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Microsoft 365 Masterplan

At String, technology and innovation are in our DNA. As trusted Microsoft specialists since 1997, we know working smarter starts with the right tools — and the right people by your side.
Microsoft 365 isn’t just a subscription; it’s a powerful suite of apps and cloud services that help your teams work better, anywhere. From Word and Excel to secure storage, real-time collaboration and smart analytics, it’s everything you need to stay productive and flexible.

But the real magic happens when you make it yours. We help you adapt, customise and integrate Microsoft 365 — streamlining workflows, boosting security and unlocking real business value.
Whether you’re stuck with internal bottlenecks or ready to scale fast, we’ll help you drive growth and keep your data safe.

Change never stops — with String and Microsoft 365, you’re ready for it.

What is Microsoft 365?

Microsoft 365 is the essential toolkit for modern businesses. Once known as Office 365, it’s a subscription service that gives you secure access to Microsoft’s trusted productivity apps — plus intelligent cloud services for storage, collaboration and security.
More than just Word, Excel and PowerPoint, Microsoft 365 helps your teams work smarter and stay connected, anytime and anywhere. Used well, it can unlock new efficiencies, boost growth and keep your organisation ready for whatever comes next.

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What’s included with 365?

Productivity Apps

Microsoft 365 brings you the trusted Office apps you rely on every day — Word for documents, Excel for data and spreadsheets, PowerPoint for presentations, Outlook for email and calendars, and OneNote for digital notetaking. Some plans also include Access and Publisher for specialised tasks on PC.

Cloud Storage

Each subscription includes secure OneDrive cloud storage, giving you plenty of space for files, photos and shared documents — accessible anytime, anywhere.

Collaboration & Flexibility

Work together in real time, co-author documents, and stay connected with Microsoft Teams for chat, meetings and video calls. Plus, use your apps on multiple PCs, Macs, tablets and phones — work wherever you need to.

Smart, AI-powered Tools

Unlock built-in AI features like Copilot to help you write, design and analyse data faster — saving time and boosting productivity.

Security & Peace of Mind

Microsoft 365 keeps your business protected with advanced security features, including data encryption, device management, and ransomware protection for your files.

Plans for Everyone

From Personal and Family subscriptions to Business and Enterprise solutions, Microsoft 365 offers flexible plans tailored to different needs and budgets — all supported by String’s expert guidance.

Your Business Development Journey with String

01

Step 1: Discover & Plan

We start by listening. We get to know your business inside and out — understanding your goals, challenges and existing systems. Together, we design a clear plan for how Microsoft 365 can drive real impact where you need it most.
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Step 2: Deploy & Transition

Next, we handle the rollout — migrating your data securely, setting up apps, and making sure every user is ready to hit the ground running. We’ll do the heavy lifting so you can stay focused on your day-to-day.
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Step 3: Equip & Empower

Our experts train and support your people, so they feel confident using Microsoft 365’s powerful tools to their fullest. We make sure no one’s left behind.
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Step 4: Tailor & Optimise

Out-of-the-box is just the beginning. We customise and integrate Microsoft 365 to fit your workflows perfectly — streamlining tasks, connecting systems and boosting productivity where it matters most.
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Step 5: Protect & Govern

Your peace of mind is our priority. We help you put strong security and governance in place — protecting your data, devices and people while staying compliant.
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Step 6: Grow & Evolve

The journey doesn’t stop once you’re up and running. With String by your side, you can tap into ongoing insights, unlock new features and adapt as your business grows — turning Microsoft 365 into a foundation for lasting success.

The Benefits of Microsoft 365

At String, we believe the right tools should make your work easier, not harder. Microsoft 365 does just that — giving your business the flexibility, security and productivity you need to stay ahead. Here’s how:

Enhanced Productivity & Collaboration

Microsoft 365 gives your people access to the latest Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook — so creating documents, managing data and staying connected is simple and reliable. Real-time co-authoring means your teams can work together on files simultaneously, avoiding version headaches and boosting efficiency. With 1TB of OneDrive storage per user, files are securely stored in the cloud and accessible anytime, anywhere. And with Microsoft Teams, your people can chat, meet and collaborate in one easy place — wherever they’re working from.

Improved Security & Smarter Management

Security is built in, not bolted on. Microsoft 365 offers robust protection features like access controls, email safeguards and device management, helping you keep sensitive data safe from threats. Identity and access management tools make it easy to control who sees what, and features like OneDrive and Teams mean your team can work securely from anywhere — perfect for flexible and remote working.

Cost-Effective & Scalable

With Microsoft 365’s subscription model, you get a complete suite of powerful tools without needing separate costly software or hardware. It scales with your business as you grow, cutting IT overheads and streamlining workflows for more efficient, cost-effective operations. Video conferencing and remote access can also help reduce unnecessary travel costs.

Growth & Competitive Advantage

Flexible working powered by Microsoft 365 isn’t just good for productivity — it’s an attractive perk for attracting and retaining top talent. Tools like Teams and Outlook help build stronger connections with your customers, while streamlined workflows and better collaboration help your business stand out for all the right reasons. In short, Microsoft 365 gives you the tools, security and flexibility to work smarter, move faster and grow stronger — and with String as your partner, you’ll get the very best from it, every step of the way.
The Sporting House – Microsoft 365 Cloud

Microsoft 365 Cloud Technologies Help Drive Olympian Levels of Success

Challenge

Whilst Sporting House had enjoyed rapid growth, their strategy was to significantly accelerate this. They were also acutely aware that their then IT service model was inadequate to support their ambitious plans for a number of reasons.

Solution

String worked with Sporting House to develop a new Microsoft cloud-centric IT strategy, that would leverage Microsoft 365 to support their wider business strategy.
“ We selected String because of their clear understanding of our strategic requirements, and were able to articulate how they, and Microsoft technologies could help us to achieve these. Our relationship with String has proven an extremely rewarding one, and we look forward to continuing to work closely with them moving forwards.”
Lee Cunliffe
Finance Director, The Sporting House
Jones Harris Chartered Accountants

Microsoft Hybrid Cloud Technologies Drive Paperless, Secure & Remote Office

Challenge

Jones Harris wanted to move to a fully paperless operation, without any interruption to the business. The company had a major dependency on a local Microsoft SQL Server database for their line-of-business applications, which limited their choices in terms of a potential cloud-only solution.

Solution

String worked with Jones Harris to help them adopt a hybrid-cloud solution, providing the optimal blend of Microsoft 365 cloud services, with the high performance computing power required by their LoB. Jones Harris now make full use of Microsoft's Power Platform, utilising Power BI for business intelligence, and Power Automate for business process automation.
“ String worked very closely with our internal guys, planning it out, mapping it out. There was absolutely no break in service, we were expecting there to be a few bugs, but it was a really smooth and impressive operation to get everything across and migrated. Absolutely top notch work, the String team!”
Martin Wigley
Director, Jones Harris Chartered Accountants
Ludlow Wealth Management - Azure Virtual Desktop

Access to Key Line of Business Applications Hosted on Microsoft Azure

Challenge

The increasing demand for online meetings, driven by the Covid crisis, meant that the Remote Desktop Solution was unable to provide an acceptable user experience. When the time came to refresh their IT infrastructure, we worked with the Ludlow team to ensure that the next upgrade cycle would address the changing end-user requirements, while further enhancing their cyber security and providing a high degree of scalability to cope with their ongoing growth.

Solution

Working with Ludlow, we produced a business case that showed that moving to Microsoft's Azure Virtual Desktop solution, and hosting their LoB application on Microsoft Azure would provide a more secure, cost-effective alternative to purchasing a physical server cluster. Their LoB application was migrated to Azure, and presented to end-users as a Published Application, removing the need for them to connect to a separate virtual desktop to access the app. Azure Backup was used to provide backup and business continuity and to further enhance Microsoft's already robust resilience measures.
“ String has consistently provided us with innovative IT solutions, without compromising our cyber security. The whole team are a pleasure to work with, and we consider them a trusted extension to our own team.”
Rob Brown
Chief Operating Officer, Ludlow Wealth Management Group
One Fylde - Microsoft Modern Workplace

Identifying Microsoft Modern Workplace as the Best Choice for the Client

Challenge

Following a merger between two organisations, our client found themselves with a disjointed IT service that comprised two large on-premise data centres, various security technologies, and a variety of remote access solutions. The result was a costly, difficult to manage IT infrastructure, with a poor user experience due to a lack of standardisation in the way IT was used. Of concern was that, as a large care provider, the client was responsible for the safe-keeping of a large amount of personal medical and financial data. Plus, users had become used to creating work-arounds to allow them to access and share sensitive information. The complexity of the IT infrastructure also meant they were suffering frequent service outages.

Solution

We discussed the opportunity for them to move away from their large, unwieldy on-premises infrastructure and instead to move to a wholly Microsoft cloud-based IT service. From our early discussions it was clear that such a move would allow us to radically re-imagine their approach to document and information management, business processes, and information security. The concept was embraced enthusiastically by the client, and it was agreed to move on to an initial business case analysis exercise. Firstly, however, we were engaged to stabilise the existing infrastructure, and to address the inadequate business continuity provision. The move to Microsoft Modern Workplace has allowed One Fylde to ensure data is more secure and improve workplace processes. All 400 users were able to access all relevant documents securely from any location. And the client can now enjoy the very latest in innovations from Microsoft on almost a weekly cycle.
“ One Fylde started to work with String at a time where our IT infrastructure was causing problems almost on a daily basis. The problems were meaning staff couldn't do their job to support people with learning disabilities in the way we wanted. String became involved with us and worked as a 'real' partner, feeling like part of the team to solve the immediate problem and with an eye to a longer-term more sustainable solution. We are now in a position where I can sleep at night and our staff are seeing the benefit of the huge amount of work that has gone on. And on a seperate note the whole team at String are really friendly, personable and supportive, working with us and continuing to support us to look at the future. ”
Tracey Bush
CEO, One Fylde

Insights

Our Microsoft 365 insights

Read more of our case studies and guides to understand how Microsoft 365 could help to streamline your business and enhance your team's productivity.
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Microsoft 365

FAQ's

Are Microsoft 365 and Office 365 the same?

In short — yes and no! Office 365 was the original name for Microsoft’s cloud-based suite of productivity apps. In 2020, Microsoft rebranded most Office 365 plans as Microsoft 365 to better reflect all the extra tools and services now included — like Teams, OneDrive cloud storage, advanced security and more.
So, if you’re familiar with Office 365, Microsoft 365 will feel very similar — just with even more ways to help your people work smarter, stay connected and get more done.

Which Microsoft 365 subscription is required for Copilot?

Microsoft Copilot is an exciting AI-powered tool designed to help you work smarter — but it’s not included in every Microsoft 365 plan by default.
Right now, Copilot is available with certain Microsoft 365 Business and Enterprise plans, and often requires an additional licence or add-on.
To get Copilot, you’ll usually need a plan like Microsoft 365 Business Standard, Business Premium, or one of the Enterprise tiers (E3 or E5) — plus the Copilot add-on.

What is the difference between Microsoft 365 and Azure?

It’s a great question — and one we hear often!

Microsoft 365 is all about giving your people the tools they need to work productively — it includes familiar Office apps like Word, Excel, and Outlook, plus cloud storage with OneDrive and collaboration tools like Teams. It’s designed for day-to-day productivity, communication and secure file sharing.

Microsoft Azure, on the other hand, is Microsoft’s cloud computing platform. Think of it as the foundation for building, hosting and managing applications and services in the cloud. Azure provides the infrastructure and tools businesses need to run servers, host websites, store big data, develop apps, use AI and more — all securely and at scale.

In short – Microsoft 365 powers how you work, while Azure powers what you build and run behind the scenes. And with String as your partner, you can make the most of both.

How many devices can I use Microsoft 365 on?

One of the great benefits of Microsoft 365 is its flexibility. Each user can install the apps on multiple devices — including PCs, Macs, tablets and smartphones.

So whether you’re working from your laptop at the office, your tablet at home or your phone on the go, you’ll always have secure access to your files and tools wherever you need them.

How secure is Microsoft 365?

Security is a top priority for Microsoft 365 — and for us too. Microsoft 365 comes with built-in security features like advanced threat protection, data encryption, access controls and regular security updates.

It also includes tools to help you manage users, protect devices and safeguard sensitive information from cyber threats. With String by your side, we’ll help you configure it all properly, so you can work confidently knowing your data is protected.

How does Microsoft 365 help remote or hybrid teams?

Microsoft 365 is designed for the modern, flexible workplace. Tools like Microsoft Teams keep everyone connected through chat, video meetings and file sharing — no matter where they’re working from.

OneDrive ensures your files are securely stored in the cloud and easy to access from any device. Real-time co-authoring in apps like Word and Excel makes it simple for people to collaborate without version chaos. In short: Microsoft 365 helps your team stay productive, connected and secure — whether they’re in the office, at home or on the move.

Is Sharepoint part of/ included with 365?

Yes — SharePoint is part of many Microsoft 365 plans!
SharePoint is Microsoft’s powerful tool for creating secure intranet sites, managing documents and sharing information across teams. With Microsoft 365, you get SharePoint Online included in most Business and Enterprise subscriptions — so you can build internal sites, manage content and collaborate seamlessly alongside tools like Teams, OneDrive and the familiar Office apps.

At String, we help you get the very best out of SharePoint — whether that’s building a smart intranet, organising your files or connecting your teams more efficiently than ever.

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