Guides we keep up to date
Longer than an article and maintained rather than published once. Each guide shows when it was last reviewed and what changed.
Microsoft 365 licensing & security guide
Which Microsoft 365 plan does your business need? Business Basic, Standard and Premium compared, what Defender for Business and the Defender Suite add, current UK prices, and why configuration and 24/7 monitoring matter more than the licence.
Microsoft 365 security checklist
The Microsoft 365 security checklist Black Sheep Support runs on every new client: accounts and MFA, admin roles, sharing and permissions, devices, email protection, backup and monitoring. What we check, why, and how to fix it.
Microsoft 365 Copilot guide
Is Microsoft 365 Copilot worth it for a UK small business? Plain-English guide to what it does, current UK licence prices, readiness checks and a rollout plan. Reviewed monthly.
Copilot readiness check
The Copilot readiness check: where your data lives, who can see what, which roles have real use cases, what training people need, and how to run a measured pilot. Companion to our full Microsoft 365 Copilot guide.
Email security guide (SPF, DKIM, DMARC)
Why anyone can send email as your domain until SPF, DKIM and DMARC are set up, what each record does, what Google, Yahoo and Microsoft now require, how to check your domain free in 30 seconds, and how DMARC monitoring keeps it fixed.
Phishing and invoice fraud guide
How phishing and invoice fraud actually happen in small businesses, the Microsoft 365 controls that stop most of it, the staff checks that catch the rest, and how Black Sheep Support manages email protection.
Compromised account: what to do
A step-by-step incident guide for a compromised business email or Microsoft 365 account: immediate containment, what evidence to preserve, who to notify (bank, Action Fraud, ICO), recovery, and how to prevent a repeat.
24/7 SOC guide
What a Security Operations Centre actually does: monitoring, investigation and escalation explained for business owners, with an illustrative overnight incident, what a SOC does not cover, and how to decide whether your business needs one.
Cyber Essentials guide
Cyber Essentials explained for UK SMEs: the five controls, Cyber Essentials vs Plus, current prices from £320, the Willow question set, included £25k insurance, and how to pass first time.
Microsoft 365 backup guide
Does Microsoft back up your Microsoft 365 data? What the recycle bins and retention actually keep (93 days, 14 days, 30 days), why it is not a backup, and how to choose Microsoft 365 Backup or a third-party tool.
Intune and BYOD guide
Microsoft Intune for small businesses: managing company laptops (MDM) versus protecting company data on staff-owned phones (app protection policies), what each can do, Conditional Access, and a setup order that works.
Joiners and leavers guide
What should happen to accounts, devices, access and data when a member of staff joins, changes role or leaves: a plain-English joiner, mover and leaver process for Microsoft 365 businesses, with the same-day leaver checklist.
Where should files live?
Where files should live in Microsoft 365: OneDrive for personal working files, SharePoint for the business, Teams as the front door. A structure small businesses recognise, sharing and permission rules, ownership, and migrating off the old server.
Outsourced IT support guide
What outsourced IT support includes, how UK providers price it (per user, per device, break-fix), what belongs in the contract, and the questions to ask before you sign. For 10 to 250-person businesses.
How to choose an IT support company
Choosing an IT support company for a UK small business: the questions to ask about onboarding, proactive management, security responsibilities, support scope, contracts and exit, and what good answers sound like.
Switching IT providers
How switching IT providers works for a UK small business: administrator access, documentation, domains and licences, the handover timeline, what to do before giving notice, and how to avoid a gap in cover.
How much should IT support cost?
What business IT support costs in the UK and why: per-user and per-device pricing, what drives the number, what should be included, common exclusions, reactive versus managed, and how Black Sheep Support prices its service.