Common Microsoft 365 Setup Issues DM1 Fixes

WHAT GOES WRONG

Staff access Microsoft 365 with a username and password only. One compromised password — from a phishing email, a data breach, or a weak choice — gives an attacker full access to business email, files and contacts from anywhere in the world. This is the most common and most dangerous finding DM1 makes.

WHAT DM1 DOES

DM1 enforces MFA for all user accounts using Microsoft Entra security defaults or Conditional Access policies. Staff are guided through setting up the Microsoft Authenticator app on their phone. Takes less than an hour to implement across a typical Perth SMB.

WHAT GOES WRONG

Without correct SPF, DKIM and DMARC records in your domain's DNS, your emails go to spam, your domain can be spoofed by attackers, and you have no visibility into who's sending email on your behalf. DM1 finds at least one of these three records missing or misconfigured in the majority of new client tenants.

WHAT DM1 DOES

DM1 audits your DNS records using independent verification tools, configures SPF, DKIM and DMARC in your DNS zone, verifies email delivery through major providers, and moves DMARC to enforcement mode once SPF and DKIM are confirmed working.

WHAT GOES WRONG

When a staff member leaves without a proper IT offboarding, their Microsoft 365 account often stays active. This means their email still receives messages, their OneDrive files remain accessible to anyone with their password, and your business is paying for a licence for an account no-one is managing.

WHAT DM1 DOES

DM1 audits every account in your tenant against your current staff list. Former employee accounts are identified, their data is retained and transferred to a nominated account, and the licence is removed. Done correctly, this typically takes 15–30 minutes per account.

WHAT GOES WRONG

Shared mailboxes — such as reception@, info@, accounts@ — do not require a paid Microsoft 365 licence in most configurations. DM1 regularly finds these accounts assigned Business Standard or Business Premium licences, costing Perth businesses A$22.44–$39.48/user/month + GST for accounts that should be free.

WHAT DM1 DOES

DM1 converts incorrectly licenced shared mailboxes to proper shared mailbox configuration in Exchange Online, removes the unnecessary licence, and confirms access is maintained for all staff who need it. The saving is immediate — applied to the next billing cycle.

WHAT GOES WRONG

Without a proper SharePoint document library structure, businesses end up with files scattered across email attachments, individual OneDrive accounts, local desktop folders and USB drives. There's no central version control, no shared access, and no ability to find anything quickly.

WHAT DM1 DOES

DM1 designs and builds a SharePoint document library structure that reflects the business — departments, projects, client folders — and migrates existing files into it. Staff are shown how to access SharePoint from Outlook, Teams and the web. File chaos is one of the most impactful problems DM1 fixes.

WHAT GOES WRONG

Staff on Business Standard or Premium licences are entitled to the full desktop Office apps — Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, OneNote. DM1 regularly finds businesses where staff are running old versions of Office that they purchased separately, or are using web apps only — unaware that full desktop apps are included.

WHAT DM1 DOES

DM1 checks the activation status of Microsoft 365 Apps on all staff devices, installs and activates the full desktop suite where it's missing, and removes old standalone Office installations that may conflict. Staff immediately gain access to the latest versions including Copilot Chat features.

WHAT GOES WRONG

Without Conditional Access, your Microsoft 365 tenant can be accessed from any device, on any network, from any country in the world — including by a staff member's personal device that has never been reviewed by IT, or by an attacker using a compromised password from overseas.

WHAT DM1 DOES

DM1 implements a baseline set of Conditional Access policies appropriate for the business size and risk profile — typically requiring MFA, blocking legacy authentication protocols, and flagging risky sign-ins for review. For Business Premium clients, device compliance requirements are added via Intune.

WHAT GOES WRONG

Microsoft 365's default Teams and SharePoint configuration is generic. Without customisation, businesses end up with Teams used only for chat, SharePoint files stored in default document libraries with no structure, and staff using personal cloud storage or email attachments for everything else.

WHAT DM1 DOES

DM1 designs a Teams channel structure and SharePoint library architecture that reflects how the business actually works — projects, departments, client files. Tabs for Planner, Lists and Forms are added where relevant. Staff are trained in the new structure in a single session.