If you ask employees what Microsoft 365 does, one answer is likely to come up again and again.
“It’s our email.”
And while Microsoft 365 certainly provides business email, it is capable of doing considerably more.
For growing businesses, Microsoft 365 can become an important part of the technology infrastructure that supports how the company operates every day.
The challenge is not simply purchasing the right licences. It is making sure Microsoft 365 is configured properly, kept secure and used in a way that genuinely benefits the business.
Depending on the licences and configuration you choose, Microsoft 365 can support a wide range of business requirements.
This can include business email and calendars, Microsoft Teams, OneDrive, SharePoint, Office applications, device management, identity management, cybersecurity, multi factor authentication, collaboration, automation and AI through tools such as Microsoft Copilot.
The real opportunity comes from bringing these services together rather than treating each one as a separate application.
For a growing SME, a well managed Microsoft 365 environment can provide the foundation for how employees communicate, collaborate, access information and work securely.
Many businesses introduced Microsoft Teams during the move towards hybrid working.
For some organisations, however, Teams has remained little more than a tool for video meetings and instant messaging.
There is much more that businesses can do with it.
Teams can provide a central place for internal communication, meetings, file collaboration, department channels, project discussions, company announcements and business applications.
Used effectively, it can also help reduce the amount of useful company knowledge that becomes trapped inside individual email inboxes.
Instead of information being scattered across long email chains, Teams can provide dedicated spaces where teams can communicate and collaborate around specific departments, projects or areas of the business.
SharePoint is another part of Microsoft 365 that is often misunderstood.
For an SME, one of its most useful roles can be creating a structured location for company information.
Different areas of the business might use SharePoint for different purposes.
Finance could use it for procedures, templates and reports.
Sales could store proposals, marketing materials and pricing information.
Operations could manage processes, customer documentation and project files.
HR could maintain policies, forms and employee information, with appropriate permissions in place.
Having company information properly organised also becomes increasingly important as businesses begin adopting AI.
AI tools are more useful when the information they need is organised, accessible and appropriately permissioned.
OneDrive is primarily designed around individual users and their work files.
It can help reduce reliance on documents being stored exclusively on individual laptops, making it easier for employees to access their files, collaborate and work remotely.
It can also make replacing a device or moving between devices considerably easier.
However, OneDrive should not simply become a replacement for properly structured shared company information.
Businesses need to consider what should belong in an individual's OneDrive and what should be stored centrally in SharePoint.
This is an area where guidance from your IT provider can be particularly valuable.
Cybersecurity is one of the biggest reasons businesses should regularly review their Microsoft 365 environment.
Depending on your licensing and configuration, Microsoft 365 can provide security controls covering areas such as multi factor authentication, identity protection, device security, endpoint protection and access controls.
However, purchasing the right Microsoft licence does not automatically mean that every available security feature has been configured correctly.
Configuration matters.
A business can have access to powerful security tools but still have gaps if those tools have not been properly implemented or maintained.
As a business grows, managing its devices consistently becomes increasingly important.
What happens when a new employee joins?
How is their laptop configured?
What happens when someone leaves?
What happens if a company laptop is lost or stolen?
Microsoft's device management tools can help businesses configure and manage company computers centrally.
This can help standardise security settings, applications, updates, encryption, access requirements and device compliance.
Rather than every computer gradually becoming different from the next, a managed approach can make the IT environment more consistent and easier to support.
Most businesses have repetitive administrative processes.
This could include approval requests, notifications, document processing, employee onboarding procedures, internal forms, customer updates or collecting information.
Microsoft's Power Platform and the wider Microsoft 365 ecosystem can provide opportunities to automate some of these processes.
Not every task needs to be automated.
However, if several employees are spending time every day completing the same repetitive process, it is worth asking whether technology could handle some of the work.
Even small improvements can add up over time.
Microsoft 365 is increasingly becoming an AI platform as well as a productivity platform.
Depending on the licensing available, Microsoft Copilot can provide AI capabilities across Microsoft's ecosystem.
Potential uses can include summarising emails, preparing for meetings, drafting documents, analysing information, finding company knowledge, summarising meetings and helping create presentations.
Microsoft is also expanding the use of AI agents that can work with company information and support or automate business processes.
However, the value of AI does not simply come from purchasing an AI licence.
It also depends on having a properly managed Microsoft 365 environment.
If company information is poorly organised or permissions are not properly controlled, introducing AI can create additional challenges rather than solving them.
This is an important distinction.
Any business can purchase Microsoft 365 licences.
Managing Microsoft 365 effectively requires ongoing attention.
Your IT provider should be regularly considering questions such as:
Who has administrator access?
Are your licences appropriate?
Is multi factor authentication correctly configured?
Are former employees properly disabled?
Are company devices managed?
Are security alerts being monitored?
Is company information properly structured?
Are SharePoint permissions appropriate?
Is your Microsoft 365 data backed up?
Are new Microsoft capabilities relevant to the business?
Microsoft 365 should evolve alongside your organisation.
If the answer is never, it may be worth taking a closer look.
Growing businesses can accumulate several years of old accounts, unused licences, unmanaged Teams environments, unstructured SharePoint sites, excessive permissions, old devices and administrator accounts.
A Microsoft 365 review can help identify what is currently being used, what the business is paying for and where improvements could be made.
It can also provide a stronger foundation for cybersecurity and future AI adoption.
The goal is not to use every Microsoft feature simply because it exists.
The goal is to use the right features for your business.
A growing company does not need technology for technology's sake.
It needs systems that make it easier to recruit employees, work remotely, collaborate, protect information, serve customers, automate repetitive tasks and grow without constantly rebuilding its IT environment.
That is where a managed approach can make a difference.
39D helps growing SMEs manage Microsoft 365 as part of their wider IT environment.
We can help with Microsoft 365 licensing, security, device management, SharePoint, Teams, backup, Microsoft Copilot and ongoing IT support.
If your company is already paying for Microsoft 365 but you are unsure whether you are getting the full value from it, a Microsoft 365 Review can help identify opportunities for improvement.
We can look at what you are using, what you are paying for and where your Microsoft 365 environment could be better configured to support the business.
Microsoft 365 can be much more than email.
The question is whether your business is making the most of what it already has.
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