14 products
The platforms a business actually works in. The ones with their own page are the ones we can tell you what goes wrong with — a higher bar than 'available through our distributor'.
Email, files, and collaboration for most businesses.
Email, file storage, and the Office applications, plus a large amount of security and device management that most businesses are already paying for and not using. The tier decision has consequences well beyond email, because device management and the security features arrive with the higher one. The licence is the same price from anyone; the configuration is what differs.
Device management, encryption, and remote wipe.
Enrols laptops and phones so they can be configured, encrypted, and — if one goes missing or somebody leaves badly — wiped remotely. Included with Microsoft 365 Business Premium, which is the main argument for that tier. Answers one narrow, concrete question: can you get company data off a device you no longer physically hold.
Cloud infrastructure where a server genuinely still applies.
Microsoft's cloud platform, most relevant to a small business as somewhere to run a server that cannot yet be retired — a line-of-business application, a database, or a remote desktop environment. Consumption is billed by what runs rather than by user, so an idle machine left switched on is a recurring charge for nothing. Distinct from Microsoft 365, which is the productivity suite; the two are commonly confused.
The alternative to Microsoft 365, where it fits better.
Email, documents, and storage built for the browser first, and the main alternative to Microsoft 365. Tends to suit businesses with no attachment to desktop Office and no Windows estate to manage centrally. A functioning Workspace tenant rarely repays the cost and disruption of moving, which is worth saying before anyone proposes a migration.
Cloud hosting for applications built to run on it.
The largest cloud platform, usually present because a specific application was built to run on it rather than because a business chose it. For most small businesses it appears as a hosting bill for a website or a vendor's software rather than as anything they administer. Where a choice genuinely exists, the deciding factor is normally what the rest of the estate already runs on.
Makes Azure Virtual Desktop practical to run and to budget.
A management layer over Azure Virtual Desktop that handles the deployment, scaling, and shutting-down of machines nobody is using. Azure Virtual Desktop is capable but administratively demanding; this is what makes it approachable without a specialist. Relevant only if virtual desktops are already on the table.
Remote desktop access without exposing anything to the internet.
Provides remote desktop access without opening the firewall port that has historically been the way ransomware gets in. Staff reach their desktop through a brokered connection instead of a directly exposed server. Aimed squarely at businesses still running remote desktop the old way, which remains common and remains the single most-exploited configuration in small business IT.
PDF editing and signing at a fraction of the usual cost.
Creates, edits, and signs PDFs, covering what most people actually use Acrobat for. Suits offices that handle documents constantly but use only a fraction of the full Adobe feature set. The compatibility question is worth checking first if a specific workflow depends on an Acrobat-only feature.
Consistent email signatures across everyone.
Applies email signatures centrally at the server rather than leaving each person to paste their own, so they stay consistent, current, and correctly formatted on mobile. Also carries disclaimers where a regulator or insurer expects them. A small thing that is disproportionately visible, since every external email carries it.
Branded document and slide templates that stay consistent.
Manages document and presentation templates centrally in Microsoft 365, so staff start from the current branded version instead of the file someone saved to their desktop in 2019. Most useful where documents leave the building and represent the business. Marginal where they do not.
Printing without a print server.
Handles printing without a print server in the office, connecting users to printers directly and managing drivers centrally. Removes a machine that exists solely to print and that tends to be the least-maintained thing on the network. Particularly relevant to businesses moving the last of their servers out.
File sharing with governance for regulated work.
File storage and sharing with substantial controls layered on — permissions reporting, retention, and identification of sensitive content. Aimed at businesses whose file handling has to satisfy a regulator, a client contract, or an audit. Where those obligations do not exist, SharePoint configured properly usually covers the same ground.
Accounting, licensed and supported alongside everything else.
The accounting package a large share of US small businesses already run, available through the same distribution as the rest of the stack. Licensing it alongside everything else mainly saves an account and a separate renewal to track. The bookkeeping itself stays with whoever does your books.
Lightweight CRM for small sales teams.
A deliberately small CRM for teams whose pipeline currently lives in a spreadsheet and somebody's memory. Covers contacts, deals, and follow-ups without the configuration a full CRM demands. The usual failure with CRM is not choosing the wrong one but choosing one nobody updates, which is the argument for starting at this end.
Tell us the problem you're solving and we'll narrow this list to the two or three that actually fit — with the reasoning written down.