Microsoft 365 Technical Assessment

It’s time to implement (or re-implement!) Microsoft 365 the right way.

Microsoft 365, SharePoint, Purview and the related apps promise easy-to-use technology, improved efficiency and more automation. But how do you get from A to Z?

Why invest in a technical assessment

From impactful decisions like how to classify content automatically to smaller decisions like how many SharePoint content types to use — these choices make all the difference when planning a migration to Microsoft 365. We help you get to these decisions based on how people work with information in your organization today.

Our technical discovery and planning process is designed to:

  • Significantly increase the success and adoption of Microsoft 365 in your organization

  • Give you and your IT team confidence in selecting the optimal apps, settings and integrations for your project

  • Build a strong Microsoft 365 foundation to grow from

  • Lower the chances for oversights in the future by detailing a roadmap and plan up-front

  • Decrease risks and uncertainty as well as shorten the timeline for implementation

  • Build a long-term relationship between your organization’s technology teams and our expert consultants

The focus areas of our technical assessment process are: an in-depth review of your organization’s readiness for M365 and detailed implementation planning.

Readiness Assessment

The objective of readiness is to align on your organization's information technology goals and digital workplace roadmap. We typically provide the following activities as part of the assessment:

  • Microsoft 365 (M365) Maturity Assessment — Detailed M365 assessment based on the open-source M365 Maturity Model

  • Technical Landscape Review — Interview(s) with your IT decision maker(s) to gain a high-level understanding of your digital estate as it relates to the M365 platform.

  • Information Management Practices Review — Interviews with representative information workers to understand key information processes, opportunities and readiness to change work practices.

  • Compliance Platform Fit Analysis — If your organization is deciding on a platform for records management and other information protection needs, we work with you in our framework to assess Purview and other tools such as Collabspace.

  • Digital Workplace Roadmap — In-depth review and discussion of your current roadmap and key objectives for your digital workplace. No roadmap? No problem — we can provide a digital workplace strategy and roadmap bundled with this project.

Implementation Plans

Now that we have completed the assessments, the organization is aligned on a vision to move towards. The next step is to plan the future program of work and map out guidelines, timelines and next steps. We typically provide the following as part of implementation planning:

  • Department readiness plan – Based on readiness assessments of all groups within your organization, we rate the groups and create a strategic roll-out sequence starting with pilot groups, through to an enterprise-wide rollout.

  • Governance and implementation plans – With all the insights gathered, Gravity Union will deliver plans such as: High-Level Solution Architecture, Search and Security Strategy, Migration Strategy, Communications and Training Plan. These form the foundation of the solution and unlock the rest of implementation.

The outcome is a fully-articulated, vetted and well thought-out Microsoft 365 assessment package that answers:

  • What will the minimum viable product (MVP) look like? Including: Microsoft 365 information architecture guide, infrastructure pre-requisites and integration advice.

  • How does the Microsoft 365 solutions fit within our budget and timeline? Are there pieces of the project that can be phased in as quick wins?

  • Does this solution create a solid foundation for the long-term organization goals?

  • Have we considered the technical limitations and possibilities of all Microsoft 365 related apps and services?

Time after time, this process has been the foundation of a successful Microsoft 365 platform that is ready for growth.

"It’s been great working with Gravity Union, and we've learned quite a bit about how we'd like to go forward with records management in Norfolk County."

— Records Analyst at Norfolk County

Contact us for a technical assessment

Contact us to book a technical assessment to answer:

  • What business problems are we solving for?  

  • Which apps do we enable for our users?

  • When do we engage different groups and departments?

  • How long will those projects take?