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MicrosoFT 365 Services and extensions
Definitions
Microsoft 365 is a cloud based suite of applications and services that allow an organization to offload the infrastructure required to support these services. The base services (depending on licensing options) include;
- E-mail and calendaring with large mailbox support
- Email Archive and enterprise discovery available as an option
- Email Archive and enterprise discovery available as an option
- Cloud based file storage and sharing with local user system synchronization options
- Workflow and team collaboration capabilities in a customizable web service
- Instant messaging, on demand communications, and interactive web meeting services
- Office applications, both local install and web accessible available
As the Microsoft 365 services expand, additional capabilities and services are added to the suite. Even with all of the capabilities of Microsoft 365, service extensions and enhancements may be needed depending on the needs of the operations of your organization. Service extensions can include such needs as;
- Enhanced provisioning and configuration of services, user accounts, and licensing and enablement
- Advanced Active Directory integration and synchronization
- Migration of premise Exchange accounts and data
- Migration and/or integration to premise based 3rd party archive
- Encryption of messages and data of data at rest (Microsoft 365 by default encrypts data in transit, but not on recipient and sender end points)
- Data protection from inadvertent data deletions, or deletions of data from service interruptions and failures
For a complete list of features and services, the best source to refer to is the Microsoft 365 site.
Use Cases
As Microsoft 365 is adaptable to an organization in three primary configurations to integrate to a customer site;
- Public Cloud (Shared Tenancy) as a dedicated domain, but all services and applications being shared on infrastructure with other organizations
- Private Cloud (Dedicated Tenancy) where servers, services, and applications are deployed on Microsoft infrastructure, but dedicated to the organization being deployed
- Hybrid Cloud with some services coming from Microsoft 365 integrating to an organizations own existing infrastructure. Typically for an organization that has specific requirements that cannot be fulfilled within Microsoft 365, or can be used during a migration to Microsoft 365.
End user applications (for access to Microsoft 365 services, and business productivity applications) are available in both local desktop installation, and as cloud based web applications. The type of client installation available will be dependent on the licensing package selected by an organization. The licensing selected for an end user can be changed if needed in the future.
The primary services that Microsoft 365 operates;
- Microsoft Exchange Online for Email and Calendar operations
- SharePoint for group and enterprise collaboration services
- OneDrive is a cloud based file service that extends SharePoint to file services
- OneDrive is a cloud based file service that extends SharePoint to file services
- Teams for collaborative and instant communications, web meeting and desktop sharing, and integrated voice communication
- Microsoft Office business productivity applications (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, OneNote, Access, Publisher) available in both desktop and web based versions
- Support of desktop, tablet, mobile, and smartphone devices
Solution Deployment
In addition to being able to provide licensing of Microsoft 365, Paradise Canyon offers the additional services and technology that assist in the deployment and initialization of Microsoft 365 and extension of services and enhancements that enable an organization to experience a full solution approach to Microsoft 365. The offerings from Paradise Canyon also encompass the traditional strengths in data migration to move data from premise based solutions for email, data archives, and SharePoint content.
As with all other solutions from Paradise Canyon, appropriate planning and project management will be performed. A Microsoft 365 deployment will mean a change in not only end user access, but in administration and operations management and those changes should be well understood and planned for. Paradise Canyon will define a project plan that will lead to the success of Microsoft 365 in your organization. This planning will consider appropriate adjunct services and applications, and be customized, dependent on the needs of your organization.
- Define key criteria for the deployment
- Existing services deployed in the organization that Microsoft 365 will take on
- End user needs and licensing options
- Timeline plan and migration strategy
- Service prototype and initial configuration
- Test and validation of initial configuration
- Deployment expansion and production scale out
- Migration and synchronization of existing accounts and historical data from current email and archive sources
- Transition of users
- Production readiness acceptance