Best Microsoft 365 Management Tools
Office 365 management tools help businesses gain visibility and insights into their Microsoft Office 365 suite, which includes Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, as well as other email, file storage, and mobile app solutions. Overall, Office 365 is typically used to improve productivity, communication, and organization.
Office 365 management tools help monitor and resolve a variety of issues within Office 365, such as service outages, and are primarily used by IT professionals. Features such as network monitoring, workload monitoring, and latency tests are typically offered within a management platform. In addition to the many monitoring features, Office 365 management solutions assist with granular administrative tasks such as setting up employee devices, granting user permissions, and setting up alerts for critical tasks.
Businesses often leverage Office 365 management software because it contains tools that are more robust than those included within Office 365. Reporting features in particular offer users deep key insights into the organization and products included in the business’ Office 365 setup. The reports are granular and provisioned with information that assists with operational efficiency.
For businesses that are debating whether Office 365 Management would be useful, hiring a Microsoft Office 365 consulting provider may help provide additional insight.
To qualify for inclusion in the Office 365 Management category, a product must:
Featured Microsoft 365 Management Tools At A Glance
G2 takes pride in showing unbiased reviews on user satisfaction in our ratings and reports. We do not allow paid placements in any of our ratings, rankings, or reports. Learn about our scoring methodologies.
Veeam Data Cloud for Microsoft 365 provides unified, future-ready data protection for Microsoft 365 and Entra ID in a single, modern SaaS solution. Designed for organizations of all sizes, Veeam safeg
51,585 Twitter followers
AvePoint is the global leader in data security, governance, and resilience, going beyond traditional solutions to ensure a robust data foundation and enable organizations everywhere to collaborate wit
AvePoint Confidence Platform is a data protection and management tool that offers backup, restore, governance, and compliance capabilities for cloud environments. Users frequently mention the platform's ease of use, reliable backup and restore process, comprehensive data governance, and the ability to manage everything through a single pane of glass as key benefits. Users reported issues such as the platform timing out too soon, difficulty in reinstating large files, complexity in initial setup and configuration, and occasional performance issues like slow restores or lag.
9,777 Twitter followers
CoreView is the leading SaaS platform for Microsoft 365 Tenant Resilience. Trusted by enterprises worldwide, CoreView secures the configuration, identity, and access layers of Microsoft 365—hardening
1,036 Twitter followers
Orchestry is a Microsoft 365 management and automation platform that accelerates cost savings, storage reduction, sprawl prevention and risk remediation. Our platform is purpose-built with an emphasis
460 Twitter followers
AdminDroid 365 brings your entire Microsoft 365 and Active Directory environment into one powerful management platform. With 3600+ Microsoft 365 reports, 450+ Active Directory reports, and 100+ int
Syskit Point is an all-in-one platform for Microsoft 365 governance, management, and reporting designed to help organizations streamline IT management. It addresses critical challenges such as oversha
626 Twitter followers
Automation Anywhere is the global leader in Agentic Process Automation (APA), transforming how organizations put AI to work. Our platform combines specialized AI agents, generative AI, and end-to-end
Automation Anywhere is a tool that automates redundant tasks, reducing manual work and making processes smoother. Users like that Automation Anywhere is user-friendly, with a drag-and-drop interface that makes building bots accessible to everyone, and it handles large bot fleets and high-volume processes well. Users reported that Automation Anywhere can be expensive for small businesses, has a steep learning curve for complex logic, and its licensing can be confusing and expensive.
55,240 Twitter followers
BindTuning is a leading provider of Governance, Provisioning, and Intranet solutions for Microsoft 365. We help businesses create and manage secure, compliant, and efficient digital workplaces that su
BindTuning is a product suite that provides customization for Microsoft SharePoint intranet and collaboration platforms, including web parts and themes, and Automate365 for automating Microsoft 365 based processes. Reviewers frequently mention the ease of use, seamless integration with SharePoint, excellent customer service, and the ability of BindTuning to turn SharePoint into a better functioning site with a robust Intranet for employees. Reviewers experienced issues with the deployment process being complicated for non-global admins, compatibility issues with SharePoint on-premise, constraints due to time difference for US-based customers, and occasional hiccups when syncing with certain third-party tools.
986 Twitter followers
The logical solution for Microsoft 365 tenant administration. sapio365 is a powerful, no-code desktop application that provides IT admins with full visibility and control over their Microsoft 365
403 Twitter followers
Reliable, automated, secure Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace backup from the cloud-to-cloud experts who started it all. Backupify makes it easy to recover emails, files, sites and Teams from all
17,436 Twitter followers
Reliable, Secure Protection for Cloud Applications Datto SaaS Protection is a cloud-to-cloud backup solution that offers comprehensive backup and recovery for critical cloud data in Microsoft 365 a
17,436 Twitter followers
Nira is a Data Access Governance platform that helps companies protect their Google Workspace and Microsoft 365 documents from unauthorized access. The platform provides complete visibility into who
1,091 Twitter followers
Teams Manager helps IT administrators keep control of Microsoft 365 and stop uncontrolled growth. Governance features: =================== Provisioning of teams and SharePoint sites with customi
401 Twitter followers
Microsoft 365 Monitoring and Reporting is a core component of ENow’s Microsoft 365 Management Simplified platform, delivering comprehensive visibility, performance monitoring, and actionable insights
1,266 Twitter followers
Learn More About Microsoft 365 Management Tools
What are Office 365 Management Tools?
Office 365 management tools are cloud-based SaaS solutions that assist in monitoring and gaining visibility into Microsoft Office 365 suite. These software packages comprise the same core functionalities as traditional versions of Office, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, OneNote, and based on the plan subscribed to, may also include other applications and services such as Planner, Publisher, Exchange, OneDrive, SharePoint, Access, Yammer, Skype, and Microsoft Teams.
Implementing Office 365 management software enables an organization to govern its IT infrastructure more efficiently by providing security functions, data analyses, and real-time communication, thereby improving overall organizational productivity.
Microsoft 365 management solution assists with administrative tasks at a granular level which typically involves setting up employee devices, granting user permissions, and creating alerts for critical tasks, in addition to the monitoring features it offers.
Hiring a Microsoft Office 365 consulting provider may help provide additional insights to businesses still contemplating whether or not the implementation of an Office 365 management tool will be beneficial.
What are the Common Features of Office 365 Management Tools?
Efficiency is crucial for businesses. Having the capability to create, collaborate and communicate seamlessly and access tools that enable workers to perform their jobs more effectively promotes agility and makes the organization more competitive in their sector.
Office 365 management software boosts the productivity of an organization. Here are the common features it offers:
Centralized management: Office 365 management tools facilitate centralized management of diverse applications, including everything from email and chat to project and task management to automation and business security configurations via a single dashboard.
Administrative support: With the help of the O365 solution, administrative tasks are delegated at a granular level to assist desk staff and other non-IT users through role-based delegation. It aids with auditing all user activities in SharePoint Online, Azure Active Directory (AD), and Exchange Online through integration with the Microsoft 365 Activity Management API.
Secured search: The software allows IT administrators to search and manage native users or group permissions directly through Microsoft 365 Groups, SharePoint Online, and OneDrive for Business. Additionally, it helps scrutinize emails with automated content search to detect potential personal information hacks and spear-phishing attacks.
Granting permissions: The software allows admin users to assign temporary permissions to individual users or groups within Microsoft 365 and audit all administrative actions.
High-speed migration: Office 365 management facilitates seamless bulk content movement or replication across Microsoft 365 instances for internal consolidation or tenant-to-tenant migration.
Granular deployment: The software allows users to select SharePoint objects and customizations as required, which includes site collections, sites, lists, folders, items, configurations, design elements, security settings, managed metadata service settings, web parts, workflow, and forms. These customizations can be sent to another location and are deployed at a granular level.
Report generation: Office 365 management suite helps in generating reports on global Microsoft 365 SharePoint Online, OneDrive for Business, and Group team sites settings and security to spot any unauthorized changes and take actions accordingly. It also supports the generation of audit reports for last access time, content type changes, item lifecycle, site access, list access, list deletion, permission changes, and user lifecycle across an entire Microsoft 365 environment.
What are the Benefits of Office 365 Management Tools?
Backup and recovery: A general fallacy among the masses is that data created and stored in the cloud requires no backup. Microsoft operates on the shared responsibility model, i.e., while they maintain their infrastructure, the organization has to assume the responsibility of recovering its data. When data is deleted or corrupted, companies risk incurring losses due to the loss of sensitive information. Data loss can happen for various reasons, whether it's human error, cyberattacks, or keeping up with new compliance measures, which can cost valuable time and resources. Office 365 management tools aid in backing up and protecting the organization’s data effectively and offloading routine process management. Beyond Microsoft’s native recovery capabilities, these solutions save time and eliminate stress by making it easy to locate and restore the files and folders which are needed quickly. Fast and granular restoration functions assist in recovering lost files and folders directly to a user's account or downloading them directly to the computer or device.
Cloud compliance: Cloud compliance is the principle that cloud-delivered systems must be by the standards their customers need. Office 365 management solutions ensure that data is secure, retrievable, and protected. It provides data controls and monitoring tools, including audit data logs archiving, uptime and availability SLAs, and export capabilities to meet the compliance requirements of enterprise customers.
Analytics and governance: This software provides the organization with deep insight to measure results. It offers total visibility across Microsoft Office 365 software with action-enabled reports and facilitates management through delegated administration and automation. It offers a unified dashboard for users to seamlessly shift between tasks like calculation of chargebacks, prevention of data breaches, onboarding new employees, and more.
Improved efficiency: Office 365 management solutions optimize the tasks and data that employees require to interact with every day. Its user management capabilities allow IT admins to change user permissions easily, provide users with the correct licenses and privileges promptly, and manage mailboxes efficiently.
Who Uses Office 365 Management Tools?
IT industry: IT teams of various enterprises can boost their productivity with tools like Word, Excel, Exchange, Teams, SharePoint, and more. Since Office 365 is cloud-based, it is accessible from location and on any device, as long as there’s a stable internet connection. However, solving visibility and reporting problems can be a recurring challenge. Office 365 management software provides an easy way to completely manage Microsoft 365 tools, tightening security and compliance, thereby assisting end users to get the most out of all Microsoft 365 applications.
Healthcare industry: Office 365 tools assist the healthcare sector by facilitating effective patient care and lowering operational costs by enhancing collaboration between healthcare staff and independent specialties, health teams, and healthcare professionals in hospitals. However, without implementing Office 365 management software, hospitals may lose millions of dollars in unwanted licensing fees, face security vulnerabilities, and fail to maximize their ROI in office 365 productivity tools.
Financial services industry: Using Office 365 tools helps the banking, finance, and insurance industry optimize their productivity. Implementing the software to manage them assists in addressing various issues relating to governance like visibility, license management, adoption, provisioning and de-provisioning, and more.
Retail industry: Office 365 has helped retail outlets to streamline processes, facilitate effective communication among the staff, deliver excellent customer experience, and secure their business. Deploying an Office 365 management tool provides feature-based governance to gain visibility and monitor Microsoft 365 components. It helps to identify who has access to what environment to tackle security issues arising due to different user accesses on mailboxes, OneDrive, and other tools.
Challenges with Office 365 Management Tools
Microsoft Office 365 is not a single application but an entire suite, which is why IT teams face various challenges when it comes to managing these tools. For large enterprises, these challenges are amplified since they face complications that smaller organizations don’t have to deal with. Here are a few challenges with Office 365 management software to keep in mind:
User adoption: Office 365 is a powerful tool. It consists of various applications and services with an extensive set of functionalities, hence it is not unusual that there is some crossover in features between different apps. This crossover is one of the factors that make management of Office 365 challenging as it can lead to confusion. Creating buy-in from end users and keeping a track of the adoption of M365 apps can be complex and deplete IT resources, specifically while transitioning from an on-premises solution. If M365 services aren’t fully adopted, it can also create issues when the IT team has to show the ROI of this solution. While the native Microsoft 365 admin tools can give IT some information into adoption, it can still be challenging to comprehend the full picture across the entire Office 365 suite.
IT staff utilization: With a variety of applications and corresponding admin consoles, the most productive and systematic method to manage Microsoft 365 can be unclear, especially for small IT teams, often reduced on account of outsourcing to cloud services. An ideal team would involve an expert in each application or subject area, but this can incur huge costs even for large enterprises. Regardless of the size, every IT team faces the additional challenge of managing the organization’s existing MS Office 365 deployment while also trying to stay up to date with new solutions and features released by Microsoft.
Monitoring performance issues: Simply deploying Microsoft 365 management suite isn’t enough, as the system must be monitored regularly for tracing issues with performance, inconsistencies, and usage. Most of the time, monitoring performance is an issue related to bandwidth for IT.
How to Buy Office 365 Management Tools
Requirements Gathering (RFI/RFP) for Office 365 Management Software
If a company is just starting and looking to purchase its first Office 365 Management tool, or maybe an organization needs to update legacy office management solutions--wherever a business is in its buying process, g2.com can help select the best Office 365 management solution for the business.
Organizations all over the world have adopted Microsoft 365 as a communication and workflow solution for their staff. However, managing a large Microsoft 365 tenant isn’t a cakewalk. With so many O365 management service providers available, it has become more complex for businesses to select a provider that suits their organizational goals and strategy.
Taking a comprehensive overview of the business—which tools are being used to conduct business and identify pain points can help the team to produce an RFI, a one-page list with precise bullet points describing what is needed from the Office 365 management solution.
This checklist serves as a guide that helps in determining both necessary and nice-to-have features including budget features, number of users, integrations, security requirements, and more.
Compare Office 365 Management Software Products
Create a long list
An initial list of potential Office 365 management software providers is created by eliminating the options that are not in line with the organization’s business strategy. Vendor evaluation also depends on the Microsoft Office 365 tools implemented and the kind of management functionality that the organization is looking for. Vendor evaluation helps to prepare a consistent list of questions regarding specific needs and concerns to ask each vendor.
Create a short list
After a long list has been created, it’s realistic to look at each product in more detail to determine if it will meet the needs of the organization to narrow down the list. This should include evaluating additional and more sophisticated features of each product, beyond the ones identified as essential to determine if that additional functionality would make the management of the Microsoft 365 environment effortless.
Conduct demos
Demos provide an opportunity to buyers to see how an Office 365 management solution is effective in monitoring and resolving a host of issues within Office 365 tools. While pre-recorded demonstrations are available on the vendor’s website, it is useful to request the vendor for a live demonstration to see how the software will help in providing insights on the organization’s Office 365 stack and manage the tools.
Selection of Office 365 Management Software
Choose a selection team
When choosing an Office 365 management software, it is important to involve any relevant stakeholders who might be using the product to ensure that the software will meet everyone’s needs. This likely includes the management and the IT team who will be responsible for weighing in on the technical concerns with the products.
Negotiation
After narrowing in on a preferred product, it’s time to negotiate a pricing package. Buyers must consider the licensing fee and pricing model of the software, such as whether the seller charges a flat monthly or annual fee or, more commonly, charges a fee based on how many users would be utilizing the product. Also, the buyer can consider negotiating a discount in exchange for multi-year contracts.
Final decision
The parties involved in decision-making should consider whether the software is easy to implement, improves operational efficiency, and allows for better monitoring of the O365 environment. It is pragmatic to scrutinize the terms and conditions of the product support and licensing agreements or SLAs to achieve organizational goals within the defined budget. It is essential to capture and monitor deployment and operational risks and improvement opportunities early so that it is possible to modify plans when needed. Whenever a new technology is implemented, it is good to devise back-out plans or alternatives when assumptions and outcomes change. It must be ensured that the solution selected will be adaptable to the company’s future requirements.
