Cloud computing and Microsoft 365, set up right and supported

It means running email, files, software or servers on platforms like Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, Azure or AWS instead of on equipment in your office. Done well, it makes remote work easier, takes aging hardware off your plate and turns big equipment purchases into predictable monthly costs. Done poorly, it moves the same mess somewhere else, so planning matters.

How a move to the cloud works

Often, but not always. Email and files almost always belong in the cloud now. Servers depend on your software, file sizes, internet reliability and what your current hardware would cost to replace. Some applications run best on an office server, and a hybrid setup is sometimes the right answer. We lay out the options and costs side by side before anything moves.

Cloud, server or both?

Both work well. Microsoft 365 is usually the better fit if your team lives in Word, Excel and Outlook, or uses software that integrates with Microsoft. Google Workspace suits teams that work mostly in the browser. What matters more is setting either one up securely and organizing files so people can find them. We support both, and migrations between them.

Microsoft 365 questions

Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace are ready-made services for email, files and collaboration. Azure and AWS are cloud platforms where you run your own virtual servers and applications, a replacement for the servers in your office. Many businesses use Microsoft 365 for email and files and Azure or AWS for the software that still needs a server.

Azure and AWS questions

A hosted desktop is a Windows desktop that runs on a server, in the cloud or in your office, that your team reaches from any computer. It’s a good fit for accounting, design and line-of-business software that won’t run in a browser, because the software and data stay in one secure place instead of on every laptop.

Remote and hybrid teams

Often not. Many businesses pay for licenses that include security and file-sharing features they’ve never turned on. A quick review usually finds multi-factor authentication not enforced for everyone, files scattered across personal OneDrive folders, outside sharing left open, and no backup separate from Microsoft. We also check that each person has the right license, not more or less than they need.

Microsoft 365

In planned stages. We copy email and files ahead of time, test that everything arrived, then switch over outside your busiest hours, so your team logs in to the new system with their mail and files already there. We help everyone through the first days and keep a way back if something goes wrong.

How a move to the cloud works

Not the way most people assume. Microsoft keeps its service running and offers retention settings, but restoring deleted or encrypted data from a specific point in time, especially after ransomware or a departed employee’s mistake, is your responsibility. A separate Microsoft 365 backup of email, OneDrive, SharePoint and Teams gives you copies you control.

Microsoft 365 and cloud backup

Shared company files belong in SharePoint, often reached through Teams, organized by department, client or project with permissions to match. OneDrive is for each person’s own working files. When that line gets blurred, files end up in personal folders nobody else can reach. We design the structure before migrating, so people can find things on day one.

How a move to the cloud works

Start with multi-factor authentication for everyone, separate admin accounts, sensible outside-sharing settings and alerts for suspicious sign-ins. Email filtering stops most phishing. Our advanced security option adds threat detection and response for Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace, watched by a 24/7 security operations center.

Managed security services

When you still need servers but don’t want to own the hardware: line-of-business applications, databases, file servers for very large files or hosted desktops. You pay monthly for what you run, and capacity can grow with you. The trade-off is ongoing cost, so we size servers carefully and review them so you’re not paying for capacity you don’t use.

Keep cloud costs under control

Virtualization runs several servers as virtual machines on one physical host. For businesses that keep servers on site, it means less hardware, easier backups and faster recovery, because a virtual server can be restored or moved to new hardware far more easily than a physical one. It’s also a common first step before moving servers to Azure or AWS.

How a move to the cloud works

Review them regularly. Cloud bills creep up through virtual machines that run around the clock when they don’t need to, oversized servers, storage nobody cleans up, and licenses for people who left. We right-size servers, remove what isn’t used and review licenses with you, so the monthly bill matches what your business actually needs.

Schedule a discovery call

Your cloud services keep running, but your office can’t reach them until the connection comes back. For businesses that depend on the cloud, a backup internet connection is worth it, and some files and email remain available offline. For systems that must work during an outage, a hybrid setup with something on site can be the better design.

Cloud, server or both?

Usually. Software that won’t run in a browser can often move to a virtual server in Azure or AWS, or to a hosted desktop your team reaches from anywhere. We check with your software vendor about supported setups and licensing before anything moves.

Hosted desktop questions

It depends on how much is moving: the number of mailboxes, how much data, how many servers and how much cleanup is needed first. Migrations are usually quoted as a one-time project, with ongoing support and cloud subscriptions as monthly costs. We lay out both before you decide. Our IT Buyer’s Guide explains how IT pricing and contracts typically work.

Get the free IT Buyer’s Guide (PDF)

Licenses and cloud subscriptions, like Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, Azure and AWS, are billed separately from support with almost any provider. Support for them, including help for your users and management of settings and security, is part of our managed services. Every cost is explained up front, so there are no hidden fees or surprise invoices.

What you can count on

Many managed IT agreements run for multiple years, which locks in your rate and gives your provider reason to invest in your environment. What matters is what happens if things aren’t working, so ask every provider two questions: what happens if you don’t deliver, and how are price increases handled? Get both answers in writing. At Fairoaks IT, ours are spelled out in our agreement, and we’ll walk you through every page before you sign.

What you can count on

We review your servers, files, email, Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace setup, backups and security with our proprietary 27-point assessment, and look at what a move to the cloud would involve. You get a plain-English summary of what’s working, what’s at risk and what to fix first. No scare tactics, just facts. It starts with a discovery call.

Schedule a discovery call

Fairoaks IT provides cloud computing and Microsoft 365 services for businesses throughout Eastern Massachusetts, Rhode Island and the Charlotte, NC metro area, from offices in Franklin, MA and Belmont, NC. We’ve been independent and owner-led since 1991, we won the Soteria Award for Most Trusted MSP in North America, and our average time to start on a support issue is under 12 minutes.

Managed IT in Massachusetts and Rhode Island  |  Managed IT in the Charlotte, NC area