with our website or domain. Is that a problem?
Not necessarily, but it can limit your control over the account, your admin access and your licensing options. We can move you to a tenant your business owns outright, with no loss of email.
Which Microsoft 365 plan do we need?
It depends on your team. Many small businesses benefit from Business Premium because it adds important security features like conditional access and Intune. A license review will tell you what fits.
Isn’t Microsoft 365 already backed up?
Microsoft protects its infrastructure, but its built-in retention isn’t a true backup. A separate Microsoft 365 backup lets you recover from deletions, compromised accounts and ransomware.
Can you help if we use Google Workspace instead?
Yes. We administer and secure Google Workspace, and we can migrate you to Microsoft 365 if that’s a better fit for your business.
