Microsoft 365 Consulting & Training Services
Three distinct services. One team. Your call.
Whether you need a clear picture of where your Microsoft 365 investment stands, a solution designed and built for your team, or training that actually changes how people work — The 365 Collective delivers each as a complete, standalone engagement. No required sequence. No bundled packages. Just the work your business needs, done by people who have done it before.
Most businesses are already paying for more than they’re using. We find out exactly how much.
Every Microsoft 365 tenant tells a story. A business bought into the platform — for good reasons — deployed the tools it understood, and moved on. Email stayed the primary collaboration channel. SharePoint became a place to put files. Teams got used for meetings and not much else. The licenses renew every year, and the promise of a more connected, more efficient organization remains just out of reach.
An advisory engagement with The 365 Collective starts not with a predetermined solution, but with a genuine attempt to understand what is happening in your environment and why. We talk to the people doing the work — not just the IT administrator. We look at the tenant as it actually exists, not as the deployment guide intended it. And we surface, specifically, where the gap is between what you are paying for and what your organization is actually getting.
The output is a prioritized roadmap with a clear rationale behind every recommendation — weighted against your resources, your timeline, and the business outcomes you are trying to reach. Not a deck of Microsoft best practices repackaged for your logo. A plan built for your organization, your team, and where you are right now.
Common Situations That Bring Clients to an Advisory Engagement
We're paying for Microsoft 365 Business Premium but basically using it as email and a shared drive. We know there's more here — we just don't know where to start.
We deployed Teams and SharePoint two years ago. Adoption never happened. People still email everything. We need someone to tell us why and what to do about it.
We're growing fast. Our current setup worked for 8 people. We're at 30 now and everything is breaking down. We need a governance plan before it gets worse.
Half our team is remote. The other half is in the office. Nobody's happy with how collaboration is working. We need an expert who actually understands distributed teams.
What a Microsoft 365 Assessment Covers
Advisory engagements are scoped to the problem at hand — but the work typically spans several connected areas. We look at technology, process, and people together, because a gap in adoption is rarely just a technology problem.
License & Subscription Audit
Are you paying for capabilities your team isn't using?
We map your active Microsoft 365 licenses against real usage data — identifying underutilized subscriptions, redundant third-party tools that Microsoft 365 already replaces, and opportunities to right-size your investment without losing capability.
SharePoint & Teams Architecture Review
Is your environment structured in a way that scales?
We assess how your SharePoint sites, Teams workspaces, and OneDrive environments are organized — identifying permission sprawl, structural decisions that create long-term maintenance problems, and governance gaps that leave your data exposed.
Workflow & Process Analysis
Where is technology creating friction instead of removing it?
We map the way your team actually works today — the email chains, the manual handoffs, the spreadsheets doing the work of a real system — and identify specifically where Microsoft 365 tools can replace that friction with automation, structure, or a better process.
Security & Compliance Review
Do you know where your tenant is exposed?
We review your Microsoft 365 tenant's security configuration against current best practices — covering identity and access management in Microsoft Entra ID, data protection policies in Microsoft Purview, sharing settings, and conditional access configuration.
Remote & Hybrid Work Readiness
Is your Microsoft 365 environment actually built for distributed teams?
With nearly 20 years of remote work experience across distributed organizations, we assess whether your environment supports the way remote and hybrid teams actually operate — or whether it was built for an in-office model that no longer reflects how your people work.
Adoption & Change Readiness Assessment
Why isn't your team using the tools you've already deployed?
Technology adoption failures are rarely technology problems. We assess the organizational, training, and change management factors driving low adoption — and give you a concrete plan for closing the gap between deployment and actual use.
What You Receive at the End of an Advisory Engagement
Every advisory engagement ends with a tangible deliverable — a written assessment, a prioritized roadmap, a set of specific recommendations with implementation guidance, or a combination of all three. The work product is yours. You can act on it with us, with your internal team, or with another partner. We have no interest in creating a dependency — only in leaving you with a clearer picture of where you stand and what to do next.
Every solution starts with a problem — not a technology.
The first question in any build engagement is never which Microsoft 365 tool we should use. It is how does this process actually work today, and where does it break? The technology follows from the answer. Sometimes that leads to a Power Automate flow that eliminates four hours of manual work every Monday morning. Sometimes it leads to a SharePoint document library built with a metadata structure that cuts file retrieval from five minutes to fifteen seconds. Sometimes it leads to a fully custom Power App that replaces a spreadsheet five people are editing simultaneously from three different locations.
What it never leads to is a solution built around what is easiest to deploy instead of what actually solves the problem. We work across the full spectrum of Microsoft 365 implementation — from configuration and process design to custom development — and we apply the same standard of work regardless of where a project sits on that spectrum. A well-built SharePoint environment is not less valuable than a custom Power App. Both take expertise. Both require getting the details right.
We step in wherever your team’s capabilities run out — at the beginning of a project, in the middle when something is not working, or at the end when you need someone to validate the work before it goes live. Every engagement ends with a solution that works in your environment, documentation your team can reference, and the knowledge transfer to maintain what we built.
Real Problems We Solve
Our approval process runs through email. It takes two weeks, loses things constantly, and nobody knows where a request stands. We need this to actually work.
We have field crews reporting work on paper forms that get transcribed into a spreadsheet every Friday. There has to be a better way to do this.
Our SharePoint is a mess. Nobody can find anything. Documents live in seventeen different places. We need someone to fix it properly so it stays fixed.
We run our entire business on spreadsheets. Client records, project tracking, inventory, approvals — all of it lives in Excel files shared back and forth by email. We know it isn't sustainable. Three people edited the same file last week and now nobody knows which version is right. We just don't know what to replace it with or where to start.
We want to use Microsoft 365 Copilot but our data isn't organized in a way that makes it useful. Before we turn it on, we need the foundation to be right.
Microsoft 365 Implementation Capabilities
SharePoint Online
Intranet design, team sites, document libraries, metadata architecture, permissions, search
We design and build SharePoint environments that people actually use — with an information architecture built for how your team works, not how the Microsoft documentation assumes they do. That includes intranet portals, department sites, document management systems, and the governance framework that keeps them organized as the organization grows.
Power Apps
Canvas apps, model-driven apps, mobile solutions, Dataverse-backed systems
Canvas apps for frontline workers who need a mobile interface that works in the field. Model-driven apps for data-heavy business processes that require structured workflows, views, and relationships. We build Power Apps that replace paper forms, spreadsheets, and legacy systems — without replacing the underlying Microsoft 365 infrastructure your business already runs on.
Power Automate
Approval workflows, automated notifications, system integrations, scheduled processes
From a single-step notification flow to a complex multi-stage approval process with branching logic, escalations, and cross-system data movement — we design and build Power Automate workflows that run reliably. We document every flow so your team understands what it does and can maintain it without calling us.
Power BI
Operational dashboards, executive reporting, data visualization
Reports and dashboards connected to your Microsoft 365 data, business systems, and operational data sources. We design Power BI solutions around the decisions your leadership team actually needs to make — not the data your system happens to export.
AI Agents & Microsoft Copilot
Copilot Studio agents, declarative agents, knowledge-grounded AI in your tenant
Custom AI agents built in Microsoft Copilot Studio and deployed within your Microsoft 365 tenant — grounded in your organization's data, documents, and knowledge base. We design agents that solve specific, well-defined business problems: answering policy questions, qualifying leads, routing requests, summarizing documents. Not demos. Working solutions.
Microsoft Teams
Team structure, channel governance, app deployment, meeting configuration
A Teams environment left to grow on its own becomes ungovernable within months. We design and implement Teams architecture with a governance framework built in from the start — covering team and channel structure, naming conventions, membership policies, and the settings that determine how your organization communicates and stores information.
OneDrive & Document Management
Sync configuration, sharing policy, document management strategy
We establish clear boundaries between personal files in OneDrive and shared organizational content in SharePoint — including sync configuration, sharing policy governance, and the training that makes the distinction stick. Most organizations blur this line. It always creates problems eventually.
Migration & Modernization
On-premises SharePoint, Dropbox, Google Drive, shared drives, file servers
Migration from on-premises SharePoint, network file servers, Dropbox, Google Drive, and other platforms into Microsoft 365. We plan, execute, and validate migrations — restructuring content and metadata in transit where needed, not just lifting files from one location and dropping them in another.
Training that was built for your team — not assembled for a catalog.
There is a specific kind of frustration that comes from sitting through a Microsoft 365 training session where the instructor’s screen looks nothing like yours. The menu is in the wrong place. A feature they are demonstrating is not available in your subscription. The lab exercise is built against a demo tenant with a fictional company’s data instead of the workflows your team runs every day. You spend the session translating — trying to map what you are seeing to what you actually need to do — and somewhere in the middle you lose the thread entirely.
That translation layer is where adoption dies. Your team walked out technically informed and practically no better equipped to work differently. The tool looks the same. The old habits come right back. Six months later someone asks why the rollout never really took hold.
We design every program around your organization specifically — your Microsoft 365 tenant, your deployed tools, your workflows, and your team’s culture. That last point matters more than most training providers acknowledge. A twelve-person healthcare practice with a tight-knit staff and low tolerance for disruption needs a completely different approach than a forty-person logistics firm onboarding new employees every month. The tools might be identical. The way we teach them is not. We meet every client where they are — in terms of technical readiness, organizational culture, and appetite for change — and we design the training to fit that reality, not an idealized version of it.
The timeliness of the content matters as much as its relevance. Microsoft 365 updates continuously — interfaces change, features move, and labs written against last year’s platform quietly stop working without anyone updating the curriculum. We build every program at time of delivery, against the version of Microsoft 365 that is live in your tenant. What your team receives is current, specific, and built for the way your organization uses the platform today.
We rolled out Microsoft Teams eight months ago. Half the staff still sends everything by email. The tools are there — the behavior never changed. We need training that actually shifts how people work, not another walkthrough of the ribbon.
We have Microsoft 365 Copilot and our team is using it — but nobody is getting results that actually save them time. They ask generic questions and get generic answers. We need training that teaches people HOW to direct AI effectively. Not what Copilot can do — how to use it well.
We hire 15 new employees a year and the onboarding experience is completely inconsistent. It depends entirely on whoever happens to be available that week. We need a repeatable program we own and can run ourselves going forward.
Our Power Platform developers are self-taught. They can build things that work — but we know there are better patterns and approaches they aren't aware of. We need a structured program that fills in the gaps and levels everyone up.
Small Business Owners
Frontline Workers
Information Workers
Power Users
Admins
Quick Reference Guides & User Guides
Single-page or short-form reference materials built for your environment — not a generic product walkthrough. Designed to live on a desk, a second monitor, or a shared SharePoint page.
Onboarding Materials
Role-specific onboarding programs for new employees. Covers the tools they will use from day one, the way your organization has configured them, and the workflows they will be expected to follow.
Lunch & Learn Sessions
Focused 60–90 minute sessions on a single tool or topic, designed to fit inside a workday without displacing it. Delivered live — not a recording.
Instructor-Led Virtual Training
Live, facilitated training sessions delivered via Microsoft Teams with real-time interaction and Q&A. Available to clients across the US, Canada, Europe, and Australia.
Onsite Delivery
In-person training at your location. Best for complex, multi-day programs or teams where in-person instruction produces meaningfully better adoption outcomes.
Multi-Day Programs with Hands-On Labs
Full curriculum programs combining instruction with guided lab exercises. Labs are built against your environment or our dedicated lab tenant.
What You Receive
All training materials — slide decks, lab guides, quick reference cards, facilitator guides, and exercise files — are branded for your organization and become your property upon delivery. You are not licensing content you cannot modify or reuse. You own it outright. Every new employee hired after the training date benefits from the same program at no additional cost.
You know what you’re trying to do. Sometimes you just need to talk it through with someone who has done it before.
Coaching is not training. It is not a consulting engagement. It sits in the space between — focused, responsive, expert guidance on a specific problem your team is working through right now. No curriculum. No formal deliverable. No retainer. Just a conversation with someone who has seen your exact situation before and can tell you, plainly, what works and what does not.
A coaching engagement typically starts with one question: How should we structure our Planner boards for a team of twelve? What is the right permission model for this SharePoint site before we roll it out? We are thinking about moving our approval process into Power Automate — where do we start? We work through it together in a focused session — you leave with a clear direction, and your team builds. Two weeks later we reconvene. You show us what you built, share what is working and what is not, and we advise on the adjustments. That is a complete coaching cycle. For many organizations, it is exactly the level of support they need — and exactly the right use of outside expertise.
Coaching works best when you have internal capability and just need an expert in the room — someone who validates your approach, redirects you before you build something that will cause problems downstream, and accelerates what would otherwise take months of trial and error on your own. Sessions are typically an hour or less and billed at our standard hourly consulting rate. You pay for the time you actually use — nothing more, nothing less. Most clients engage over a series of two to six sessions spanning a few weeks, then check back in as new questions arise.
Common Coaching Situations
We want to use Planner to manage our team’s work. We have tried setting it up ourselves a couple of times and it never sticks. Can you look at how we are thinking about it and tell us where we are going wrong?
I am the IT manager and I am trying to figure out how to structure our SharePoint permissions before we roll out to the whole company. I just need someone to walk through our plan and tell me if we are headed in the right direction — or not.
We built a Power Automate flow and it works — but we think there is a smarter way to do it. Can you review it with us before we build the next ten flows the same way?
I am the business owner and I handle our Microsoft 365 admin myself. I am in over my head on a few specific things and just need a couple of focused hours with someone who actually knows the platform — without committing to a full engagement.
Not sure which service fits?
Tell us what you are trying to solve. We will give you a straight answer about whether it is an Advise, Build, Train, or Coaching engagement — and what it would actually take to get there.
Start a ConversationFrequently Asked Questions
Common Questions
What Microsoft 365 services does The 365 Collective offer?
The 365 Collective offers four service types: Advise (environment assessments, governance reviews, roadmaps, and remote work readiness), Build (SharePoint, Power Apps, Power Automate, Power BI, Microsoft Teams, AI agents, Copilot Studio, and migrations), Train (bespoke instructor-led programs across all Microsoft 365 products), and Coaching (focused one-on-one or small-group sessions for specific problems billed at hourly rates).
What is the difference between a consulting engagement and a coaching session?
A consulting engagement is a scoped project — an assessment, a build, or a training program with defined deliverables. A coaching session is focused, short-form guidance on a specific question or problem. Coaching is billed at our standard hourly rate. You pay for the time you actually need — nothing more.
Do you only do custom development, or do you also help with out-of-the-box Microsoft 365 tools?
We work across the full spectrum — from organizing a SharePoint document library and mapping a business process in Planner, to building fully custom Power Apps and AI agents in Copilot Studio. Build does not mean custom development. It means we design and implement the right solution for your situation, whatever that looks like.
How long does a Microsoft 365 consulting engagement typically take?
It depends entirely on the scope. An advisory assessment typically runs two to four weeks. A SharePoint environment build or Power Automate workflow engagement might run four to eight weeks. A multi-day training program is scoped per engagement. We give every client a clear timeline before any work begins.
Do you work remotely or onsite?
Both. The majority of our consulting and coaching work is delivered remotely via Microsoft Teams. Training can be delivered virtually or onsite at your location — we travel to client sites across the US and internationally. J. Scott Clark has managed distributed remote teams for over a decade, so remote delivery is fully native to how we work, not a compromise.