Microsoft 365 Support for South African Businesses
Licensing, migrations, security and Teams - administered by engineers who also back your mailboxes up, because Microsoft does not do that for you.
What Microsoft does not tell you
Microsoft 365 keeps your email, files and Teams running with excellent uptime. It does not keep a copy for you. A mailbox deleted by mistake, an employee who leaves and takes the licence with them, a ransomware infection syncing through OneDrive, or a retention policy nobody configured - and the data is gone. Microsoft's own service agreement says to use third-party backup. Most South African businesses have never read it.
Every Fully Managed and Enterprise client of ours gets a nightly backup of mailboxes, OneDrive, SharePoint and Teams, stored separately from Microsoft, with restores we test on a schedule. It is the single most common thing we fix for a new client's previous setup.
What our Microsoft 365 support covers
We administer Microsoft 365 for businesses from five to several hundred users, across South Africa remotely and on site in Gauteng.
- Licensing - the right plan per user (Business Basic, Standard, Premium, E3/E5), reviewed quarterly so you stop paying for seats nobody uses
- Migration - from Gmail, GoDaddy, cPanel or on-premises Exchange, planned so nobody loses a day of email
- Security - multi-factor authentication on every account, conditional access, anti-phishing, safe attachments, and the audit trail POPIA expects
- Exchange Online - shared mailboxes, distribution groups, archiving, mail flow rules, signatures
- Teams and SharePoint - structure, permissions, guest access and governance so the file sprawl stops
- OneDrive - known-folder backup so a dead laptop is a two-hour swap, not a week of rebuilding
- Intune - devices enrolled, encrypted and wiped remotely when one walks off
- Backup - nightly, off-Microsoft, tested restores
- Helpdesk - Outlook, Teams and account problems fixed remotely inside the hour
Migrating to Microsoft 365 without losing a day
A migration is planned, not attempted. We audit the current mailboxes and files, set up the tenant, MFA and security first, pre-stage the mail so the cut-over happens at night, and switch the domain when everything is already in place. Staff arrive to Outlook that works. Old mail, calendars and contacts are all there; the old system stays readable until you decide it is not needed.
Typical timing: a 10-user business migrates in a week from the first meeting to the last user signed in.
Pricing
Microsoft 365 administration is included in every monthly package - Core Business IT at R750 per user per month, Fully Managed at R950 (which adds the nightly backup) and Enterprise at R1,299 - on top of your Microsoft licence, which we supply at Microsoft's published price. Migrations and once-off projects are quoted in writing after the audit; pay-as-you-go work is R750 an hour.
Questions we get asked
Does Microsoft back up my email?
No. Microsoft keeps the service running and offers limited retention, but it does not keep an independent backup you can restore from after a deletion, a departed employee or ransomware. Microsoft's own service agreement recommends third-party backup. We back up mailboxes, OneDrive, SharePoint and Teams nightly for every Fully Managed and Enterprise client.
Can you migrate us from Gmail or our web host's email?
Yes. From Google Workspace, GoDaddy, cPanel and on-premises Exchange. The mail is pre-staged and the domain switched at night, so staff arrive to a working Outlook with their history intact.
Which Microsoft 365 plan should a small business buy?
Most South African SMEs are best on Business Standard (desktop Office plus email and Teams) or Business Premium (adds Intune and Defender security). Basic suits mailbox-only users. We review licences quarterly and remove seats nobody uses.
How much does Microsoft 365 support cost?
It is included in our monthly packages from R750 per user per month (R950 with the nightly backup). Your Microsoft licence is extra at Microsoft's published price. Once-off migrations are quoted in writing; ad hoc help is R750 an hour.
Do you support businesses outside Gauteng?
Yes - Microsoft 365 is administered remotely, so we support businesses across South Africa. On-site work is available in Gauteng.
Can you set up multi-factor authentication for all our staff?
Yes, and we insist on it. MFA on every account, with conditional access rules so that a stolen password on its own is useless. It is the single most effective security control a business can switch on.
We are a medical or legal practice - does 365 meet POPIA?
Configured properly, yes: MFA, encrypted devices, access control, audit logs, retention policies and a tested backup. We document the configuration so you can show it to an auditor.
Can you help with Teams and SharePoint that have become a mess?
Yes. We restructure sites and channels, fix permissions and guest access, set retention, and train staff on where things go, so the sprawl stops growing.
We will tell you what you are paying for, what is not backed up and what MFA is missing.