Remote SupportYou pay for Microsoft 365 security. Most of it is switched off.
Business Premium comes with device management, virus and attack protection, and sign-in rules that block stolen passwords. Out of the box, most of it is not set up. We turn it on, check your licences so you only pay for what you use, back up your email and files outside Microsoft, and look after it every month. When email, Teams or a login stops working, you call us and we own it until it is fixed, wherever you are in Australia.
What is a managed Microsoft 365 service?
A managed Microsoft 365 service means someone else owns the configuration, security and licensing of your tenant on an ongoing basis, rather than leaving it on Microsoft's permissive defaults. Real Bytes hardens identity and email, governs Teams and SharePoint, right-sizes your licences, adds third-party backup, and keeps all of it current as Microsoft ships changes.
- What it covers
- Licence management, security hardening, email security, Teams governance, SharePoint administration, third-party backup and ongoing helpdesk for every M365 app.
- Licence we recommend
- Microsoft 365 Business Premium. It is the only SMB tier that includes Intune, Defender for Business, Entra ID P1 and Conditional Access.
- Why the tier matters
- Business Basic and Standard leave out Intune, Defender for Business, Conditional Access and Safe Links, so you buy them separately or go without.
- Secure Score
- Most unmanaged tenants score below 40 out of 100. Real Bytes targets 70 or above as the managed baseline.
- Backup
- Microsoft's retention policies are not a backup. Third-party backup covers Exchange, SharePoint, Teams and OneDrive against deletion and ransomware.
- Who delivers it
- Senior Brisbane-based engineers. Real Bytes is a CyberCert Gold MSSP with no offshore call centre.
Your M365 Tenant Is Probably Misconfigured
Microsoft 365 ships with permissive default settings designed for ease of deployment, not security. The average unmanaged tenant has 6 or more critical misconfigurations that attackers actively exploit. Business email compromise, account takeover, and ransomware deployment all start with gaps that could have been closed in minutes.
Real Bytes conducts a free Secure Score review and produces a prioritised remediation plan. We then implement every fix and maintain your security posture on an ongoing basis as Microsoft releases new features and threat actors evolve their tactics.
Common Gaps We Find in Unmanaged Tenants
MFA not enforced on all accounts
CriticalConditional Access policies with MFA enforcement for all users and admins
Legacy authentication protocols enabled
CriticalBlock legacy auth via Conditional Access to prevent credential spray attacks
No email link and attachment scanning
HighDefender for Office 365 Safe Links and Safe Attachments on all mailboxes
Admin accounts used for daily work
HighDedicated admin accounts with Privileged Identity Management (PIM) or PAW
No third-party backup for M365 data
HighAcronis Cyber Protect covering Exchange, SharePoint, Teams, and OneDrive
External sharing unrestricted in SharePoint
MediumTenant-level sharing policies and sensitivity labels on confidential content
Everything M365, Managed End to End
From your first licence to ongoing security, compliance, and administration. Every layer engineered cyber-first, so your team can focus on the work that matters.
Exchange Online & Email Security
Microsoft Defender for Office 365, anti-phishing policies, safe links, safe attachments, DMARC/DKIM/SPF configuration, shared mailbox management, and email archiving. We stop threats before they reach your inbox and ensure your domain cannot be spoofed.
Teams & Collaboration
Teams deployment, governance policies, channel architecture, guest access controls, meeting recording management, and integration with your line-of-business applications. Properly governed Teams prevents data leakage and reduces shadow IT.
Security Hardening & Defender
Microsoft Secure Score optimisation, Conditional Access policies, MFA enforcement, Intune device compliance, Defender for Business configuration, and identity protection. We close the security gaps that default M365 settings leave wide open.
SharePoint & OneDrive
SharePoint intranet design, OneDrive for Business policy, permissions auditing, sensitivity labels, external sharing controls, and document lifecycle management. Your data where you need it, with the access controls to keep it safe.
Licensing Optimisation
Right-sizing your M365 licences so you are not paying for seats that are unused, under-provisioned, or on the wrong tier. Real Bytes audits your current spend, recommends the optimal mix, and manages renewals and assignments on your behalf.
Backup & Compliance
Third-party M365 backup via Acronis Cyber Protect, covering Exchange, SharePoint, Teams, and OneDrive. eDiscovery, retention policies, DLP, and Microsoft Purview compliance configuration for regulatory, legal, and insurance requirements.
Migration Services
Full migrations from Google Workspace, on-premise Exchange, IMAP providers, and legacy platforms. We handle DNS cutover, data transfer, licence provisioning, and user onboarding. Zero data loss, minimal downtime, and a detailed migration runbook.
End-User Training & Adoption
Structured onboarding, phishing simulation campaigns, and ongoing end-user support so your team actually uses M365 effectively. Adoption drives ROI. We ensure the investment you are already making translates into real productivity gains.
Which M365 Licence Do You Need?
Many businesses are on the wrong licence tier, either overpaying for features they do not use, or underpaying and missing critical security capabilities. Real Bytes conducts a licence audit and recommends the right mix for your business.
Microsoft's July 2026 price changes
From 1 July 2026, Business Basic is up 16%, Business Standard up 12%, and Office 365 E3 up 13%. Business Premium is unchanged, which makes it relatively better value now and it is the SKU with the full security stack we already recommend.
Microsoft now also sells bundles with Copilot included: Business Standard with Copilot at AU$35.20 and Business Premium with Copilot at AU$47.90 per user per month ex GST, paid yearly.
If your licences were last reviewed before July, now is the time to re-check the mix.
M365 Business Basic
Entry LevelAU$12.60/user/mo
Monthly subscription, ex GST
Web and mobile access to core apps. Fine for very small teams with minimal security requirements. Not recommended for businesses handling sensitive data.
What's included
Not included
M365 Business Standard
Common ChoiceAU$25.20/user/mo
Monthly subscription, ex GST
Desktop Office apps included, but still missing the full security stack. Many businesses on this tier have significant unmanaged security gaps.
What's included
Not included
M365 Business Premium
RecommendedAU$39.48/user/mo
Monthly subscription, ex GST
The only SMB tier that includes the full security stack. Real Bytes deploys and configures all included security features from day one.
What's included
Full security stack included. Real Bytes recommended.
Why Microsoft 365 Needs a Specialist Managed Service Provider
Microsoft 365 is not a product you deploy once and forget. Security threats evolve, Microsoft releases new features and deprecates old ones, licensing changes every year, and your business grows and changes. Without a managed service provider actively managing your tenant, gaps accumulate silently until a breach makes them visible. As a Brisbane-based managed service provider and CyberCert Gold MSSP, Real Bytes owns that work: configuration, hardening, licensing and the evidence your insurer or auditor asks for.
Why Microsoft 365 needs more than the default settings
The Verizon 2026 DBIR shows identity is still where attackers concentrate effort, and that a growing share of breaches starts inside a tenant that was deployed without hardening. Conditional Access, mailbox auditing and tenant baseline configuration close most of that exposure for Australian SMBs.
Read the Verizon 2026 DBIR38%
38% of SMB breaches started with compromised credentials
MFA on every account that matters is the highest-leverage control left for SMBs.
62%
62% of breaches still involved a human element across all sectors
Identity, awareness and process discipline remain the controllable variables.
16%
16% of breaches started with social engineering, with voice and mobile pretexting on the rise
Voice phishing inside the workday is now common enough to warrant its own playbook.
Source: Verizon 2026 Data Breach Investigations Report. Dataset window Oct 2024 to Nov 2025. 31,000+ incidents and 22,000+ confirmed breaches across 145 countries.
Microsoft 365: Common Questions
Specialist work that sits inside the Microsoft 365 engagement
SharePoint Support
Intranet architecture, permissions auditing, sensitivity labels, external sharing controls, and document lifecycle for Australian businesses already running SharePoint Online.
Google Workspace Management
For clients staying on Google Workspace or running a hybrid environment. Identity, mail flow, drive permissions, and migration paths to M365 when ready.
Mac Device Management
Apple device enrolment in Intune, configuration profiles, FileVault enforcement, and Defender for Endpoint on macOS for creative and engineering teams.
Make your Microsoft 365 investment actually work.
Talk to a senior engineer. We look at what is switched on in your Microsoft 365 today, compare it with the Essential Eight and what cyber insurers ask for, and give you a list of what to fix first.
Australian engineers supporting businesses in every state, from Brisbane and Hobart to Perth.