How fast can you respond to a SharePoint production outage?

Support-plan customers get a 15-minute acknowledgement on severity-1 outages through the on-call rotation, with an engineer actively troubleshooting inside 60 minutes twenty-four hours a day. Severity-1 is reserved for tenant-wide inaccessibility, authentication failure, data loss, or search index corruption affecting production business processes. Severity-2 (feature broken for a specific department) is acknowledged inside one business hour. For ad-hoc emergency engagements without an existing contract, an engineer can typically be on a bridge within two hours during US business hours after the engagement agreement is signed. Every incident produces a written root-cause analysis within five business days, including the Microsoft 365 Service Health correlation ID where applicable, change-management entries reviewed, and a hardening recommendation so the same issue does not recur.

What does a tenant-to-tenant SharePoint migration look like?

Tenant-to-tenant migrations run in four phases. Discovery inventories every site collection, OneDrive, Teams, Planner plan, group calendar, and permission assignment, and maps source-to-target identities. Pre-migration remediation fixes unsupported items — external sharing links, orphaned permissions, oversize files, legacy InfoPath forms, and classic workflows — before the first byte moves. Migration executes in waves grouped by business unit, using a combination of ShareGate, Quest On Demand, or native Microsoft cross-tenant tooling depending on scope, content types, and identity model. Cutover runs on a weekend window with delta-sync passes on Friday evening and Sunday morning. Post-migration includes URL mapping for internal links, email communication to end users, guest-access re-invites, and a 30-day hypercare period where an engineer triages every reported issue inside the same day.

How is a SharePoint consulting engagement priced?

Three models fit most organizations. Fixed-fee project pricing works for scoped deliverables — a migration, an intranet rebuild, a branding refresh, or a governance rollout — where requirements can be documented up front. Time-and-materials applies to exploratory work and long-tail enhancements where the backlog changes monthly. Retainer support (priced in hours-per-month tiers from 20 to 200 hours) covers ongoing administration, ticket handling, minor customizations, user training, and emergency response with a guaranteed SLA. Migration scope is typically priced per seat or per gigabyte depending on complexity. Every proposal itemizes what is and is not included, so procurement teams can baseline the quote against competing bids. Microsoft 365 license costs are quoted separately and are not marked up.

Do you support SharePoint Framework (SPFx) custom development?

Yes. SPFx work includes web parts, extensions, field customizers, application customizers, and adaptive card extensions targeting the modern Viva Connections surface. Build pipelines run on Node LTS aligned to the current SPFx generator, with solution packaging, CDN hosting on SharePoint Online or Azure Front Door, and automated deployment through the App Catalog. Every solution ships with accessibility testing (WCAG 2.1 AA), localization hooks, and logging to Application Insights so production issues are traceable. Legacy full-trust or sandbox solutions are refactored onto SPFx using a documented migration pattern rather than a rewrite-from-scratch assumption. Where modern features cannot fully replace a legacy customization, the delta is surfaced early in discovery so stakeholders can decide between a Power Platform alternative, a Graph API solution, or a redesigned business process.

How do you design SharePoint information architecture at scale?

Modern SharePoint is a flat architecture built from hub sites, not nested site collections. Design starts with a persona-driven inventory of content audiences and the tasks they perform, not an org-chart mirror. Hub sites group content by business capability (HR, Finance, Project Delivery, Customer) with a consistent navigation pattern, shared theme, and associated audience targeting. Managed metadata and site columns enforce tagging where taxonomy matters — retention, records, regulated content — while labels in Microsoft Purview drive compliance automation. Search is tuned with promoted results, refiners, and result sources so users find content in fewer clicks. Every site template is published as a site design with a PnP provisioning template, so new sites inherit branding, security, and structure automatically rather than drifting from the standard within three months.

How do you secure SharePoint and enforce Microsoft 365 governance?

Governance is written, published, and enforced by tenant policy — not by tribal knowledge. External sharing is restricted at the tenant and per-site level, with sensitivity labels controlling which sites accept guest access and which block it. Conditional access policies require compliant devices for privileged roles, and risky sign-ins trigger step-up authentication. Microsoft Purview delivers DLP for content in motion, retention labels for records management, and Communication Compliance for regulated industries. SharePoint Advanced Management surfaces oversharing reports, inactive site detection, and restricted-access control for high-value sites. Every tenant gets a written governance charter covering provisioning workflow, naming standards, site lifecycle, backup and restore responsibilities, and the audit cadence. Quarterly governance reviews track policy drift and adjust controls against emerging Microsoft 365 features.

What are the options for migrating from SharePoint on-premises?

SharePoint 2013, 2016, and 2019 all move to SharePoint Online, but the migration path depends on starting version, customization footprint, and data volume. Native Microsoft migration tools cover the majority of document libraries, lists, and permissions. SharePoint Migration Tool handles straightforward farms; the Migration Manager agent model suits large distributed environments. Third-party platforms (ShareGate, Quest, AvePoint) are preferred for complex permission remapping, nested content types, or large metadata hierarchies. InfoPath forms, classic workflows, and full-trust code are evaluated case by case and converted to Power Apps, Power Automate, or SPFx. 2013 workflow is retired from Microsoft 365, so migration plans explicitly schedule workflow replacement. Content older than a retention threshold is archived to Microsoft 365 Archive or Azure Storage rather than moved, reducing target footprint by 20–40 percent on average.

Can you integrate Microsoft 365 Copilot with SharePoint content?

Yes, with governance preceding enablement. Copilot surfaces any content a user can already access through SharePoint, OneDrive, and Teams, so permission hygiene and sensitivity labeling have to be completed before enablement — not afterwards. Integration work covers three tracks. First, SharePoint cleanup: oversharing detection, broken-inheritance remediation, restricted SharePoint search for sites still in flight. Second, content enrichment: sensitivity labels applied at scale, retention policies aligned to record classes, and managed metadata reintroduced for high-value libraries so Copilot has better retrieval signals. Third, operational control: DSPM for AI in Microsoft Purview, Copilot audit log review, and ongoing monitoring of AI-generated activity. Each track produces a before-and-after evidence pack so executive sponsors can see that enablement was controlled, not opportunistic.

What qualifications and experience do your consultants have?

Engineers assigned to client engagements hold current Microsoft 365 certifications (Modern Desktop Administrator, Teams Administrator, Identity and Access Administrator, Security Administrator) plus SharePoint-specific depth — multiple people on the bench have supported SharePoint since the 2007 product cycle. The team includes former Microsoft Most Valuable Professionals, community conference speakers, and active contributors to the PnP community initiative. Every consultant rotates through a quarterly internal lab to rehearse outage scenarios, new Microsoft 365 feature rollouts, and hands-on migration drills. Staffing decisions match the engagement profile: compliance-regulated clients are staffed with engineers who have delivered in that exact vertical before, not generalists. Every project has a named technical lead and a named delivery lead so escalation paths are obvious from day one.

Is the support service offered in multiple languages or time zones?

Support coverage spans US Eastern, US Pacific, UK, and Asia-Pacific time zones through a follow-the-sun rotation for retainer clients on the 24/7 tier. Primary support language is English, with working proficiency in Spanish and French available on a best-effort basis. For clients with strict language requirements, a named engineer can be matched for the duration of the engagement. Ticket submission is available through email, a web portal, and a Teams-integrated bot; severity-1 issues additionally escalate to an on-call phone bridge. All tickets are tracked in a shared ITSM platform with visibility for the client, and monthly service reviews report on SLA attainment, ticket volume trends, and any patterns that justify a proactive hardening project rather than repeated break/fix work.

Education

FERPA-Compliant SharePoint for Education

Secure, compliant SharePoint solutions for K-12 schools, colleges, and universities. Enable collaboration, improve student services, and protect sensitive educational records.

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SharePoint for education institutions has to reconcile two very different worlds — a K-12 district running 30,000 student accounts under FERPA and state-level student-data-privacy laws, and a research university running 60,000 faculty, staff, and student accounts with IRB documentation, sponsored-research records, and export-controlled research data. Our team designs SharePoint Online tenants for both, and the information architecture differs sharply. K-12 deployments center on staff intranets, curriculum libraries, student-services portals, and parent-facing communication sites, all governed by FERPA directory-information rules and the accessibility standards required by Section 508, ADA Title II, and WCAG 2.1 AA.

Higher-education tenants add faculty portals, research-collaboration sites, grant-management workflows, and IT-service catalogs that integrate with Canvas, Blackboard, or Brightspace as the LMS system of record. Student records — transcripts, disciplinary files, IEPs — get sensitivity labels, DLP policies, and retention schedules that match the institution's records-management plan and the state education agency's requirements. Migrations from legacy SharePoint 2013 or 2016 farms into Microsoft 365 A5 typically move 8,000 to 40,000 users, hundreds of departmental sites, and thousands of course-related document libraries in windows that avoid semester start and finals week.

Our senior consultants scope the cutover around the academic calendar because a broken faculty portal in week one of the semester creates real problems. Accessibility is not an afterthought — every site template ships with alt-text discipline, heading-structure guidance, and contrast-ratio compliance baked in. Talk to a senior consultant about modernizing your institution's SharePoint environment for FERPA and accessibility from day one.

Education-Specific Capabilities

Purpose-built SharePoint solutions that address the unique collaboration and compliance needs of educational institutions.

FERPA Compliance

Secure student records management with proper access controls, audit trails, and data protection measures.

Learning Management

Course materials distribution, assignment submission, and collaborative learning spaces for students and faculty.

Faculty Collaboration

Department collaboration sites, curriculum development spaces, and research sharing platforms.

Student Portals

Self-service portals for enrollment, grades, financial aid, and campus services.

Education Solutions We Deliver

From student portals to faculty collaboration platforms, we build SharePoint solutions that enhance the educational experience while maintaining compliance.

Student Information Portals
Course Material Libraries
Faculty Collaboration Sites
Research Repository Management
Administrative Document Systems
Committee & Governance Sites
Alumni Engagement Platforms
Accreditation Documentation

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Case Study

State University System

Challenge:

A multi-campus university system needed to modernize their faculty collaboration and student services while maintaining FERPA compliance.

Solution:

Deployed SharePoint Online with custom student portal, faculty collaboration sites, and centralized document management across all campuses.

Results:

85% increase in faculty collaboration
60% reduction in administrative paperwork
Unified platform for 50,000+ students
Full FERPA compliance maintained

Education SharePoint FAQs

Common questions about FERPA compliance and SharePoint for educational institutions.

Is SharePoint FERPA compliant?

Yes, SharePoint can be configured to meet FERPA requirements for protecting student educational records. We implement proper access controls, audit logging, and data protection measures. Microsoft also provides a Data Protection Addendum (DPA) that addresses FERPA requirements for educational institutions.

Can SharePoint integrate with our Student Information System (SIS)?

Yes, SharePoint can integrate with major SIS platforms including PowerSchool, Ellucian Banner, PeopleSoft, and Workday Student through APIs and Power Automate. This enables automated data synchronization, single sign-on, and streamlined workflows between systems.

How do you handle parent access to student records in SharePoint?

We implement controlled external sharing that allows parents to access only their student records through secure guest access. Multi-factor authentication, conditional access, and detailed audit logs ensure appropriate access while maintaining FERPA compliance.

Can SharePoint support distance learning and hybrid education?

Yes, SharePoint integrated with Microsoft Teams provides a complete platform for distance learning. Course materials, assignment submission, discussion forums, and video conferencing can all be managed through the Microsoft 365 education environment.

Do you support K-12 schools and higher education?

Yes, we serve educational institutions at all levels from K-12 to universities and community colleges. Each level has unique needs, and we tailor our implementations accordingly. Microsoft offers special education licensing (A1, A3, A5) with features designed for schools.

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