What are Microsoft 365 managed services?
M365 managed services are outsourced services in which an MSP (managed IT service provider) manages a customer’s Microsoft 365 environment. Services in scope typically include cybersecurity, continuous optimization, user maintenance, and patch management.
Companies choose M365 managed services for a variety of reasons:
- Limited staff bandwidth to manage M365
- Ongoing security and user maintenance issues in M365
- Unable to keep up with patches for M365
- No visibility into the health of M365
How are M365 managed services different from Microsoft’s built-in support?
Microsoft 365 (M365) managed services differ from Microsoft’s built‑in support by providing ongoing, proactive management and accountability for your environment, rather than reactive, break‑fix assistance. Microsoft’s native support is designed to help resolve specific technical issues with the platform itself, typically after something goes wrong. M365 managed services, on the other hand, focus on continuously operating, securing, optimizing, and governing your tenant—handling day‑to‑day administration, security posture, compliance configuration, user support, and strategic guidance as an extension of your IT team.
M365 managed services vs. Microsoft built‑in support
Area | Microsoft Built‑In Support | M365 Managed Services |
Primary focus | Product support and issue resolution | Ongoing management, optimization, and security |
Support model | Reactive, ticket‑based | Proactive, continuous oversight |
Security management | Limited guidance, customer‑implemented | Configuration, monitoring, tuning, and response |
User & device management | Not included | Onboarding, offboarding, Intune, access controls |
Compliance & governance | Tools provided, no implementation | Policy configuration, documentation, and alignment |
Strategic guidance | Minimal | Roadmaps, best practices, and adoption planning |
Response ownership | Shared or customer‑driven | Managed provider owns execution |
Business context | Product‑centric | Business, risk, and productivity‑centric |
What does an M365 managed services provider actually manage?
An M365 managed services provider manages the ongoing operation, security, governance, and optimization of a Microsoft 365 environment on behalf of an organization. Rather than simply helping when something breaks, the provider proactively administers core M365 workloads, secures identities and data, supports users, monitors health and threats, and aligns the platform with business and compliance requirements. The goal is to keep Microsoft 365 secure, efficient, and well‑governed while reducing the day‑to‑day burden on internal IT teams.
What an M365 managed services provider manages
Area | What’s Managed |
Tenant administration | Global tenant settings, service configuration, feature governance |
Identity & access (Entra ID) | User accounts, MFA, Conditional Access, role‑based access, identity lifecycle |
Security configuration | Secure Score improvements, threat protection, alert monitoring, incident response |
Email (Exchange Online) | Mail flow, spam/phishing protection, shared mailboxes, retention policies |
Collaboration (Teams) | Teams lifecycle management, policies, external access, sprawl control |
SharePoint & OneDrive | Permissions, site governance, sharing controls, data protection |
Device & endpoint management | Intune policies, device compliance, encryption, BYOD enforcement |
Compliance & governance | Retention, DLP, audit logs, eDiscovery, Purview configuration |
Backup & recovery | Third‑party backups, restores, ransomware recovery readiness |
User support & operations | Help desk support, onboarding/offboarding, access changes |
Monitoring & reporting | Service health, security events, usage trends, compliance reporting |
Optimization & strategy | License optimization, roadmap planning, feature adoption guidance |
Why choose Microsoft 365?
Microsoft solutions are the gold standard in collaboration software. From Outlook to Word, PowerPoint to Excel, Microsoft 365 is how the world does business.
Now that these applications are fully integrated with the cloud, businesses can achieve unprecedented collaboration and efficiency. No more trading files as email attachments, trying to keep track of the latest version. A cloud-hosted file in OneDrive or SharePoint is always authoritative and up to date, even as multiple editors make contributions.
Is M365 a “set it and forget it” solution?
Microsoft 365 requires regular maintenance and attention to keep your environment secure and up to date. User maintenance, permissions, and security updates are a core part of keeping M365 working for your business.
Can we manage Microsoft 365 ourselves?
That depends on your resources and priorities. You’ll need dedicated resources who 1) know Microsoft 365 inside and out, and 2) have the bandwidth to commit to supporting M365.
Global enterprises often have the people on staff to cover this. However, many organizations find it challenging to manage M365 with staff resources due to limitations in skillset and bandwidth. In these cases, managed services are a great option. You can get the coverage you need for a fraction of the cost of hiring staff for the same purpose.
How do we get discounted business licensing for Microsoft 365?
Talk to us!
Through a special relationship with our distributor, we’re able to offer up to 15% off M365 business licensing for new customers. Most businesses will save $20k – $200k per year.
Couple that with managed services for M365, you’ll take out the friction in supporting this essential technology while saving money at the same time.
It’s easier than you think to transition your licensing. Whether you’re month-to-month, committed for the year, or a mix of both, we’ve got an easy transition path—and you can lock in our pricing for a year.
- You can take a phased approach as needed
- Transition month-to-month licenses at the end of the month
- Ask your reseller about releasing you from yearly commitments
- Corsica Technologies can assist with reseller negotiations
- Transition yearly licenses when you’re able
Learn more here: Microsoft 365 for Business Discount.
What’s the difference between OneDrive and SharePoint?
OneDrive and SharePoint are similar in one regard: They’re both cloud-based file hosting services.
That said, they have different purposes.
OneDrive is intended for storing personal files that other users don’t need to see.
SharePoint is intended for team collaboration involving multiple users within an organization.
Of course, you can share OneDrive documents with other users in your organization, and those users can edit those documents if you choose.
Likewise, you can use SharePoint for non-collaborative documents.
But most organizations will get the most mileage by using both solutions. Individual users can work in OneDrive for files that others won’t need to see. When it’s time to start collaborating, they can upload files to SharePoint and invite collaborators to access the files with the appropriate permissions. This approach gives users the best of both worlds.
