A://RUN03Microsoft 365
Microsoft 365,
set up properly.
The backend work behind Microsoft 365: configuring the tenant correctly for how your organisation actually operates, locking it down, and turning on the security and governance you are already paying for. It is for organisations moving to Microsoft 365, or already on it and using a fraction of what they own.
THE PROBLEM
Microsoft 365 is easy to buy and easy to leave at its defaults. Most tenants are running settings that were chosen by nobody.
The cost of leaving this alone is rarely one visible failure. It is the slow accumulation: the workaround that became the process, the thing only one person knows, the renewal nobody questioned.
Our starting point is always the same: establish what is actually true today, then decide what to change. Work scoped against an assumption tends to solve a problem you do not have.
- 01It was set up once and never revisitedDefaults from the day it was created are still in place, including the ones Microsoft has since changed its advice on.
- 02Nobody owns the structureAnyone can create a Team or a site, nothing is named consistently, and finding anything depends on asking the right person.
- 03You are paying for capability you do not useThe security tooling in your licence is switched off, so the risk is real and the spend is already made.
WHAT YOU GET
What the engagement covers
Scoped before it starts, so you know what is included and what is not.
- 01
Tenant configuration
The tenant built around how your organisation works: sharing rules, retention, external access, and the security defaults that ship switched off.
- 02
Security and governance
Conditional access, multi-factor authentication, data loss prevention, and retention policies. The controls are already in your licence, so this is configuration rather than new spend.
- 03
Structure and naming conventions
Teams, SharePoint sites, and groups created to a naming standard with an owner and a lifecycle, so the tenant does not sprawl into a thousand abandoned Teams.
- 04
Migration and adoption
Mail, files, and permissions moved with a cutover plan and a rollback position, then guidance for your people on what to use when.
HOW WE WORK
Assess, deploy, operate, review
Four stages with a written output at each one. You always know which stage you are in and what comes next.
- 01Week 1
Assess
We document what exists today and what it needs to do, so the work is scoped against reality rather than assumption.
- 02Weeks 2 – 4
Deploy
Changes are made in a planned sequence, outside working hours where disruption would otherwise land on your staff.
- 03Ongoing
Operate
It is monitored and maintained as part of your agreement. Problems are ours to notice, not yours to report.
- 04Quarterly
Review
What it is costing, whether it still fits, and what should change before the next renewal.
WHAT CHANGES
What you should expect
- Someone other than you owns it, with that written down.
- The current state is documented and stays documented.
- Cost is planned ahead rather than discovered at renewal.
- Decisions are made against evidence rather than assumption.
FAQ
Questions we get asked
01What is Microsoft 365?
The backend work behind Microsoft 365: configuring the tenant correctly for how your organisation actually operates, locking it down, and turning on the security and governance you are already paying for. It is for organisations moving to Microsoft 365, or already on it and using a fraction of what they own.
02Will we lose email during a Microsoft 365 migration?
No. Mail is synchronised before cutover, so the switch is a change of destination rather than a move. For most people the entire experience is being prompted to re-enter a password once. We run migrations outside trading hours and keep the old platform available until we are confident nothing is missing.
03What is the difference between Microsoft 365 Business Premium and Business Standard?
Standard gives you the applications and the services. Premium adds the security and device management layer: conditional access, Intune device management, advanced threat protection for email, and data loss prevention. For most New Zealand businesses the step up to Premium is cheaper than buying equivalent security separately, which is why we usually recommend it, but only after we have looked at what each person actually needs.
04Is Microsoft 365 secure out of the box?
It is capable of being secure. It is not secure by default. A new tenant allows legacy authentication in some configurations, permits wide external sharing, has no conditional access policies, and retains almost nothing on purpose. The gap between what Microsoft 365 can do and what a given tenant is doing is where most of our work sits.
05Where is our Microsoft 365 data stored, and does it stay in New Zealand?
Microsoft operates data centres in Australia that serve New Zealand customers, and has announced New Zealand regions. Which services hold data where depends on your tenant and the workload. If data residency is a contractual or regulatory question for you, we will establish the actual answer for your tenant rather than the general one, and where it matters we would look at sovereign cloud alongside it.
06Do we still need backup if we are on Microsoft 365?
Yes. Microsoft protects the platform, not your content. Their responsibility is that the service is available. Recovering a mailbox deleted six months ago, or a SharePoint library a departing employee cleared out, is yours. Retention policies help and are part of what we configure, but they are not a backup.
07Can you fix a Microsoft 365 tenant somebody else set up?
Yes, and it is most of what we do here. We start with a review of the tenant as it stands, tell you what is exposed and what is wasted, and put the changes in a sensible order. You get that picture whether or not you continue with us.
08How much does Microsoft 365 cost in New Zealand?
We quote after scoping rather than before. Anyone pricing this work without looking at your environment is guessing, and the guess is rarely in your favour. Scoping itself is quick, and we tell you what it costs before we start it.
09How long does it take to get started with Microsoft 365?
A first conversation takes about half an hour and costs nothing. Scoping is usually a week or two of our time depending on the size of the environment, and we agree the delivery dates with you before anything is booked in.
10Can you deliver Microsoft 365 alongside our existing IT team or provider?
Yes, and it is common. We are happy to work as an extra pair of hands under your internal team, or alongside an incumbent provider on a defined piece of work. We will set out in writing where the responsibilities split, so nothing falls between us.
11Do we have to move all of our IT to Atlas to get this?
No. This can be delivered as a standalone piece of work for an organisation we have never worked with before, or folded into a managed agreement if you already have one with us. Plenty of clients use us for one thing and keep everything else where it is.
12Do you only work with Auckland businesses?
Our team is based in Auckland and we attend sites across the wider region. Most of this work is delivered remotely, so we support organisations throughout New Zealand, and we will say up front where being on site genuinely matters.
13Who will we actually be dealing with day to day?
Named people, not a queue. You get a lead who knows your environment and stays with it, which is the difference between explaining your business once and explaining it every time you make contact.
14What happens if we want to leave?
You keep the documentation regardless, and anything registered in your name stays in your name. Whether we stay involved is your call. Some clients take it in house from there, others move it onto an ongoing agreement with us. We would rather you left cleanly than stayed because leaving was difficult.
Start with a conversation.
Tell us what you are dealing with and we will tell you whether this is the right service for it, and what it would take.
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