From Reactive to Proactive: The Role of the MSP in Microsoft 365 Excellence

It is one of the most often asked questions when we engage with a new client - "Doesn't my Microsoft subscription come with support?"

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The short answer - Yes.

The longer (more accurate) answer - it depends on what you mean by "support".

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The Limitations of Vendor Support

Vendor support, undoubtedly, plays a pivotal role in addressing technical issues, software bugs, and providing general guidance. Microsoft's support services are comprehensive and designed to assist users in resolving a myriad of problems. However, it is crucial to recognize the inherent focus on this support is to ensure that the Microsoft 365 platform is working as expected.

There is very limited opportunity for vendors, including Microsoft, to understand exactly how you are trying to use their platform, what particular settings and customisations may be in place and what underlying infrastructure you are relying on.

?Think of it like our transport network - governments (national/state/local) supply and maintain the roads, you supply (and are responsible for) your vehicle.? You can refer issues with the way the road impacts your vehicle to the relevant authority (please fill this pothole, add an extra lane to the motorway), but issues with your vehicle (flat tyre, no fuel) are your responsibility to address.

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The MSP value Proposition

In the same way people engage an automotive mechanic to help with vehicle issues, IT Managed Service Providers (MSPs) are the go-to in addressing the inherent gap between vendor support and your business expectations.

MSP's invest in tools, training and systems to understand your needs, how these needs can be achieved and what controls are required to keep things rolling.

Below are 8 Key Areas that we find most businesses with Microsoft 365 deployments require assistance with:?

1. Licensing & Cost Management

Within the Microsoft 365 suite there are numerous products that deliver similar outcomes, knowing which is most suited is often not obvious.? This is where the nuanced understanding of an MSP can deliver significant value in ensuring that you are only paying for what you need, when you need it. MSPs with Microsoft Partner status are able to access additional license options that are not immediately available through the Microsoft retail channel. Additionally, MSPs are able to offer a degree of commercial flexibility that is not available directly from Microsoft.

2. User On/Off-boarding

The management of the addition and removal of user accounts within the M365 environment, whilst not an complex task, is a distraction for most businesses.? MSPs have policy based automated processes for these tasks that can be executed on a forward schedule, or ad-hoc as needed require. Additionally, these processes will be able to handle such tasks as mailbox retention, auto-forwards and license returns allowing you to focus on your core business requirements and not the Microsoft 365 admin interface.

3. Baseline Security Management

The Microsoft 365 environment includes a large number of security policies that can be implemented at the Organisation, Group and User level.? Knowing which is the most appropriate setting, the impact of conflicting policy settings and what happens in the absence of a setting is a specialised area.? Whilst Microsoft provides these tools to all subscribers, the knowledge and skills to effectively use them require significant training, domain knowledge and experience.? Accredited MSP partners are also able to access specialised services that provide real-time, proactive monitoring and alerting of potential issues - again, the knowledge and skills required to effectively interpret these alerts and understand the most appropriate action to take is often not immediately obvious and can certainly result in either major loss of time, or overload of alerts that are ignored.

4. Cyber-risk analysis

Microsoft provides each 365 environment with a security "score" - generally, the higher this score, the lower the Cyber risk to the environment.? However, not all settings that contribute to the score are relevant to all organisations and in fact, enabling some settings will result in loss of key business functionality for some organisations. Determining which setting is appropriate is again a core benefit of working with an MSP partner. Additionally, your MSP partner will be able to advise you on additional areas such as awareness traning, data backups, incident response planning and threat detection.

5. Environment Customisation

Vendor support requires standardised deployments to be effective. MSPs specialize in tailoring Microsoft 365 environments to unique business requirements. For example, a manufacturing company might need specific document management workflows that go beyond the out-of-the-box features. An MSP can develop and implement custom solutions to align Microsoft 365 with the intricacies of the business, fostering efficiency and agility.

6. Integration with 3rd party Systems

Many businesses leverage third-party tools that complement Microsoft 365. While the third party software vendor will provide instructions for the integration, they generally assume familiarity with the M365 management console and don't consider customisations or other integrations. An MSP will be able to rapidly identify incompatibilities, configuration settings that may need alteration, or security risk points that can be introduced by a 3rd party system. Once these details are worked through, they will be able to facilitate the seamless integration of these tools into your environment.

7. Data Protection and Backups

It's crucial for businesses to understand that the Microsoft 365 platform is provided under the shared responsibility model - Microsoft is responsible for infrastructure and platform security, while users are responsible for their data and configurations within the environment. MSP guidance is essential in this area as the configuration of appropriate policies related to data security, protection and resilience are non-trivial while the consequences of incorrect configuration options can lead to catastrophic data loss, or worse still, release of private information in public forums.

8. Reporting and Planning

Knowing how effectively your business is able to utilise services such as Microsoft 365 can be a key driver of investment decisions.? Access to regular reports covering areas such as licensing, user account usage, breach attempts and capacity utilisation will facilitate informed decision making and prioritisation of investment decisions - they can also provide an early warning of issues such as user accounts that are either no longer needed, or not in use.? An effective MSP will assist clients in understanding such reports and their use in key business activities such as cyber security reviews and financial budget preparation.

Bridging the Gap

Returning to the original question for a moment - "Doesn't my Microsoft subscription come with support?"

The answer is most certainly yes, but as explored above, not the support that is most valued!? If you want to maximise the value delivered by your investment in the Microsoft 365 environment, then partnering with an MSP is a necessity.

Want more?

Curious to know how an MSP can assist you to maximise value from you Microsoft 365 environment- reach out for a conversation.