Microsoft 365, Managed — Administration, Security & Licensing
Your business runs on Microsoft 365. We run Microsoft 365: accounts, identity and MFA, email security, Teams, SharePoint and OneDrive — handled day to day inside the flat per-user plans, with licensing billed at Microsoft's published rate and no markup.
And we'll tell you the part most providers skip: what Microsoft is responsible for, what stays yours, and exactly which plan covers backup.
Who's responsible for what — the part nobody reads
Microsoft's own shared-responsibility model is blunt: Microsoft runs the service; your data, your identities, and your settings stay your responsibility — even on a cloud subscription. Microsoft's service agreement language goes further and recommends you regularly back up your own content.
- Microsoft's job: the platform — datacenters, uptime, the applications themselves
- Your job (our job, on a plan): accounts and access, MFA, security settings, data protection, and what happens when someone deletes the wrong thing
That gap between "it's in the cloud" and "it's protected" is where businesses get hurt — and it's exactly what a managed plan closes.
Day-to-day management — inside every plan
The unglamorous work that keeps Microsoft 365 boring, in the good way. All of it inside the flat per-user rate:
- People arrive, people leave — accounts, licenses, mailboxes and file access created and removed the same day, with offboarding that captures data before Microsoft's deletion clocks run out
- Identity & MFA (multifactor authentication — the second sign-in step) — enforced for everyone, including administrators, and migrated to passkeys ahead of Microsoft's deadlines
- Email & DNS security — the SPF, DKIM and DMARC records (the settings that stop others from faking your email address) set up, monitored and kept strict
- Teams, SharePoint & OneDrive administration — sharing that works without oversharing, sprawl kept in check
- License administration — the right plan per person, unused licenses reclaimed, one invoice
- Support — unlimited helpdesk for the everyday "it won't open" moments, no per-ticket fees
The retention reality: Microsoft's clocks, in plain numbers
"It's in the cloud" comes with expiration dates most businesses learn about at the worst moment. Microsoft's published defaults, as of August 2026:
| What was deleted | How long Microsoft keeps it |
|---|---|
| A deleted user's account and mailbox | 30 days — then permanently deleted and unrecoverable |
| Permanently deleted email items | 14 days by default (30 maximum) |
| SharePoint / OneDrive files in recycle bins | 93 days across both stages |
| A departed employee's OneDrive | 30 days by default after account deletion, then the 93-day recycle clock |
Retention is not backup: it protects against "oops, yesterday" — not ransomware, malicious deletion, or "we need that mailbox from last spring." Microsoft 365 backup with one-year immutable retention is included in Secure IT; on Core IT it is a separate billed service. Even Microsoft now sells backup as a separate paid product — which tells you everything about whether the subscription includes it. How our backup works →
Text-message sign-in codes are being retired
Microsoft makes passkeys the default sign-in experience on September 1, 2026, and fully retires its SMS and voice codes on February 1, 2027 — with no opt-out. Any user whose only second step is a text message will hit a blocking prompt.
On a plan, this is a non-event: passkey migration is part of identity management — we move your people over calmly, shared and front-desk accounts included, before the deadline forces it mid-workday.
The security layer — what Secure IT adds on top
Microsoft 365's defaults are built for easy adoption, not maximum security — CISA, the U.S. cybersecurity agency, publishes hardening baselines specifically for it. Secure IT is that hardening, plus eyes on it:
- Microsoft 365 backup — one-year immutable retention, restores tested
- Conditional access & admin protection — sign-ins judged by context; administrator accounts held to a higher bar than everyone else's
- Sharing governance — external and anonymous sharing reviewed before it becomes tomorrow's headline
- Monitoring & response — the 24/7 Security Operations Center watches identity attacks against your tenant, not just your endpoints
Licensing, without the markup games
Microsoft 365 is billed at Microsoft's published rate with no markup — where a vendor sells to us and we resell to you, you pay what we pay, on one invoice, with plan right-sizing included. For reference, Microsoft's list pricing — per user, monthly, paid yearly, as of August 2026: Business Basic $7 · Business Standard with Copilot $23.50 · Business Premium with Copilot $32. (Microsoft folded Copilot into the Standard and Premium plans on July 1, 2026; if a provider quotes you last year's prices, ask what else is out of date.)
Plan mix matters more than plan price: Business Premium includes Intune and the security features the hardening work relies on — often cheaper than a lower plan plus add-ons. That's the analysis we do for you, license by license.
Microsoft 365 management — FAQ
Does Microsoft back up our Microsoft 365 data?
No — and this is the single most expensive misunderstanding in Microsoft 365. Microsoft runs the service and keeps deleted items for limited windows (a deleted user's mailbox is kept 30 days; permanently deleted emails are recoverable for 14 days by default; SharePoint and OneDrive files sit in recycle bins for 93 days — per Microsoft's published documentation, August 2026). Retention windows are not backup. Real Microsoft 365 backup with one-year immutable retention is included in Secure IT; on Core IT it is a separate billed service — we will never tell you otherwise.
What does day-to-day Microsoft 365 management include?
On either plan: user accounts and licenses, onboarding and offboarding, identity and MFA (multifactor authentication — the second sign-in step) administration, email and DNS security (the settings that stop others from faking your email address), Teams, SharePoint and OneDrive administration, and troubleshooting — all inside the flat per-user rate, with no hourly meter for routine administration.
What happens to a former employee's email and files?
By Microsoft's defaults: the mailbox survives 30 days after the account is deleted, and their OneDrive follows a retention clock before permanent deletion. Offboarding is part of the plan — we capture what the business needs (shared mailbox conversion, file handover, license reclaim) before the clocks run out. Keeping departed-user data long-term takes deliberate planning or backup, not defaults.
Is text-message (SMS) sign-in going away?
Yes. Microsoft makes passkeys the default sign-in experience on September 1, 2026, and retires its SMS and voice codes on February 1, 2027, with no opt-out. We migrate users to passkeys as part of identity management on either plan — calmly, before the deadline forces it.
Can we buy our Microsoft licenses through you?
Yes. Microsoft 365 is billed at Microsoft's published rate with no markup — where a vendor sells to us and we resell to you, you pay what we pay. We right-size the plan mix (for reference, Microsoft's list — per user, monthly, paid yearly, as of August 2026: Business Basic $7 · Business Standard with Copilot $23.50 · Business Premium with Copilot $32), and you get one point of contact for licensing, billing and support.
Isn't Microsoft 365 already secure out of the box?
The platform is world-class; the settings are yours — and the defaults are built for easy adoption, not maximum security. That is why CISA, the U.S. cybersecurity agency, publishes hardening baselines specifically for Microsoft 365. Core IT covers the identity, MFA and email-security fundamentals. Secure IT adds the monitored layer: conditional access, admin-account protection, sharing governance, and Microsoft 365 backup.
Is Microsoft 365 the same as Office 365?
Same product family, new name — Microsoft renamed Office 365 to Microsoft 365 in 2020, and the old name still appears on invoices and in habit. We support tenants of any vintage, on any business plan.
