MFA not enforced on every account

The single most common Microsoft 365 security gap. When MFA isn't enforced through Conditional Access policies — not just enabled as an option — a single stolen password is enough to compromise an account. Account takeovers through password spraying and credential stuffing are the primary attack vector in business email compromise. MFA enforcement closes this window.

Email authentication not configured

DMARC, DKIM, and SPF records protect your domain from impersonation — preventing attackers from sending email that appears to come from your organization. Without these records correctly configured, your domain can be spoofed in phishing campaigns targeting your clients, partners, and employees. Most organizations have SPF configured incorrectly and DMARC not configured at all.

Microsoft Defender for Office 365 not enabled

Microsoft 365 Business Premium includes Defender for Office 365 Plan 1 — with Safe Links, Safe Attachments, and anti-phishing policies. These controls are not enabled by default. Organizations paying for Business Premium are routinely running without the email security controls their subscription includes, because no one ever turned them on.

SharePoint and OneDrive with no governance

Without SharePoint governance policies, file storage becomes ungoverned sprawl — anyone can create sites, share files externally, and expose sensitive documents to people outside the organization. External sharing settings in most Microsoft 365 tenants are set to the most permissive defaults, meaning a single "share" click can expose company documents to anyone with the link.

Guest access not controlled

Microsoft Teams guest access, SharePoint external sharing, and Azure AD B2B collaboration are enabled broadly by default. External users who were granted access for a specific project — and left the organization — often retain access indefinitely because no one is conducting access reviews. AC4S Technologies configures guest access policies and conducts regular reviews to remove stale external access.

No data retention or compliance policies

Organizations in regulated industries — legal, healthcare, financial services — have retention obligations that Microsoft Purview can enforce automatically. Without configured retention policies, content is deleted at will, regulatory obligations aren't met, and eDiscovery requests require manual reconstruction of data that should have been preserved automatically.

Microsoft 365 Business Standard ($12.50/user/month) and Business Premium ($22/user/month) include the same core productivity applications — Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Teams, Exchange, SharePoint, and OneDrive. The difference is the security and device management layer. Business Premium includes Microsoft Defender for Business (endpoint protection), Defender for Office 365 Plan 1 (email security), Intune Plan 1 (device management), and Microsoft Entra ID Premium P1 (Conditional Access). For most SMBs handling sensitive client data, Business Premium's security stack eliminates the need for several separate point security products — making the per-seat premium typically less expensive than the alternative.

The hidden cost of Business Standard is what you add to fill the security gaps it leaves. Endpoint protection, advanced email filtering, device management, and identity governance each require separate products or services when Business Premium's included capabilities aren't available. When you add those point products, Business Standard's lower per-seat price typically disappears. AC4S Technologies helps organizations assess their actual security requirements against what their current Microsoft 365 subscription provides — and configure everything their subscription already includes before recommending any additional spending. AC4S Technologies also manages your licensing so you're not paying for seats you don't use or missing capabilities you should have.