Questions answered
The short version is above. Each heading below answers one question a buyer actually asks, with the answer in the first sentence. You can skip straight to a quote at any point.
Deeper dives
- Microsoft 365 security for a small businessA Microsoft 365 tenant is not secure just because it is Microsoft. Here are the settings I turn on for every small business I manage, in the order they matter, and what each one protects you from.
- How to switch IT companies without downtimeSwitching IT companies does not have to cost you a day of work. Read your agreement, collect what you own, overlap the two providers, then cut over on a quiet afternoon.
- IT support for hybrid and remote teamsHalf your people are in the office, half are at a kitchen table. Here is how I support both without a ticket queue, and what your setup needs so remote work stops being an IT headache.
- File servers, shared storage and backups for design firmsDesign firms outgrow ordinary file sharing fast. Here is how I choose between an office server, a NAS and the cloud, keep versions safe, and back it all up for studios in Dallas.
Which managed IT providers in Dallas are good with Microsoft 365?
The ones where the person who set up your tenant is still the person you call when a partner's calendar stops syncing on a Tuesday afternoon. At Cross River Tech that person is me, Anthony Omini: I set up, migrate, license, secure and administer Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace for small businesses in Dallas–Fort Worth, and remotely for offices anywhere in Texas, with my team handling the day-to-day administration behind me.
Whoever you are comparing, four questions separate a provider who actually runs tenants from one who only resells them:
- Who holds the global admin credentials, and do you get a copy in writing?
- Is MFA on every account today, including the admin account, or only recommended?
- Do they see the license invoice, or does the bill go straight from Microsoft or Google to your card with nobody checking it?
- When someone leaves, how long until the mailbox is handed over and the license removed?
My answers: you get the admin credentials, MFA goes on before anyone logs in, I see every invoice, and leavers are usually handled the day you ask. This service sits inside managed IT services for most clients and is available as a stand-alone project if that is all you need.
What does setting up a Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace tenant properly involve?
Verifying your domain, adding the DNS records that route mail, and turning on the security defaults before the first person logs in. A tenant is your company's own account on Microsoft's or Google's cloud, the container for every user, mailbox, file and setting.
The specific steps: domain verification; MX records for mail routing; SPF, DKIM and DMARC records so your messages are neither marked as spam nor forged; one user per person on the right license tier; shared mailboxes for addresses like info@ and billing@, which cost no seat; groups for departments; and MFA with modern sign-in only. A tenant that starts secure stays secure. One that starts open tends to stay open, because nobody wants to break what is working.
For a business opening its first office, email is one line in a longer setup. The IT checklist for starting a business in Dallas shows where it fits in the order of things.
Which email systems can you migrate from?
Any of the common ones: hosting-company POP or IMAP mailboxes (GoDaddy and similar), personal Gmail or Outlook.com accounts, an on-premises Exchange server including public folders and shared calendars, and another Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace tenant. Google Workspace to Microsoft 365, or the other way, when a firm changes direction, and tenant-to-tenant moves after a merger, a split or a rebrand with a new domain are also routine.
The data is copied across in the background before the evening cutover, and the old system stays readable for a while afterward as a safety net. Two industry details are built in rather than bolted on later: a law firm's migration has to respect retention and litigation holds, and a dental or medical practice's new mailboxes need the safeguards HIPAA expects.
If you are changing IT companies at the same time, how to switch IT companies without downtime explains how I take over an existing tenant cleanly.
Why do small businesses overpay for Microsoft 365 licenses?
Because nobody looks at the invoice after the first month. I source licenses through my distributor relationship, so I see every invoice and can change it. It is the first thing I check when I take over an existing tenant, and these four lines are almost always on it:
- Everyone on the most expensive tier because it was easiest at the time
- Shared mailboxes consuming a paid seat each when they could be free
- People who left last year still holding an active license
- Desktop Office apps paid for on accounts that only ever use webmail
Each is a change I make in the admin console the same day, and the saving shows on the next bill. Right-sizing goes the other way too: a partner who needs a bigger archive, a bookkeeper who needs the desktop apps, or an office that wants to keep departed staff mail for years each needs a specific tier. License fees pass through at the published subscription price; my time is covered by managed IT or the hourly rate on the pricing page.
What security settings should be on in every Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace tenant?
Six, and in most tenants I take over several are off:
- Multi-factor authentication (MFA) on every account, so a stolen password alone is not enough
- Spam and phishing filtering with links and attachments checked before they reach the inbox
- SPF, DKIM and DMARC so nobody can send mail pretending to be you, and your own mail is not rejected
- Legacy sign-in methods disabled, because those old protocols skip MFA entirely
- Alerts for unusual sign-ins, new forwarding rules and mass deletions, the three fingerprints of a compromised mailbox
- Device control so a lost phone can be wiped of company data without touching personal photos
This is the baseline a cyber-insurance application means when it asks whether you have MFA on email, and a large part of what HIPAA's technical safeguards expect from a dental or medical practice. It helps you answer those questions truthfully. Endpoint protection, backups and recovery are on the cybersecurity, backup and disaster recovery page; each Microsoft setting, and why it matters, is explained in depth in Microsoft 365 security for a small business.
How should shared files and shared mailboxes be set up?
One library or shared drive per department, client, matter or project, with permissions that follow the folder rather than being granted person by person. Each person's own files sync to their computer so work continues when the internet does not. For a firm coming off an old file server, this is usually when the server can be retired. Design firms with very large files are a special case, covered in file servers, shared storage and backups for design firms.
Shared addresses like info@, billing@ and intake@ become shared mailboxes the right people can see and reply from, with no extra license and no forwarded copies going astray. Teams or Google Meet, shared calendars and conference-room bookings are configured at the same time, and if your phone system runs through Teams, I handle that as part of the same setup.
Do I need managed IT, or can I run the tenant myself after setup?
Either works. Managed IT clients get every user change, mailbox handover, license adjustment, security-alert review and how-do-I question included in the monthly fee, with no ticket queue and nobody to explain your setup to, because I built it.
If you would rather run it in-house and call only when something is beyond you, I do one-off work at the hourly break/fix rate with no contract. The first step is the same either way: tell me where your email lives today and how many mailboxes you have, and I will tell you what I would do and what it would cost.
Questions people ask about microsoft 365 & google workspace
Should my Dallas small business use Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace?
Either can run a small office well, so the choice comes down to how your people work. If your firm lives in Outlook, Word and Excel, or uses legal, dental or insurance software that integrates with Microsoft, Microsoft 365 is the natural fit. If your people already think in Gmail and Google Docs and collaborate in the browser, Google Workspace is simpler. I work with both and will recommend one with reasons, not a sales pitch.
Will I lose any email during a migration?
No. I copy mail, calendars and contacts to the new system in the background while everyone keeps working, then schedule the cutover for an evening and run a final sync to catch the last few hours. The next morning everything is where people left it, in the same folders. I keep the old system readable for a while afterward as a safety net.
Do you sell Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace licenses?
I source licenses for my clients through my distributor relationship and pass the subscription fees through at the published price. The benefit is that I see the invoice, so I can remove leavers, fix the wrong tier and stop shared mailboxes from costing a seat. My time is covered by managed IT or the hourly rate, not by license markup.
Can you take over a Microsoft 365 tenant that someone else set up?
Yes, and it is a common starting point. I get admin access, document what is there, review the licenses, check whether MFA and the mail-authentication records are actually on, and clean up old users and forwarding rules. You keep your domain, your mailboxes and your files. Nothing has to be rebuilt unless it is broken.
Is Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace suitable for a law firm or a dental practice?
Both platforms can be configured to help a law firm meet its confidentiality duties and a dental or medical practice meet HIPAA's technical safeguards, but only if someone turns the right settings on: MFA, retention, audit logging, encryption for sensitive mail and controlled sharing. I set those up as standard. The platform alone does not make you compliant; the configuration and the habits do.
What does ongoing Microsoft 365 administration cost?
For managed IT clients it is included in the per-user monthly fee, which is quoted after a short conversation about your office and is month-to-month with no long contract. If you only want help occasionally, I work at the hourly break/fix rates: $100 per hour remote during business hours, with a one-hour minimum. License fees are separate and passed through at cost.
Do you support offices outside Dallas?
Yes. Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace administration is almost entirely remote, so I support businesses anywhere in Texas, including Houston, Austin and San Antonio, and companies with staff in several cities. Onsite visits around Dallas–Fort Worth are by appointment when a computer or phone needs hands on it.