Most organizations using managed Microsoft 365 services are getting about 20% of what they're paying for. We fix that — and get you discounted Microsoft licensing while we're at it.
Over 3.7 million organizations worldwide run Microsoft 365. Attackers know this. They also know that most tenants — including those paying for managed Microsoft 365 services — are misconfigured and running default settings their security team never touched.
The part most providers don't tell you: Microsoft's default email filtering catches the majority of known threats. But adversary-in-the-middle attacks that bypass standard MFA, OAuth token theft, and QR code phishing are specifically designed to slip past default M365 configurations. Business Premium and E3/E5 give you the right tools — they just need to be configured and monitored to work.
Our managed Microsoft 365 services cover the entire Microsoft stack — not just the parts that are easy. Here's what that covers.
We procure M365 Business Premium, E3, E5, and Azure at discounted volume pricing through our Microsoft partnership tier. Those savings pass directly to you — same licenses, lower per-seat cost.
Talk licensing →Conditional Access policies, Defender for Office 365 configuration, DMARC/DKIM/SPF enforcement, MFA deployment, and Entra ID identity protection. We close the configuration gaps attackers count on.
See cybersecurity services →Full management of Exchange Online, SharePoint, Teams, OneDrive, Intune, and Entra ID. User provisioning, license assignment, group management, and policy enforcement — handled by people who do this full-time.
Talk to a Pro →Before Copilot can run safely, your data classification, SharePoint permissions, and DLP policies need to be right. We audit your tenant, fix the gaps, and deploy Copilot with governance guardrails — not hope.
See Copilot services →On-prem Exchange to Exchange Online, Google Workspace to M365, legacy file servers to SharePoint — scoped, planned, and executed without mail flow interruption or data loss. We've done hundreds of these.
See cloud migration →Most companies we audit are either overpaying for Enterprise licenses they don't use, or running unprotected on Basic plans with security gaps. We identify the right mix and eliminate waste without touching what's working.
Get a license audit →The sticker price is just the starting point. Business Premium appears cheaper than E3 or E5 — but the security limitations can cost you more long-term. Here's how the plans actually compare on the capabilities that matter.
| Capability | Business Basic $6/user/mo | Business Premium $22/user/mo | Enterprise E3 $36/user/mo | Enterprise E5 $57/user/mo |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Exchange, Teams, SharePoint, OneDrive | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Desktop Office Apps (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) | — | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Microsoft Intune (MDM/MAM) | — | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Entra ID P1 (Conditional Access) | — | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Defender for Office 365 Plan 1 | — | ✓ | — | ✓ |
| Advanced Compliance & eDiscovery (Purview) | — | — | ✓ | ✓ |
| Microsoft Defender for Endpoint Plan 2 | — | — | — | ✓ |
| Microsoft Sentinel (SIEM integration) | — | — | — | ✓ |
| Best fit for | Very small teams, email-only needs | Most SMBs (10–500 seats) | Regulated industries needing compliance tooling | Enterprise SOC with full Defender stack |
Ridge IT procures all tiers at discounted volume pricing through our Microsoft partnership. Contact us for current per-seat pricing. Get a quote →
Inc. 5000 #1 MSSP
Most MSPs resell Microsoft licenses at list price and call it a Microsoft practice. Here's what actually separates managed Microsoft 365 services done right from the default experience.
What most providers do
What Ridge IT does
Microsoft 365 Copilot reads across emails, Teams conversations, SharePoint sites, and OneDrive. If your data classification is wrong or your permissions are too broad, Copilot will surface confidential information to users who shouldn't see it — not because of a bug, but because you told it to. Most tenants aren't ready for this.
We audit your data labels, DLP policies, SharePoint permission structure, and Sensitivity Labels before Copilot touches anything.
We build the data governance layer — classification policies, access controls, and Purview configurations — that makes Copilot safe to deploy.
Staged deployment starting with a pilot group. We monitor what Copilot accesses, validate behavior, and expand scope as each phase clears.
Post-deployment policy management, anomaly detection, and quarterly governance reviews. Copilot's access model evolves as your data does.
We operate from six cities with engineers embedded in markets that move fast. If you're evaluating Microsoft licensing or managed M365 services in any of these regions, our local teams can engage without the delay of a remote-only model.
Headquarters. Managed Microsoft 365 services and discounted licensing for Tampa Bay area businesses, SMB and enterprise. Tampa managed IT →
GovCon, federal contractors, and defense industrial base — managed Microsoft 365 services with CMMC alignment. DC managed IT →
Financial services, hospitality, and multi-site operations across South Florida. Miami managed IT →
Regional headquarters for Southeast operations — manufacturing, logistics, and professional services. Atlanta managed IT →
700+ organizations across six continents. Remote-first delivery for licensing, migration, and security projects anywhere in the U.S. See all services →
Your internal IT team is probably solid. But a 2–5 person team can't cover M365 tenant administration, Entra ID governance, Intune endpoint compliance, Defender tuning, and licensing procurement all at once — that's not a skill gap, it's a math problem.
| Capability | Managing It Internally | Managed with Ridge IT |
|---|---|---|
| Microsoft licensing cost | List price from Microsoft direct or reseller | Discounted volume pricing — savings passed to you |
| Conditional Access policy management | Typically set once and rarely updated | Active management, quarterly review, incident-triggered updates |
| Defender configuration | Default settings; alert fatigue from untuned policies | Tuned policies, managed SOC integration, active threat response |
| Entra ID & identity governance | Basic MFA rollout; stale accounts accumulate | Access reviews, lifecycle management, privileged identity governance |
| Migration expertise | 12x higher data loss risk self-managed | Managed cutover, zero data loss standard process |
| Copilot deployment | Tenant data governance often not ready | Governance-first deployment with DLP and Purview configuration |
| Vendor escalation to Microsoft | General support queue — hours or days | Direct T3 support access through our Microsoft partnership |
M365 is the productivity and identity layer. Zero Trust architecture, endpoint security, and network security sit alongside it. We manage the integration so you're not depending on one vendor's native controls to carry the full load.
Related: Azure managed services · Okta identity management · CrowdStrike MDR
Yes. Through our Microsoft partnership tier, we procure M365 Business Premium, E3, E5, and Azure at discounted volume pricing and pass those savings directly to our clients. You get the same Microsoft licenses at a lower per-seat cost, bundled with managed services if you want them.
Most organizations with 10–500 seats land on Business Premium ($22/user/month) or Enterprise E3 ($36/user/month). Business Premium includes Intune, Defender, and Entra ID P1 — the security tools that most SMBs need. E3 adds compliance and eDiscovery. E5 adds the full Defender Suite and Sentinel integration.
Most companies we audit are either overpaying for Enterprise licenses they don't fully use, or running unprotected on Basic plans with security gaps. We size the right mix for your environment — sometimes with hybrid models that deliver Enterprise-grade security without the full Enterprise price tag.
Microsoft 365 Copilot is an AI assistant that reads across your emails, Teams chats, SharePoint, and OneDrive to generate summaries and drafts. The risk: if your data classification and access permissions are misconfigured, Copilot surfaces information to users who shouldn't see it.
Before deploying Copilot, we audit your tenant's data labels, DLP policies, and SharePoint permission structure — then build governance that lets Copilot operate safely. See our Copilot services page for the full deployment process.
Microsoft's built-in filtering catches the majority of known threats, but 91% of cyberattacks still begin with email — and attackers actively study what default M365 filters miss. Adversary-in-the-middle attacks that bypass standard MFA, OAuth token theft, and QR code phishing are all specifically designed to slip past default configurations.
Business Premium and E3/E5 give you the right tools. Most tenants just aren't configured to use them. That's where managed security services closes the gap.
Self-managed M365 migrations carry a 12x higher risk of data loss compared to managed professional migrations. We scope the migration, handle the technical cutover, and validate every mailbox, SharePoint site, and Teams channel before decommissioning legacy infrastructure.
Most 100–500 seat migrations take 4–8 weeks. No mail flow interruption. No weekend surprises. See our cloud migration services for the full process.
Yes — co-managed is a common model. Your internal team keeps full admin access and handles day-to-day requests. We run the Microsoft-specific workstreams: Entra ID governance, Conditional Access policy management, Intune device compliance, licensing procurement, and security monitoring.
You keep your team's institutional knowledge; we add the Microsoft depth most in-house teams don't have bandwidth to maintain. Learn more about how our co-managed IT model works.
Tell us about your environment. We'll review your current managed Microsoft 365 services setup, identify configuration gaps, and show you exactly where licensing spend isn't working.
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