Microsoft 365

Microsoft 365 is one of the most widely used suites of business tools and software across all industries in both public and private sectors of business.  Use cases for Microsoft 365 vary almost as much as the industries it's used in.  Depending on the plan level, Microsoft 365 provides solutions for email and calendar management, task organization, file storage and sharing, team communication, remote work, customer relationship management, process automation, business intelligence and more. In fact, there are very few things that Microsoft 365 can't do.  It integrates with thousands of other applications, providing single sign on benefits and helping integrate business process across platforms.

It's benefits can also be seen in its robust features with services that can be used regardless of business size.  Small businesses with just one employee can reap the benefits of apps like Outlook, Work, Excel, Powerpoint, Sharepoint, and PowerBI in the same way that large enterprises of thousands or tens of thousands of employees can.  Though Microsoft 365 can get relatively pricey at an Enterprise level, it has several teirs of business plans under $25 per person per month, which is affordable for most.

Companies looking to self-manage their employee accounts may find other platforms like Google Workspace more user-friendly.  Microsoft's administration capabilities are robust, but the security features can be complex, and simple account changes can require navigating through several administration sections, leaving non-IT office professionals in charge of managing employee onboarding and offboardings to navigate a complex account and device management system.  Microsoft 365 is capable of being a complete, ultra-secure, full business solution and it's great at that. It's not easy to administer, however.

Business with simple communication needs such as email and word processing only, may benefit from less robust solutions focused on simplicity and ease-of-use.  If document sharing is the bulk of a business's productivity needs, Google Workspace or Dropbox may be a better solution.

Lastly, Microsoft 365 may not be the best solution for those with tight budget constraints.  Very new small business operations or those looking to keep streamlined, low-cost operations can find Microsoft 365 licencing pricey, especially those who don't need the communication and workflow features that come with Microsoft's packages.

First, are you migrating email and documents from a different platform (Google, Zoho, etc.) or are you signing up for Microsoft 365 with a "clean slate"?  The first few steps of getting started with Microsoft 365 are the same, but knowing what and how much information you need to migrate, if any, will be important later.  Start here for new accounts.  If you're migrating from another platform, be sure to read the "Migrating From Similar Tools" section.

QUICK TIP: Click the link in this section for a 3-minute video of the steps outlined below.

Get Started:

1. If you already have a domain for your business (@coolbiz.com), plan ahead.  Gather the following information: 
   • Know where the domain is stored (domain registrar) and gain access to the account.  This is usually a webhost like GoDaddy, Wix, or BlueHost.  If you use a vendor to manage your website and domain, they will usually know this information or have access to it already.
2. Create a Microsoft 365 Work Account:
   • Use the link in this section to sign up for a Microsoft 365 Business Account 
   • Create an admin account.  This will look something like "[email protected]"  to start.  You'll connect your domain later and the "on microsoft" section will be removed once that's done.
3. Follow the prompts to license your account and add a payment method. 
4. Save and store your account credentials for this administration account safely. 

Once the account is made, you'll be directed to the Microsoft 365 Administration portal.  This is where you'll make changes to your Microsoft global business account.  It's also referred to as your "Tenant".  From there, you'll want to connect your @coolbiz.com domain before using your Microsoft 365 accounts to send or receive email.   All the settings you'll need to manage your tenant can be found on the left side panel.

QUICK TIP:  Before completing the next steps, you'll need to sign into your domain registrar or have handy the contact information for your web support company.  If you use a vendor to manage your website and all changes, they may need to make some of these changes for you.

1. From the Tenant Home Page, on the left side panel, select "Settings" > "Domains"
2. Click "+ Add Domain" near the top of the window
3. Add the coolbiz.com domain and copy the DNS information displayed on the screen. 

The DNS information will need to be updated on the domain registrar's website.  If you have access to this site, you can make the changes yourself.  If you use a vendor to manage your website and all changes to it, reach out to them with this DNS information so they can make the change. 

If making the changes yourself, it's a good idea to reach out to the support of your domain registrar for assistance if you're unsure of the changes.  The instructions for finding the DNS section to update and how to make the change differs slightly for each domain registration site (GoDaddy, Wix, Namecheap, etc.).

You can typically find detailed instructions for updating DNS records through Google or the registrar's support page. 

QUICK TIP:  You can add additional user accounts to your MS365 tenant before your business domain changes are completed but in some cases it is better to wait.  If you only have a handful of accounts to add, you can do that easily.  If you have 15 or more accounts, it's recommended to wait until the domain changes have completed.

1. Add other user accounts as needed and license them.
2. Add shared mailboxes as needed.
3. Familiarize yourself with the MS365 Administration portal using MS365 training videos or by exploring each section of the portal.

The most common platform that small business migrate off of when signing up for Microsoft 365 is Google Workspace, but others include Yahoo Mail, Zoho, Microsoft 365 personal accounts, Lotus Notes, ProtonMail, and a combination of services including legacy exchange servers and hosted email services through webhosts like GoDaddy or a local ISP. 

Small businesses often engage IT Support or IT Consulting when migrating documents and emails from an existing system but it's not always necessary.  Some things to consider when deciding to manage the migration yourself vs. engaging IT Support are:

1. How many email accounts need to be migrated?  
   • Under 10 to 15 email accounts is generally simple enough to use free tools and instructions provided through Microsoft.  If you have more than that, consider engaging an IT Consultant.
2. How much data needs to be migrated?  How many existing folders / files are to be moved vs. archived?
   • Microsoft 365 has storage limits per OneDrive account and per Sharepoint site based on the number of licenses your tenant owns.  Additional storage can be purchased but it is expensive. 
   • Consider the age and access needs for your existing data: If only the most recent three years of documents need to be accessed daily, consider archiving older documents to a separate cloud storage or local storage with a backup for occassional access. 
   • Consider the type of files to be migrated.  Large files such as audio, video, or image files take up additional space in our Microsoft 365 environment and may take much longer to migrate.  Consider other options for storing media files before committing.
3. What is your internet bandwidth? 
   • Microsoft migrations require large quantities of file or email data be moved over the internet and sometimes from local storage to the cloud.  Migrations take longer and can be error prone when internet bandwidth or speed is low.  Though data will still move across the network, it may cause issues with performance of other applications on the office network, internet speeds may slow significantly, and errors can occur in other applications or local devices.
   • Some ISPs will grant a temporary increase in internet bandwdth for planned migrations of large amounts of data. Contact your ISP provider to request this if needed. 
4. What is your comfort level and availability? 
   • Unless you're only moving a few accounts or folders, migrations require time to prepare accounts and data, set up the sync and migration tools, and a certain amount of babysitting while the migration is in progress.  Migrations with errors can require some amount of troubleshooting and resources for help may be limited from Microsoft or the originating application.  There are often online tutorials, but preparation is key.  If your time or technical confidence is limited, consider enlisting the help of an IT Consultant who can assist in setting up your migration project. 
5. When is the deadline for "cutover" and how does it effect standard operations?
   • If your business relies on immediate email responses with very little margin for error and very little downtime, consider engaging IT Support.
   • For file and email migrations there's typically an initial sync where accounts are set up in the new system and connections are made to the old system, and then there's a "cutoff time" - the time that all changes in the old system must stop so that all information can be migrated over cleanly.  IT support tries to schedule this for late in the day or over a weekend to avoid extended downtime, but there is always some amount of downtime to be expected even for very small migrations.  Be sure to plan with staff or clients accordingly.

Microsoft 365 is one of the most widely compatble suites of software on the market and Microsoft continues to grow the platform through integrations and partnerships with companies globally.  It's natively integrated with Windows OS on all new Windows Computers and it can be installed and used on Mac OS devices as well.  The Microsoft marketplace has thousands of add-ins that help integrate client scheduling platforms, phone systems, task tracking platforms - you name it, they've got it.

In fact, Microsoft 365 can even help streamline the sign in process with some applications using single sign-on (SSO) and most new software on the market offers some sort of tie-in with the Microsoft Office suite of apps.  Microsoft is considered a global leader across industries because of how compatible it is with other software and the user friendly set up of those integrations.

Once you've decided to move to the 365 suite, consider implementing SSO with any application that offers it to streamline sign in processes and implement basic cybersecurity protection.

Before integrating everything with 365 though, consider the outside applications' security risks.  Make sure you vet any potential integrations by researching reviews and ratings on the marketplace.  Managing the security access needed for those integrations to work requires some comfort using the Microsoft Entra Admin Center and basic knowledge of privileged access controls.

Though Microsoft Office 365 is compatible with Mac OS and iOS devices, its compatibility and account features are less robust than when installed on a Windows OS.  When considering switching to Microsoft 365's suite of products, businesses should assess the need for device management within the organization and employee training that may be needed to adjust to Microsoft products.

Device management of Macs is possible through InTune but requires special instructions and an Apple MDM Certificate.  The process for deploying and managing Macs can be more cumbersome than with Windows machines.

Additionally, consider the training needs of your organization.  If your business primarily uses Apple devices with Mac OS software, switching to Microsoft 365 may require patience and training for those not familiar with Windows apps, features, and design.