Five practical Microsoft 365 checks for small organizations

A short administrative review can uncover risks and unnecessary costs before they become larger problems.

1. Review privileged roles

Confirm that Global Administrator and other privileged roles are assigned only to the people who genuinely require them.

2. Review inactive accounts

Disabled and departed-user accounts should be handled through a consistent offboarding process, including access removal, mailbox decisions, and license recovery.

3. Check licensing

Compare active users, assigned licenses, shared mailboxes, and actual service requirements. This can reveal unused subscriptions or incorrect assignments.

4. Review shared resources

Shared mailboxes, Teams, SharePoint sites, and Microsoft 365 Groups should have clear owners and a documented purpose.

5. Validate security basics

Review multifactor authentication, suspicious sign-ins, mail protection, administrator accounts, and device-management settings.