International business association: from Exchange to Microsoft 365 Basic + SharePoint, with a FortiAnalyzer security audit

An international business association in Moldova — a small team that needs fast corporate email, reliable file storage, secure endpoints and an honest picture of the network perimeter. Before our engagement, the client's email ran on a full Microsoft Exchange licence, files were kept on a local Synology in the office, and endpoint protection was already covered by a third-party XDR.

The brief — not "redo everything" but "figure out honestly where we are overpaying and where we are under-protected". Typical profile for an association: limited IT budget, high expectations on security and remote-work convenience.

An audit of licensing and infrastructure with concrete recommendations, then delivery of the agreed changes:

• Rebuild email licensing and cut cost without losing functionality.
• Move off the local file storage on the office Synology to a cloud solution with a familiar interface and integration with email.
• Keep the endpoint-protection saving by leaving the existing third-party XDR in place, while folding it into the overall security picture.
• Close blind spots on the network perimeter — run a professional audit and give the client a clear risk map to base further decisions on.

Email licensing: from full Exchange to Microsoft 365 Business Basic

The client had been paying for a full Microsoft Exchange licence, while in practice using only basic email, calendars and corporate mailboxes — no heavy scenarios. On our recommendation, they moved to the Microsoft 365 Business Basic plan, which covers email needs at a substantially lower per-user subscription cost.

In parallel, mailboxes, contacts and calendars were migrated so users wouldn't feel the transition on cutover day.

Files: from local Synology to SharePoint + OneDrive

The local Synology in the office was a single point of failure: hardware down — all document work stops; staff out of office — no familiar access to files.

We rolled out SharePoint Online with a library structure by department and project, role-based permissions and integration with the already-licensed Microsoft 365. Each employee's personal files moved to OneDrive with autosync between work and portable devices. Access — through familiar Office apps, through OneDrive in File Explorer, or through any browser.

Endpoint protection: kept the third-party XDR

To save budget, we deliberately did not push the client onto Microsoft Defender for Business: the existing third-party XDR already covers endpoint protection and central incident response. Keeping a working tool was more sensible than paying for a duplicate. We took it onto our support roster on the policy, exception and alert-response side.

Perimeter audit on FortiAnalyzer

To assess the network objectively, we offered the client a free two-week audit on Fortinet equipment. With the local distributor we placed a FortiGate at the perimeter and hooked up FortiAnalyzer, which collected real data on traffic, attack attempts, anomalies and risks.

From the audit we produced a risk report: what was found in the traffic, which policies have weaknesses, which threat categories are currently uncovered, what measures are the priority. This gave the client material for an informed decision about moving onto Fortinet permanently and to what extent.

Outcome

• Lower email subscription cost while keeping full functionality for users — Microsoft 365 Business Basic.
• Files independent of office hardware — SharePoint and OneDrive give access from a browser, from mobile and through File Explorer.
• Convenience by integration: email, calendar, documents and collaboration — in a single Microsoft 365 ecosystem.
• Endpoint-protection savings by keeping the existing XDR rather than running a parallel subscription.
• An objective perimeter picture — a risk report from the two-week audit on FortiGate + FortiAnalyzer, on which the client can plan the next steps.