Microsoft 365 and business email questions, answered

They are the same service. Microsoft renamed its Office 365 business plans to Microsoft 365 in 2020, but many people still say Office 365 or O365. It covers Outlook email, Teams, OneDrive and SharePoint, and the Office apps such as Word and Excel, depending on the plan.

Business Basic gives email, Teams, 1 TB of OneDrive storage and the web and mobile Office apps. Business Standard adds the desktop apps for Windows and Mac. Business Premium adds stronger security and device management. Each person only needs the plan their work calls for, and plans can be mixed.

Microsoft sets a monthly price per user, which depends on the plan and on whether you commit monthly or yearly, and it changes from time to time. We quote the current price including VAT and only for the licences each person actually needs, so you never pay for unused licences.

Yes. You can give the office team Business Standard and staff who only need email Business Basic, in one account. We set it up that way when it saves money.

No. A shared mailbox up to 50 GB does not need its own licence. Everyone who opens it needs their own Microsoft 365 licence, and access can be given or removed in minutes as people join and leave.

Both work well. Microsoft 365 suits businesses that rely on Outlook, Word and Excel files or work with partners who do; Google Workspace suits teams that already work in the browser. Our guide compares them, and we can recommend one after a short conversation.

Yes. We add the records Microsoft needs at whoever manages your domain, such as Blacknight, LetsHost or another registrar. The domain stays in your name and under your control.

We copy existing mailboxes, contacts and calendars from Gmail, cPanel or IMAP hosts such as Blacknight, LetsHost or Eircom, or from an older Exchange server. The switch is planned for a quiet time, and old email is moved across so nothing is left behind.

Not for long. We prepare the new mailboxes first, then point your domain at Microsoft 365. While that change spreads, which is usually a short window, a few messages may arrive at the old service, and we collect those too.

Microsoft 365 business plans include a 50 GB mailbox per person, which is years of email for most people. Business Premium adds archiving for those who need more.

Yes. Extra addresses (aliases) on an existing mailbox are free, and so are groups that send one address to several people. Shared mailboxes are free too, up to 50 GB.

Usually because the records that prove your email is genuine, SPF, DKIM and DMARC, are missing or don't line up, or because another service sends email in your name without being set up. We check each one and fix what can be fixed.

Three records on your domain that help receiving mail servers trust your email. SPF lists who may send for you, DKIM adds a digital signature to each message, and DMARC tells other servers what to do with email that fails those checks and sends you reports.

Set SPF and DKIM correctly, then move DMARC to a policy that tells receivers to reject or quarantine fake messages. Our email trust guide explains each step, and we can do it for you.

Yes. Multi-factor authentication asks for a second check, usually the Microsoft Authenticator app, and stops most attempts to break into an account with a stolen password. We switch it on for everyone and help people set it up.

Not in the way most people expect. Microsoft keeps the service running and lets you recover deleted items for a limited time, 14 days by default and up to 30. It is not a long-term backup, so we recommend a separate Microsoft 365 backup for important mailboxes and files.

Microsoft acts as a data processor under its data protection terms, and its EU Data Boundary keeps EU customers' data stored and processed in the EU. Your business remains the controller, so settings such as access, retention and multi-factor authentication still need to be set up properly.

Yes. The account, the licences and the domain are in your business's name, and you keep the main administrator access. We work with delegated access you can remove at any time.

Yes. We review users, licences, security settings, shared mailboxes and domain records, remove licences nobody uses, and fix what is unsafe, then agree any ongoing support with you.

Yes. One consistent signature for the whole team, kept up to date as people join and leave, including in replies and on phones where possible.

Yes. Microsoft 365 and email work is done remotely anywhere in Ireland. On-site visits are available in the areas we cover.

A small new setup is usually quick once we have access to your domain. We agree the date and what will happen before anything changes.