Microsoft 365 & Exchange
Exchange experience for today's Microsoft 365 environments
I have specialised in Microsoft Exchange since 2006 and now work across Exchange Online, Microsoft 365, hybrid environments and on-premises Exchange. I help MSPs and IT teams with migrations, troubleshooting, configuration and ongoing specialist support.
Exchange & Microsoft 365
The platform has changed. The experience still matters.
Moving email to Microsoft 365 has changed the work around Exchange, but it has not removed the need to understand it. Exchange Online, identity, mail flow, DNS, authentication, security and on-premises infrastructure frequently overlap, particularly in established or hybrid environments.
I can help with a specific Exchange or Microsoft 365 problem, provide specialist input into work your team is already doing, plan and deliver a migration or remediation project, or provide ongoing access to that experience when you need it.
Migrations
Plan the migration before moving the mailboxes
A successful migration is about more than getting mailbox data from one place to another. Existing mail flow, applications, authentication, DNS, devices, third-party services and the eventual removal of legacy systems all need to be considered.
I can assist with the whole migration or work alongside your existing team on the areas where additional Exchange or Microsoft 365 experience is useful. That includes reviewing the existing environment, designing the migration approach, preparing the tenant and source systems, carrying out the migration and dealing with the clean-up afterwards.
For MSPs, I can work behind the scenes with your engineers or take responsibility for an agreed part of the migration while you continue to manage the client relationship.
Typical work
Where I can help
Exchange and Microsoft 365 work varies considerably between environments, but common areas include:
Exchange Online & Microsoft 365
Mail flow, configuration, permissions, authentication, security, tenant issues and troubleshooting across Exchange Online and the services around it.
Hybrid & On-Premises Exchange
Hybrid configuration, coexistence, troubleshooting and on-premises Exchange, including environments that are being retained, migrated or prepared for retirement.
Migrations & Remediation
Migration planning and delivery, resolving problems left by previous migrations, and simplifying environments that have accumulated years of changes and legacy configuration.
Ongoing specialist support
Keep the experience available after the project
Not every organisation needs an Exchange specialist working for it full time. That does not mean the specialist knowledge stops being useful once a migration or project is complete.
I can continue to provide regular specialist input after the initial work, giving your team someone familiar with the environment to call on for Exchange and Microsoft 365 questions, changes, troubleshooting and planning.
For MSPs, this can provide ongoing access to Exchange and Microsoft 365 experience across your client base without needing to maintain that specialist resource internally. For businesses, it provides continuity alongside your existing IT team or support provider.
The arrangement can include regular review sessions as well as an agreed amount of specialist time, so potential issues and upcoming changes can be discussed before they become urgent problems.
Periodic reviews
Environments do not stand still
Microsoft 365 changes continuously, while the organisation using it changes too. New applications are introduced, domains are added, people leave, suppliers change and configurations that were appropriate several years ago can remain long after the original requirement has disappeared.
Periodic technical reviews provide an opportunity to look at what has changed, identify configuration that deserves attention and discuss upcoming projects or Microsoft changes before they become another urgent job.
Where I already know the environment, those reviews can form part of an ongoing relationship rather than starting again with a new consultant each time something needs attention.
Troubleshooting
When it isn't just an Exchange problem
Some of the most difficult Exchange and Microsoft 365 problems turn out not to be Exchange problems at all. Identity, Active Directory, DNS, certificates, networking, security products, applications and third-party mail services can all affect what the user sees.
My background extends beyond Exchange into the surrounding Microsoft and network infrastructure, which means I can follow the problem across those boundaries rather than stopping when it leaves one product.
If your own engineers have already spent time investigating, I am happy to start with what they have found rather than repeating the same troubleshooting from the beginning.
For MSPs
Exchange expertise without adding it permanently to your team
Exchange may be important to your clients without being something your engineers need to work with at specialist depth every week. I can provide that additional experience when a migration, escalation or unusual configuration needs it.
You can involve me for one part of a project, use me as a second pair of eyes, work through a problem with me, or hand me a defined piece of work. I can remain behind the scenes or work with your client as part of your technical team where that makes more sense.
If you find that specialist input is useful more regularly, we can also put an ongoing arrangement in place so that access to me is already there when your engineers or clients need it.
Existing environments
Not every environment starts from a clean design
Many of the environments I work with have evolved over years. Servers have been replaced, companies acquired, domains changed, tenants migrated and different administrators have made sensible decisions for the requirements they had at the time.
The result can be an environment where nobody is completely certain why a particular connector, server, DNS record or configuration still exists. Before removing or changing it, it is often worth understanding what it is doing and what still depends on it.
I can help untangle those environments, document what matters and work out a sensible route from where you are now to where you want to be.
Email deliverability
SPF, DKIM, DMARC and getting email delivered
Email authentication and deliverability increasingly sit alongside Microsoft 365 and Exchange administration. Correct configuration means understanding not only Microsoft 365, but every legitimate system and third-party service that sends email using your domains.
I provide separate email deliverability and authentication services covering investigation, configuration and ongoing monitoring.
Beyond Exchange
Need help with the wider problem?
If the work is broader than Microsoft 365 or Exchange, I also provide advanced technical support for MSPs and IT teams across Microsoft and network infrastructure.
That support can be ad hoc, project based or provided through an ongoing arrangement where regular access to another senior technical resource is useful.
Get in touch
One project or an ongoing requirement?
Tell me what you have, what you are trying to achieve and where you need help. I can provide specialist input into a particular problem or project, or we can discuss an ongoing arrangement if regular access to that experience would be more useful.