Microsoft 365 Support & Management in Brisbane
Your Brisbane business pays for Microsoft 365 every month. We look after it for you: set up properly, kept secure and backed up, with an average 15 minute response to critical issues.
- SMB1001 Gold certified
- Microsoft Partner
- 5/5 from 45+ Google reviews
- 15 min average critical response
SMB1001 Gold, Level 3
Microsoft PartnerWorking is not the same as set up properly
Email works. Teams works. Files are saved somewhere. Once Microsoft 365 is running, it tends to get left alone, and nobody checks who can sign in and from where, whether your data is backed up, or what happens to a person’s access when they leave.
When we audit a business’s Microsoft 365, we often find the same things: people who have left but can still reach company data, licences assigned to accounts that no longer exist, and a mismatch between the licences assigned and the licences bought. Here is where the gaps usually show up.
What goes wrong in Microsoft 365, and what we do about it
Those gaps show up in a handful of predictable places. These are the eight we look at, and what we do about each one. For the security side in more depth, read our Microsoft 365 security guide, or see our wider cyber security service.
| Area | What goes wrong | What we do about it |
|---|---|---|
| Sign-in | A password on its own protects most accounts. One reused or stolen password gives someone your inbox and your files. | Two-step sign-in for every person, and a check for any account that can still skip it. |
| Admin access | Too many people can change settings or see everyone's data. Admin accounts get used for everyday email, so one phishing click reaches everything. | Fewer admins, separate accounts for admin work, and a record of who can do what. |
| Leavers | Former staff can still reach company data after they have left, because nobody is told to close their access. | Access removed the same day, with their email and files handed to the right person. |
| Email forwarding | Hidden rules that copy mail to outside addresses are a common sign of a hacked account, and a common way data leaks. | We look for hidden forwarding and mail rules, and stop automatic forwarding outside the business. |
| File sharing | Links that anyone can open leave client files exposed to whoever gets the link, and links outlive the project they were made for. | Sharing settings matched to your business, and a review of what is shared outside right now. |
| Backup | Microsoft keeps the service running, but it is not a backup of your business data. Deleted or overwritten items can only be recovered for a limited time. | Backup every four hours, kept separate from Microsoft, so lost or damaged data can be restored. |
| Licences | Licences stay assigned to accounts that no longer exist, and the licences assigned often do not match the licences bought. | The licence approach agreed with you, each person matched to it, and the assigned and bought numbers reconciled. |
| Devices | Personal phones and old laptops hold company email with no protection, and no way to wipe them if they are lost. | We see what connects to your Microsoft 365. On Gold, company computers and phones are fully managed. |
What happens when someone leaves
Three of these are worth a closer look. First, leavers. In our audits we often find people who left long ago and can still reach company data, because closing their access depended on someone remembering. We do not leave it to memory. This is the process we run, on the day.
- We are toldYour manager or HR tells us the day someone is leaving.
- Sign-in closedTheir account is blocked and any sessions still open on phones and laptops are ended.
- Email handledTheir email goes to the right person, or stays as a shared mailbox, as you choose.
- Files handed overTheir files move to their manager so nothing is lost.
- Licence freedThe licence is removed or reassigned, so you stop paying for it.
- You are toldA short confirmation tells you it is done.
How your Microsoft 365 backup works
Second, backup. Microsoft keeps the service running, but it is not a backup of your business data, and deleted or overwritten items can only be recovered for a limited time. So we keep our own copy.
Which licence does each person need?
Third, licences. The licence level follows how your business manages its devices and sign-in, not how senior someone is. We agree the approach with you, then match each person to the licence that supports it, so you do not pay for more than you use.
More management and control
Frontline or basic
Shop floor, field and shared-device staff who mainly use email and Teams.
Email, Teams and web versions of Office. A lighter licence where the full set is not needed.
Standard
Staff who use their own or existing devices.
Installed Office apps, email, Teams and file storage, with email security, backup and two-step sign-in around them. This is our Silver plan.
Premium
Businesses where staff share computers or sign in on any company device (hot desking).
Company computers and phones under Intune management, set up automatically with Autopilot, and sign-in controlled by Conditional Access rules in Entra ID. This is how our Gold plan works.
Shared mailboxes and meeting rooms often need no licence of their own. We set the approach once, then match each person as your team changes.
What we look after, by plan
Here is how that work is packaged into our plans. Microsoft 365 management is part of our managed IT plans. A plan covers the security, support and tools around it too, so its price is for all of your IT. Microsoft 365 licences are billed separately. We supply them and tailor them to each person.
| What we look after | Silver | Gold | Platinum |
|---|---|---|---|
| Choosing and managing the right Microsoft 365 licence for each person (the licences themselves are billed separately) | Included | Included | Included |
| Advanced email security against phishing, scams and impersonation | Included | Included | Included |
| Managed email signatures | Included | Included | Included |
| Backup of your Microsoft 365 every four hours | Included | Included | Included |
| Two-step sign-in and a managed password manager | Included | Included | Included |
| Monitoring for stolen or misused accounts | Included | Included | Included |
| New starters set up, leavers removed securely the same day | Included | Included | Included |
| Full management of the premium Microsoft 365 security features | Not included | Included | Included |
| Conditional Access sign-in rules: company devices and known locations only | Not included | Included | Included |
| Intune management of company computers, phones and tablets | Not included | Included | Included |
| Managed printing | Not included | Included | Included |
| Restore testing of your Microsoft 365 backup | Not included | Not included | Included |
| On-site servers, virtual servers and mixed cloud and on-site setups, fully managed | Not included | Not included | Included |
| Unlimited support (fair usage applies) | Per use | Per use | Included |
Plans are priced per user per month. We confirm the right plan and its price after the free review. Microsoft 365 licences are billed separately. Platinum suits businesses with on-site servers or a mix of cloud and on-site systems, and it includes everything in Gold. We manage Microsoft 365. We do not support Google Workspace as an ongoing service, and Apple computers are not part of our managed service.
Not sure where your business stands against all of this? The next step is a free review.
Not sure where you stand? Start with a free review
We look at your Microsoft 365 as it is today, before we change anything. You get a plain summary of what we found and how our plans would cover the gaps. There is no obligation to go further.
This is what we check.
- Sign-inWho has a second step, and where sign-ins come from
- Admin accessWho can change settings, and whether they need to
- LeaversAccounts and access that should have been closed
- BackupWhether your data is backed up, and can be restored
- LicencesWhat is assigned, what you have bought, and any left on people who have gone
- DevicesWhich laptops and phones connect, and whether they are managed
- Suspicious activityUnusual sign-ins, forwarding rules and risky sharing
Free review
You book, and we ask about your business first. Then we look at your setup.
Close the gaps
Core security protection goes in within days, and we fix what the review found.
Run it day to day
Monitoring, support and maintenance every day. Onboarding usually takes three to four weeks.
Quarterly review
We check that your setup still fits how your business works, and flag what is coming next.
Moving from Google Workspace
We do not support Google Workspace as an ongoing service, but we move businesses off it regularly. Your team keeps working in Google while we copy everything across, and the switch itself happens at a time that suits you.
Email, calendars, contacts and files
- PlanWe list what you have: mailboxes, calendars, shared drives and who uses what.
- Copy acrossEmail, calendars, contacts and files are copied while your team keeps working as normal.
- Switch overWe change where your email is delivered, usually out of hours, and check every person can sign in.
- Tidy upWe confirm nothing was missed. You close the Google account when you are ready.
Is this right for your business?
Works well if
- You have between 5 and 100 staff.
- You are already on Microsoft 365, or on Google Workspace and looking to move to it.
- You have no in-house IT team, or one person who needs support behind them.
- You want one team looking after all your IT, not a separate provider for each part.
Not the right fit if
- You only want Microsoft 365 managed on its own. We provide it as part of managed IT.
- Your business runs mainly on Apple computers.
- Price is the only thing you are comparing.
If that sounds like you, the free review is the easiest next step.
What our clients say
Common questions about Microsoft 365 support
It covers choosing and managing the right licence for each person (the licences themselves are billed separately), email protection, sign-in security, Teams and shared files, device management, backup, and setting up and removing staff. It is part of every IT Start managed plan, alongside the security and support around it. For the full list of what Microsoft 365 itself includes, see What comes with Microsoft 365: the complete guide.
Office 365 is the older name for Microsoft 365. If your business still uses a plan with the Office 365 name, we can look after it. In the free review we tell you whether a Microsoft 365 plan would suit your business better.
It depends on the plan, because Microsoft 365 management is one part of our managed IT plans. They are priced per user per month and also cover security, support and the tools around Microsoft 365. Microsoft 365 licences are billed separately. After the free review we tell you which plan fits your business and what it costs.
No. We mix them as needed. The licence level follows how your business manages its devices and sign-in. Where devices are managed centrally and staff can sign in on any company computer, we use the premium licence. Where people use their own devices, a standard licence is enough, and shared or frontline staff can use lighter ones. We match licences to how each person works, so you do not pay for more than you need.
Not automatically. Microsoft keeps the service running, but protecting your own data from accidental deletion or malicious changes is up to your business. With IT Start, your Microsoft 365 data is backed up every four hours as part of every plan.
Yes. We start with the free review, so we understand how your Microsoft 365 is set up before we change anything. Handovers are planned so your staff keep working throughout.
Yes. Many businesses have one person who looks after IT alongside another job. We work with them and cover what they do not have the time or tools for.
Yes, we do this regularly. We do not support Google Workspace as an ongoing service, but we help businesses leave it and move their email and files across with as little disruption as possible.
Yes. Email keeps working while we copy everything across in the background. We switch delivery to Microsoft 365 at a time that suits you, usually out of hours.
We look at how your Microsoft 365 is set up: security and sign-in, backup, devices, settings, licences, and anything that looks suspicious. You get a plain summary of what we found and where the gaps are, and an explanation of how our plans would cover them.
Have a different question? Ask us directly and we will come back to you.
Book your free Microsoft 365 review
Tell us a little about your Brisbane business. We start by understanding it, then look at how your Microsoft 365 is set up. We will not make recommendations before we understand your business, and there is no obligation to go further.
07 3179 6766
support@itstart.com.au