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IT & Cloud

Microsoft 365 support and Azure

Microsoft 365 and Azure managed end to end by a Microsoft partner in Stockton-on-Tees, from the licences each person needs to the sign-in and device policies that keep accounts safe.

Ask about Microsoft 365

Who it is for

Businesses across Teesside and the North East that run on Microsoft 365, whether they bought it years ago and left it at the defaults, are paying for licences nobody uses, have just had a renewal land at the higher price, or are moving email, files or servers into Microsoft's cloud for the first time. Also those already in Azure who cannot see where the monthly bill goes.

What you get

Each user on the right licence and nothing paid for that nobody uses; the tenant configured to our security standard with multi-factor authentication and Conditional Access in Microsoft Entra and device compliance in Intune; email and the Office applications supported by a service desk answered within three rings; and Azure designed, migrated to and run with cost in view, by a Microsoft partner whose engineers are all Odyssey employees.

The problem

Most businesses pay for Microsoft 365 features they do not use, leave security settings at their defaults and find Azure hard to control on cost.

Microsoft raised the price of Business Basic and Business Standard on 1 July 2026, and every subscription pays the new price from its first renewal after that date. Most businesses have never reviewed what they hold: the leaver whose account is still licensed, the shared mailbox someone can still sign in to, three people on a plan with features they have never opened. A licence review before the renewal is where the money is, and it is also where the security gaps show up.

The defaults are the bigger risk. Microsoft 365 lets people work from anywhere, and so can an attacker with a stolen password. Multi-factor authentication for every user, Conditional Access policies that limit sign-ins to trusted locations and devices, and legacy protocols such as POP and IMAP switched off are included in licences many businesses already pay for and have never turned on. From 27 April 2026 Cyber Essentials fails any cloud service that offers multi-factor authentication and does not have it switched on for every user.

Azure is the same story at a larger scale: it can run almost anything, which is why it is easy to overspend, misconfigure, or migrate in a way that disrupts the business. The answer is a design sized for cost as well as performance, moved in stages, and reviewed after it is live.

Since 27 April 2026, a cloud service that offers multi-factor authentication without it switched on for every user fails Cyber Essentials on its own. The Cyber Essentials check shows where you stand on all five controls, with no name or email needed.

To see where your business stands first, take the AI readiness check: a result for each area, with no name or email needed.

What Odyssey provides

  • A licence review so each user has the right Microsoft 365 plan and nothing is paid for that nobody uses
  • The tenant configured to our security standard, with multi-factor authentication and Conditional Access in Microsoft Entra
  • Device enrolment, compliance and app policies in Microsoft Intune for laptops, desktops, phones and tablets
  • Email, Teams and the Office applications set up and supported, with a service desk your users call
  • Azure designed, migrated to and supported with cost kept in view, from one virtual machine to a full migration
  • Microsoft 365 Copilot, and the Microsoft 365 Copilot Business plan for smaller organisations, through our AI Adoption and Copilot service, with the permissions put right first

What is included

IncludedDetail
Licence reviewEvery user and mailbox checked against how they actually work, leavers and unused plans removed, the right plan assigned before your renewal
Licences suppliedMicrosoft 365 licences bought through Odyssey as a Microsoft partner, added and removed as people join and leave
Tenant securityMulti-factor authentication for every user, Conditional Access policies, legacy sign-in protocols blocked, security and compliance policies set to our standard
IdentityMicrosoft Entra sign-in policies maintained, and Microsoft 365 sign-ins monitored for account takeover where endpoint and identity protection is in place
DevicesIntune enrolment, compliance and app policies for Windows devices, with phones and tablets under mobile device management
SupportEmail, Teams and Office questions and problems handled by our service desk, answered within three rings
AzureDiscovery, a design and cost estimate, migration in planned stages, and ongoing management if you want it
Tenant-to-tenant migrationAfter an acquisition, mailboxes, OneDrive and SharePoint files and users moved from the acquired business's tenant into yours in planned stages, with its domain kept working throughout

Not included, or sold separately

Azure consumption
What Microsoft charges for the resources you use in Azure is billed separately from our work, and we design to keep it predictable
Backup of Microsoft 365
Microsoft keeps the service running but does not back up your data against deletion, corruption or ransomware; our backup and recovery service covers email and files separately
Email filtering
A dedicated layer in front of your mailboxes that catches more phishing and malware than the built-in filtering is its own service
Microsoft Teams calling
Business phone numbers inside Teams through Direct Routing is a telephony service, managed by the same team
Line-of-business applications
We support the Microsoft platform; a third-party application's own vendor supports the application, and we manage that vendor on your behalf where it is agreed
Out of hours
Calls at any time reach our out-of-hours service desk rota; work done out of hours is never drawn from retained hours and is charged at the consumed list rate for the grade of engineer in use

How it is delivered

  1. Review what you hold

    Every licence, user, shared mailbox and renewal date, against how your people actually work. The review finds the leaver still licensed and the plan nobody uses, and it is done before your renewal so the saving lands.

  2. Set the security standard

    Multi-factor authentication for every user, Conditional Access policies for locations and devices, legacy protocols blocked, and the security and compliance settings brought to our standard, with staff told what will change before it does.

  3. Enrol the devices

    Windows devices enrolled in Intune with compliance and app policies; phones and tablets under mobile device management. A device that does not meet the policy cannot reach company data until it does.

  4. Migrate in stages

    Email from an old Exchange server, files from a file server, or applications into Azure, moved in planned stages with each stage tested before the next, so the business keeps working. Prestons of Potto moved onto Microsoft 365 without stopping a single lorry.

  5. Support and review

    The service desk takes your users' Microsoft 365 questions. Licences change as people join and leave, policies are kept current, and Azure environments are reviewed for cost and performance after they are live.

Why trust Odyssey with this

  • ISO

    Certified to ISO 27001 for information security

  • In-house

    All work completed by Odyssey employees, never subcontracted

  • 3

    Calls answered within three rings, and a director is always reachable

  • Odyssey is a Microsoft partner and licensing provider (CSP)

Client story

Prestons of Potto

A 20-year telephony relationship grew into full IT support, moving a nationwide haulage firm onto Microsoft 365.

Read the story

Questions people ask

Can you buy our Microsoft 365 licences?

Yes. As a Microsoft partner we supply the licences and review them so each user has the right plan, so you are not paying for features nobody uses, and we add and remove licences as people join and leave.

Our renewal has gone up. Can you reduce the bill?

Usually. Microsoft raised the price of Business Basic and Business Standard on 1 July 2026, applied at each subscription's next renewal. A licence review before that date finds leavers still licensed, unused plans and people on the wrong tier, and the saving is made before the higher price applies.

Is our Microsoft 365 secure as it is?

Probably not at the defaults. Multi-factor authentication for every user, Conditional Access and blocking legacy sign-in protocols are the first three things we set, and they are included in licences most businesses already hold. From 27 April 2026 Cyber Essentials fails any cloud service with multi-factor authentication available and not switched on for every user.

Does Microsoft back up our email and files?

No, beyond keeping the service running. The recycle bins have limits, and restoring a mailbox to how it looked last week is not something Microsoft offers. Our backup and recovery service backs up Microsoft 365 email and files separately so they can be restored.

Do you only work with Microsoft 365, or Azure too?

Both. We manage Microsoft 365 day to day and design, migrate to and support Azure, from a single virtual machine to a full migration, with a cost estimate before anything is built and a review once it is live.

Can you help us use Copilot safely?

Yes. Microsoft 365 Copilot works inside Word, Excel, Outlook and Teams and sees whatever the user can see, so the first job is getting permissions and data controls right. Our AI Adoption and Copilot service does that before any licence is bought, then pilots Copilot on real tasks, trains each role and measures the result.

Who do our staff call when email stops?

Our service desk in Stockton-on-Tees, answered within three rings by a person. Our written minimum is to be actively working within 2 hours on anything urgent and within 10 working hours on everything else.

Will a migration disrupt the business?

We plan migrations in stages, test each stage before moving on and schedule the work around your operations. Prestons of Potto, a nationwide haulage firm, moved to Microsoft 365 with us without stopping a single lorry.

Challenges this helps with

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