Managing email effectively is crucial for any Australian business, especially when using platforms like Microsoft 365. Rather than leaving email issues to chance or assigning them to a general staff member, having a dedicated IT person or a trusted IT partner focused on email management can make a significant difference. This role ensures that email systems run smoothly, security risks are minimised, and any problems are resolved quickly, reducing disruption to your business.
Why this matters for Australian SMBs
Email downtime or security breaches can directly impact your business operations. For example, if your email system goes offline, staff can't communicate with customers or suppliers, leading to lost sales or delayed projects. Worse, if your email accounts are compromised, sensitive client information could be exposed, damaging your reputation and potentially breaching privacy regulations like the Australian Privacy Act. A dedicated IT resource helps prevent these issues by proactively monitoring email health, managing security settings, and ensuring backups are in place.
A typical scenario
Consider a 50-person Australian consulting firm using Microsoft 365 for email and collaboration. One day, several employees suddenly can't send or receive emails. Without a dedicated IT person, the issue might go unnoticed for hours or days, causing frustration and lost productivity. A managed IT provider with a focus on Microsoft 365 would quickly identify the problem—perhaps a misconfigured spam filter or a service outage—and restore email access promptly. They would also review security logs to check for any suspicious activity, ensuring the issue wasn't caused by a cyberattack.
What to look for in email IT support
- Experience with Microsoft 365: Ask if the provider has certified expertise and a track record managing Microsoft 365 email environments.
- Proactive monitoring: Do they offer 24/7 monitoring to detect and resolve email issues before they affect users?
- Security management: How do they handle spam filtering, phishing protection, and multi-factor authentication setup?
- Backup and recovery: Can they restore deleted or corrupted emails quickly from backups?
- Response times: What are their guaranteed response and resolution times for email-related incidents?
- Compliance support: Are they familiar with Australian privacy requirements and able to help maintain compliance?
Simple internal checks you can perform
- Review who has administrator access to your Microsoft 365 email system and limit it to trusted personnel.
- Check that multi-factor authentication is enabled for all email accounts.
- Verify that email backups are running regularly and test restoring a sample email.
- Look over your spam and phishing filter settings to ensure they are up to date.
- Ensure that your staff know how to recognise and report suspicious emails.
Having a dedicated IT person or managed IT provider focused on Microsoft 365 email can reduce downtime, improve security, and keep your business communication reliable. If you're unsure about your current setup or want to improve your email management, consider consulting a trusted IT advisor who understands the needs of Australian small and mid-sized businesses. They can help you assess risks, optimise your email environment, and provide ongoing support tailored to your business.