Microsoft 365 Proof of Concept/Pilot — Cloud Readiness & Migration Feasibility

Microsoft 365 Proof of Concept/Pilot is a 1-month IT Partner consulting service that helps customers deploy, configure, and test the feasibility of Microsoft 365 cloud technologies such as Exchange Online. The service is designed to help you understand Microsoft 365 capabilities, assess readiness for Microsoft 365 services, and gain hands-on pilot experience before a broader rollout.

The Microsoft 365 Proof of Concept/Pilot is structured as a 1-month consulting engagement. The source scope does not provide detailed project milestones or phase descriptions, so customers should confirm scheduling specifics and timing dependencies with IT Partner before kickoff.

The listed price for the Microsoft 365 Proof of Concept/Pilot is $800 for the 1-month consulting service, SKU ITPWW130CONOT. Customers should confirm any licensing, third-party, or out-of-scope costs separately with IT Partner, because the stated price describes the consulting service scope only.

Included deliverables are creation of a Microsoft 365 tenant, domain verification, user account creation, setting primary reply-to addresses, email forwarding setup at the current provider, and mail flow testing. IT Partner also reviews Microsoft 365 features and compares Microsoft 365 ROI against the customer’s existing software.

No, this service is a proof of concept or pilot, not a full production migration. It focuses on configuring and testing Microsoft 365 feasibility, mail flow, user setup, and business value so the customer can make informed rollout decisions.

The service supports testing Microsoft 365 cloud technologies and services such as Exchange Online, with scope including tenant creation, domain verification, user setup, mail forwarding, and Microsoft 365 feature review. The stated deliverables do not include building a full SharePoint site, OneDrive for Business storage environment, Skype for Business setup, PSTN and conferencing capabilities, or Active Directory Federation Services.

The service does not include a fully functional demo tenant with PSTN and conferencing capabilities, a functional SharePoint site or OneDrive for Business storage, Skype for Business setup, or Active Directory Federation Services. These items are excluded because the pilot scope is focused on core Microsoft 365 readiness, tenant setup, domain verification, user accounts, mail forwarding, mail flow testing, and feature and ROI review.

Your current email provider must support email forwarding, because the pilot includes forwarding setup and mail flow testing from the current provider. You also need the ability to manage Microsoft 365-related DNS records at your DNS hosting provider, because domain verification and related configuration depend on DNS changes.

IT Partner creates the Microsoft 365 tenant, verifies the domain, creates user accounts, sets primary reply-to addresses, configures email forwarding at the current provider, and tests mail flow. IT Partner also reviews Microsoft 365 features and Microsoft 365 ROI compared with the customer’s existing software.

The customer must provide a spreadsheet with a row for each pilot mailbox and the needed user data, assign a dedicated point of contact, coordinate outside vendor resources and schedules, and provide required remote or physical access. The customer is also responsible for configuring networking equipment, providing access to systems and services, making internal and external DNS changes as required, and helping identify high-risk users such as executives, VIPs, very large mailboxes, or large deleted-item folders.

Yes, DNS changes may be required because the service includes domain verification and Microsoft 365-related DNS configuration. The customer is responsible for performing internal and external DNS changes and must be able to manage Microsoft 365-related DNS records at the DNS hosting provider.

Email forwarding is set up at the customer’s current email provider and mail flow is tested as part of the pilot. This requires the current provider to support forwarding, and the exact forwarding behavior or business impact should be confirmed with IT Partner based on the customer’s existing email environment.

The service content does not specify a planned downtime window or guarantee no downtime. Because the pilot involves DNS-related work, user setup, forwarding configuration, and mail flow testing, customers should review timing and business impact with IT Partner before changes are made.

The service requires the customer to provide an Excel spreadsheet listing each user whose mailbox will be included in the pilot. The customer should also help identify high-risk users, including top executives, VIP users, users with mailboxes of 50 GB or larger, and users with deleted folders of 30 GB or larger, so those risks can be considered during planning.

The provided service scope identifies a $800 consulting engagement and lists configuration and review deliverables, but it does not state that Microsoft 365 licenses are included. Customers should confirm licensing requirements and any subscription costs with IT Partner before starting the pilot.

Success criteria include Microsoft 365 services being better configured and customized to the customer’s needs, adoption being measured and increasing over time, and users becoming more productive with less time spent fixing problems or issues. These criteria reflect the pilot’s goal of supporting a successful rollout and helping users understand Microsoft 365 benefits.

Yes, the service includes a review of Microsoft 365 ROI compared with the customer’s existing software. This review helps the customer evaluate whether Microsoft 365 provides sufficient business value before committing to a broader rollout.

At completion, the customer should have a Microsoft 365 tenant created, domain verified, pilot user accounts configured, mail forwarding and mail flow tested, and a better understanding of Microsoft 365 features and ROI. Any next steps, such as a broader migration, additional workloads, or production deployment, are outside the stated pilot deliverables and should be scoped separately with IT Partner.

The service listing identifies Mike Mackey as the manager for the Microsoft 365 Proof of Concept/Pilot. Customers should contact IT Partner to confirm current scheduling, availability, and any details not specified in the published service scope.