{"id":96802,"date":"2023-08-30T13:07:12","date_gmt":"2023-08-30T17:07:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jumpcloud.com\/?p=96802"},"modified":"2024-08-15T17:52:28","modified_gmt":"2024-08-15T21:52:28","slug":"evaluating-the-costs-and-risks-of-migrating-to-m365","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jumpcloud.com\/blog\/evaluating-the-costs-and-risks-of-migrating-to-m365","title":{"rendered":"Evaluating the Costs and Risks of Migrating to M365"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Organizations are migrating to Microsoft 365 (M365) from Google Workspace at an increasing rate due to the perceived benefit of consolidating onto a single vendor that bundles many tools for one price. That strategy may<\/em> work well for some organizations, but we postulate this increases risk, reduces agility, and locks-in organizations into Microsoft. With an explosion of cutting edge technology, there is no reason for organizations to compromise. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We understand that you have compelling reasons why<\/em> you are thinking about switching from one foundational platform to another. But think of this transition as akin to remodeling your home \u2014 plumbing, electricity, replacing the roof, and everything else \u2014 while you are living in it. Since the business has no choice but to operate within a major renovation like this, the reasons to significantly overhaul the entire \u201chome\u201d should go well beyond simple costs or a technical preference from a few individuals. There must be sound logic on the business benefits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Understanding the next order costs and risks of revamping your infrastructure is critical. These costs can be unpredictable and influence more than just IT budgets: your organization\u2019s productivity and business agility are affected as well. The potential risks for IT and security also go beyond the traditional calculations. The act of mapping out the knowns, unknowns, and unknown unknowns<\/em> is one of the hardest parts of the job and also one of the most important business considerations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s a Collection of Products Either Way<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

One of the most compelling reasons to shift to a \u201csingle vendor solution\u201d is that it\u2019s a one-stop shop; a single<\/em> product. Here\u2019s the thing: an IT team may feel<\/em> as if it\u2019s consolidating its infrastructure with M365, but it\u2019s really just shifting from one multi-product solution to another, but in the case of M365 you don\u2019t get the choice to use best-of-breed solutions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Each component of M365 has its own sprawl of challenges and complexities, as well as operational, support, and security considerations. Ironically, this migration could increase complexity in spite of your intentions to reduce it via M365\u2019s bundling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example:<\/p>\n\n\n\n