Making the most of your Microsoft 365 environment is important to business outcomes. However, internal IT teams often lack the bandwidth and/or specialized expertise to efficiently manage and optimize their Microsoft 365 environments. By bringing an external provider with specialized services, you can ensure constant up-to-date expertise in compliance, security, and system administration, freeing your team to focus on strategic initiatives that drive business growth.
This approach not only expands your team’s operational efficiency, but also mitigates risks and reduces long-term costs associated with maintaining in-house capabilities for complex and evolving technologies.
Let’s take a look at 3 different Microsoft 365 service options you may want to consider based on your situation. Each service here is tailored to different operational needs, ensuring flexibility and efficiency for small business environments.
These are presented in the way we deliver here at Katalyst, but also present an overview of how you may think about these three types of use cases.
Application Advisory Service for Microsoft 365
Bringing in an advisory service partner offers a consultative approach to IT. Our team evaluates your current Microsoft Office 365 setup to enhance its security and efficiency. We dive into your system’s configuration—not to directly manage or alter it, but to provide strategic advice. This service helps your business optimize Office 365 deployment without the hands-on execution of changes.
Bear in mind that while Katalyst will provide expert advice here, the implementation of our suggestions remains your responsibility. For this particular type of service, our role is simply to guide, not to implement — a key distinction from our more hands-on professional services.
How it works
Our Advisory Services enhance your Microsoft 365 setup through comprehensive support and optimization.
This service includes:
- Detailed analysis and reporting on tenant changes
- Guidance on migrations
- Assistance and guidance on implementation of security features like multi-factor authentication.
Application Advisory Services provide strategic insights into user activities across Exchange Online, OneDrive, and SharePoint Online, suggesting improvements for compliance and security configurations. Some key features include data loss prevention, retention policies, and incident response drills, alongside capacity management for mailboxes and storage systems.
This tailored advisory service helps you navigate the complexities of Microsoft 365, ensuring your setup is efficient and secure.
Management & Administration Service for Microsoft 365
For those needing a more hands-on approach, our SysAdmin service involves direct management of your Office 365 environment. This includes activities like creating new users, setting up SharePoint sites, adjusting permissions, and handling user offboarding and data deletion.
This service is mechanical, focused on handling more routine IT tasks. It’s designed to keep your Office 365 environment running smoothly without requiring your IT staff to manage these everyday tasks.
While this service includes extensive administrative tasks, it does not encompass more involved projects, like the deployment of new Office 365 services like Intune. Instead, it focuses strictly on the administration of existing assets.
How it works
This sysadmin service streamlines the management and administration of your Microsoft 365 environment.
It covers essential tasks such as user account setup, permissions management, and license allocation, as well as the activation and removal of employees. It also extends to managing Microsoft Teams, SharePoint, and OneDrive, ensuring proper permission settings and data synchronization.
For organizations undergoing changes such as mergers or shifts from on-premise to cloud-based services, we support O365 migrations and integrate systems seamlessly.
Additionally, when combined with the Security Event Response Service (below), it offers remediation of security alerts, enhancing your system's security while maintaining operational continuity. This comprehensive service ensures that your Microsoft 365 environment is efficiently managed, allowing you to focus on core business functions.
Security Event Response Services for Microsoft 365
Our third service shifts from routine management to proactive security measures. Katalyst monitors and analyzes your system’s data logs, looking for anomalies and potential threats, and providing timely notifications about irregular activities that may require further inspection.
If a significant threat is detected, we take immediate action by disabling affected accounts and initiating remediation processes. This service is transformational, aiming to enhance your business’s security posture significantly without involving your internal resources in day-to-day security tasks.
How it works
This service for Microsoft 365 enhances your cybersecurity with a robust SIEM monitoring solution. Before integrating, Katalyst conducts a detailed pre-onboarding assessment, ensuring your system aligns with Microsoft's security baselines to optimize alert detection.
We promptly alert you to significant security events such as changes in global administrator status, multi-factor authentication issues, suspicious mailbox activities, and unusual login patterns.
In the event of a security breach, the affected user account is immediately disabled, and Katalyst contacts you directly.
Working closely with a SOC, we assess the validity of the alert, and only re-enable the account once it is deemed secure, ensuring continuous protection and minimal disruption to your operations.
Which Microsoft Office 365 Service is Right For You?
The choice between these services depends on your specific needs and the capacity of your IT department. Many of our clients operate with minimal IT staff and prefer to dedicate their limited resources to strategic projects rather than routine administrative tasks or complex security monitoring.
Katalyst is here to help you offload these burdens and risks, freeing your team’s time to focus on more important initiatives and driving business growth. To learn more or explore which option sounds best for you, book a call today.
