Microsoft 365 Setup, Migration & Support
The right licenses, a clean move off your old email, security turned on properly, and files organized so people can find them. Then day-to-day support from a local team that knows your tenant.
Based in Redmond, supporting Microsoft 365 for businesses across Central Oregon. Your tenant always stays in your name.
Picking the right licenses
Microsoft 365 licensing is confusing, and paying for the wrong plan is common in both directions: some offices pay for features nobody uses, others are missing the security tools their insurer is asking about. We look at what each person actually does, and you can mix plans within one tenant.
Business Basic
Email, Teams, OneDrive and SharePoint with the web and mobile versions of Office. A fit for staff who mostly need email and shared files.
Business Standard
Everything in Basic plus the installed desktop Office apps. The usual choice for office staff who live in Word, Excel and Outlook.
Business Premium
Standard plus the security layer: Conditional Access, Intune device management and Defender for Business. Our default recommendation when you handle sensitive data or answer cyber insurance questionnaires.
Exchange Online plans
Email only, for accounts like a shared front-desk login that doesn't need the full suite. Shared mailboxes usually need no license at all.
Enterprise plans
Microsoft 365 E3 and E5 for organizations past the 300-user cap on Business plans, or with specific compliance needs.
Add-ons
Microsoft 365 Copilot, Microsoft 365 Backup, Teams Phone and others are separate add-ons. We'll tell you when one is worth it and when it isn't.
Migrations without the lost week
Moving email is where most offices get burned: missing calendars, a weekend of bounced mail, or a phone that stops syncing on Monday morning. We plan the cutover, move mail, calendars and contacts, update DNS, and set up Outlook and phones with your staff.
- From GoDaddy-hosted Microsoft 365. GoDaddy's version runs in a tenant GoDaddy administers, which limits what you can manage and which tools you can use. We move you to a tenant you control directly, either by defederating the existing tenant or migrating to a new one, depending on your setup.
- From Google Workspace. Mail, calendars and contacts move with Microsoft's migration tools; Google Drive files move to OneDrive and SharePoint in a structure we plan with you first.
- From on-premises Exchange. Exchange Server 2016 and 2019 reached end of support in October 2025. We move mailboxes to Exchange Online and retire the old server cleanly, including the DNS and certificates that tend to get forgotten.
- From IMAP or web-hosting email. Mail from hosting-company or ISP accounts is copied over, and we make sure nothing still points at the old provider.
Security set up properly
A new tenant isn't secure just because it's Microsoft. We configure:
- MFA for every user, moving admins and high-risk users to phishing-resistant methods like passkeys, FIDO2 keys or Windows Hello for Business
- Security defaults on Basic and Standard, or Conditional Access policies on Business Premium: block legacy sign-ins, require MFA, require compliant devices for sensitive access
- Where your plan includes them, tools such as Defender for Business and Defender for Office 365 for malware, phishing links and attachments
- Separate admin accounts, with as few global administrators as possible
- SPF, DKIM and DMARC on your domain, and alerts for suspicious mailbox rules and forwarding
For the wider picture beyond Microsoft 365, see our cybersecurity services.
Files, mailboxes and the everyday details
SharePoint, Teams and OneDrive. We plan a simple structure before moving anything: OneDrive for personal working files, SharePoint sites or Teams for shared department and project files, with permissions set by group rather than person by person. People should know where a file goes without asking.
Shared mailboxes. Addresses like info@ or billing@ become shared mailboxes with proper access, not a shared password everyone knows.
Signatures and directory sync through Helix. Helix is our own Microsoft 365 platform. It handles user onboarding and offboarding, consistent company email signatures, and keeps your global address list in sync, so a new hire gets the right mailbox, groups and signature on day one and a departing employee's access is shut off the same day.
Backup. Microsoft's built-in retention and recycle bins are short-term and live inside the same tenant. They are not an independent backup. We add a separate backup for mail, OneDrive, SharePoint and Teams, either Microsoft's paid Microsoft 365 Backup add-on or a third-party service, and test restores. Read why Microsoft's automatic backup isn't enough.
Copilot readiness: clean up permissions first
Microsoft 365 Copilot can only see what the signed-in user can see. The trouble is that in most tenants, people can see far more than anyone realizes: old "everyone" links, folders shared with the whole company years ago, an HR file in a public Team. Copilot doesn't create that oversharing, but it makes it easy to find.
- Review sharing. Find sites, folders and links open to everyone or to outside guests.
- Fix permissions. Move sensitive files where they belong and tighten access by group.
- Set sharing defaults. Make "specific people" the default link type and limit guest access.
- Pilot. Start Copilot with a few users, gather feedback, and decide whether licenses are worth it for the rest.
Our AI for business page and the post on practical, safe ways to start with AI cover the bigger picture.
Ongoing support
On a managed plan, Microsoft 365 administration is included: new users, license changes, mailbox and calendar problems, sharing questions, and keeping security settings current as Microsoft changes things. Plans are priced per user per month and quoted after a free consultation. See managed IT services in Redmond, IT support in Bend, and our cloud services for Azure and AWS work. The post Microsoft 365 support: getting it right the first time goes deeper on setup mistakes we see.
Common questions
Do we own our Microsoft 365 tenant?
You should, and with us you always do. The tenant, domain and data are in your name. We get admin access to manage it, and you can take that away any time.
Will we lose email during a migration?
We plan the cutover so mail keeps flowing. Older mail and calendars copy over in the background, and we're available the first morning on the new system for anything that looks off.
Is Business Premium worth it for a small office?
Often, yes, if you handle client or patient data, have staff working remotely, or your cyber insurer asks about Conditional Access or device management. If not, Standard with security defaults may be fine. We'll explain the tradeoff for your office.
Should we buy Copilot now?
Clean up permissions first, then pilot with a few people who will use it daily. Buying licenses for everyone before that tends to waste money and surface files people shouldn't see.
Can you fix a Microsoft 365 setup someone else did?
Yes. We start with a review of the tenant and give you a one-page list of what's fine and what needs fixing.
Get Microsoft 365 set up right
Book a free 30-minute consultation. We'll look at your licenses, security settings and files, and give you a one-page plain-English list of what's fine and what needs fixing, plus a quote.