A reseller and partner that can provide managed services for your Microsoft 365 (M365) plan can help you in several ways, but the biggest value-add by far is ensuring you get the best ROI on your productivity software. As an award-winning MSP (managed service provider) and certified Microsoft Gold Partner, SWK Technologies will empower your team to skip past the headaches of navigating M365 and maximize your return from your connected apps and cloud-based services.
Keep reading below to learn more about managed services for M365 and how choosing the right partner will help you improve your plan:
Managed Service Provider vs Microsoft Partner
An MSP is a company that delivers a wide range of services related to IT, from support to resource management. A Microsoft Partner is any vendor who resells or supports a Microsoft platform, including the Microsoft 365 suite.
A managed service provider for Microsoft Office products is able to meet both sets of needs in the middle, and can provide support for everything from managing the Office 365 licensing to helping your IT staff enforce security controls in the back end. Many MSPs are often called on to handle these same sets of governance and cybersecurity protocols for other solutions, so it is typically a matter of understanding the software and being able to work with the publisher’s resources.
Other common examples of managed services include handling network security and support, IT infrastructure assets, and training policies and practices. Cybersecurity in particular is a growing focus of many managed service providers given the proliferation of the hacker ecosystem on the dark web. Since Office 365 apps and data can become a target due to the sheer size of the user base, Microsoft has rolled out significant security controls for system administrators or an outsourced managed IT partner to protect both workstations and the company-wide platform automatically.
The Value of a Microsoft 365 Managed Service Partner
Cybersecurity, pricing, license management – all of these factors can become complex when working with Microsoft 365 on the customer end. Engaging a partner for M365 managed services enables you to sidestep those complications and consolidate your plan, support and more to a single touchpoint. Additionally, depending on your reseller, you will gain access to other value-added services for your Office 365 implementation, including expert consultation on every best practice you need to maximize your ROI on your license cost.
Here is a list of some of the managed services a Microsoft 365 MSP can provide as your reseller and partner:
- Secure you discounted pricing on your license renewal (dependent on partnership tier)
- Inform you on the differences between M365 plans and their value points
- Assess your usage and help you select the best subscription based on pricing
- Keep you up to date on name changes and other news to better understand your plan
- Streamline onboarding and migration between plans or from another solution
- Offer education and training to your users on core O365 apps like Teams
- Customize your environment, database, apps and more to better fit your internal processes
- Help IT admins co-manage licenses, as well as user and device permissions
- Oversee update management and ensure smoother system upgrades without disrupting usage
- Keep an eye on compliance enforcement and consult on regulatory best practices
- Identify areas where collaboration can be improved by leveraging applications in O365
- Provide around-the-clock helpdesk and other support services
Selecting the Right MSP as Your Microsoft 365 Partner
When choosing between MSPs to become your Microsoft 365 partner, you must look at their qualifications in both categories and compare their list of services against your needs. Are you looking for a reseller, helpdesk resource, training provider, cybersecurity consultant or any combination of those services? Are you sure about your plan, but need additional help managing admin controls and device security? Do you want to get a better handle on what is available with your current license? Do you just need to know the difference between Office 365, Microsoft 365 and all the different plan names?
Asking and answering these type of questions will help get a better sense of the level of value-addition you need from your managed service provider, and help you better evaluate pricing against your actual ROI. It is also important to look into the partner themselves, review their qualifications, and see if their services line up with what you actually need. You might just need an Office 365 reseller if you are only looking for a license, but if you have a one-person IT department then working with an MSP than can deliver both managed network and M365 services would be the best bang for your buck.
Why SWK is Your Best Partner for M365 Managed Services
SWK Technologies is a SOC 2 Type 2 compliant managed solutions and services provider with decades of experience working applications such as Microsoft Office 365. Our Managed Cloud Services (MCS) team have won multiple awards for the quality, scalability and impact of our IT solutions and services. Our certified experts have worked with Microsoft systems for years, helping clients (such as Fortune Title Agency) improve collaboration, security and save on costs in M365. We also provide user training and other instructional and educational resources, such as webinars, news updates, Tips & Tricks blogs and more – you can find many of these in our Microsoft 365 Resource Center online.
Additionally, SWK can leverage our experience between multiple industries and solutions to tailor your environment to your needs, including optimizing customizations and add-ons. As a top Sage reseller, we can show you how to connect your Sage 50 or Sage 100 accounting systems with your Microsoft 365 apps, or configure the updated security protocols for integrated Microsoft solutions.
As a Microsoft Gold Partner, SWK can also help you secure discounted pricing on your annual M365 plan. Combined with managing your license renewal and helping to streamline your security controls and collaboration features, our team can cut your total cost of ownership (TCO) for your Microsoft software down significantly.
Start with a Free Assessment for Your Microsoft 365 Plan
Don’t just take our word – see SWK’s Microsoft expertise in action with a free assessment of your M365 plan. This review will dive deep into your license and use cases for your suite, and let you know if you’re getting the most out of your current implementation or if there’s another plan that can better meet your needs at a reduced price – reach out to us today and get started!
Contact us here to learn more about our free Microsoft 365 assessment and see how we can reduce your pricing for your Microsoft software.