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Microsoft 365 Setup & Cloud: A Microsoft 365 migration moves a company's email, files, chat and meetings into Microsoft's cloud (Exchange, OneDrive, SharePoint and Teams), with mailboxes and documents copied in advance, structure planned by department, security features switched on and the switch-over done at a weekend so staff simply sign in on Monday.
Microsoft 365 is the backbone of most modern offices, email, files, chat and meetings in one place. Set up well, it removes servers and lets people work from anywhere. Set up badly, it becomes a sprawl of shared folders nobody can find.
Listonics plans and migrates your email and files to Microsoft 365 (or Google Workspace), structures SharePoint and Teams around how your departments actually work, and switches on the security features most tenants leave off. What each plan covers, and which roles hold what, is set out in the Microsoft 365 platform service description.
After migration we manage licences, users and security, so the platform stays tidy as your team changes.
Proof, not promises
Real reviews from Trustpilot and Google, word for word. Google rating 5.0 from 5 reviews, checked 2026-10-17.
Best team I’ve ever hired. All in one place.
As a construction company, we have a lot to manage, so finding one team that can handle our IT and digital requirements has been really helpful. Listonics has supported us with office networking, cybersecurity, website development and SEO. Their team knows what they’re doing and has been easy to work with. We no longer need to coordinate with different companies for every requirement, which saves us time and effort. Overall, it’s been a good experience, and we’re happy to have them supporting our business.
We needed a custom ERP and HR system…
We needed a custom ERP and HR system for our business, along with a new website, and Listonics helped us with all three. The team was approachable, listened to what we wanted and made the process easier than we expected. We could discuss changes directly with them, which made a big difference. It was also convenient having one team handle everything instead of dealing with multiple companies. Overall, we’re happy with how things turned out and glad we chose them.
Listonics projects run from AED 2,500 to AED 30,000 as a fixed scope; support is a fixed monthly fee with response times written into the agreement. The IT support cost guide and managed IT pricing guide set out how the numbers are built.
What we get called in to fix
- A tenant set up years ago by whoever was available, with security defaults never turned on and no one certain who is a global administrator.
- Files spread between OneDrive, SharePoint, a shared drive and personal email, with three copies of the current version.
- Licences bought per person as they joined, so the company is paying for plans nobody chose deliberately.
- Email on an old hosting package with no spam filtering worth the name, and a migration nobody wants to start.
- Leavers' mailboxes deleted with their licence, taking years of correspondence with them.
Who needs this
Offices still on a legacy mail server or a tangle of shared drives; teams on Google Workspace considering a move; companies that have Microsoft 365 but never structured or secured it.
What we set up and migrate:
- Tenant setup, domain, email and migration from any provider.
- Teams, SharePoint and OneDrive structured by department.
- Security: MFA, conditional access, data-loss and backup policies.
- Licensing right-sized to your team, reviewed each year.
- Staff training and documentation.
Migration without the Monday panic
Mailboxes and files are copied ahead of time and cut over at the weekend; staff sign in Monday with the same address and everything where they left it.
What is in scope, and what is not
In scope: tenant setup or tidy-up with security applied from the start, migration from existing email and file servers using Migration Manager where it fits, a SharePoint and Teams structure designed around how your business actually works rather than the default, licence rationalisation so you pay for what you use, retention policies so departures do not delete history, and ongoing administration under a support agreement. The migration plan guide sets out the sequence and the migration cost page sets expectations.
Not in scope: Microsoft's own outages, which happen and which nobody can fix from Dubai, and the licences themselves, which are billed by Microsoft or a reseller at published prices. We also do not treat Microsoft 365 as a backup of itself; Microsoft 365 Backup exists precisely because a platform holding your data is not the same as a backup of it.
How pricing works
Migration and setup are quoted as a fixed project based on mailbox and data volume; licences are supplied at cost; ongoing administration is included in a support plan or priced per user per month.
How implementation works
- Consult, a free site survey and a conversation about headcount, floor plan and what is already in place.
- Design & source, a fixed-scope proposal with equipment listed item by item.
- Install, delivered, tested and documented on site, usually outside working hours.
- Manage, monitoring, helpdesk and monthly management under a support plan, or on-call support if you prefer.
What to compare when choosing a provider
- Are response and on-site targets written down by priority?
- Is the quote a fixed scope, itemised, or hourly?
- Who attends site, employed engineers or subcontractors?
- Which business-grade brands are proposed, and why those?
- Will you receive documentation you own, diagrams, accounts, port maps?
- What exactly is excluded, and what does it cost when it happens?
Planning this for your office? Read our in-depth guide: Microsoft 365 migration plan: moving a Dubai office without a chaotic Monday (12 min read). Also: Does Microsoft 365 Need a Separate Backup? What Microsoft Actually Protects · Microsoft 365 vs Google Workspace for Dubai SMEs: which fits your office?.
Comparing providers first? See our shortlist: Best Cloud Solutions in Dubai for Businesses.
From our guides library: UAE e-invoicing requirements: what changes in your systems, and how to get ready · Microsoft 365 for DIFC firms: setup, security and keeping the regulator happy.
Microsoft 365 & Cloud: guides and resources
- Microsoft 365 support in DubaiMicrosoft 365 support in Dubai: tenant setup, licences at cost, MFA and security baseline, Teams and SharePoint structure, backup and ongoing admin.
- Cloud storage for business in DubaiCloud storage for business in Dubai: OneDrive, SharePoint or Google Drive set up with a clear structure, permissions, data residency and a tested backup.
- Email and Microsoft 365 migration services in DubaiEmail and Microsoft 365 migration in Dubai: Gmail, hosted Exchange, cPanel or IMAP moved to Microsoft 365 with a staged copy and a weekend cut-over.
- Microsoft 365 backup cost in DubaiWhat Microsoft 365 backup costs in Dubai: the three pricing models, what moves the monthly figure, what a setup project covers and how to compare quotes.
- Microsoft 365 migration cost in DubaiWhat a Microsoft 365 migration costs in Dubai: mailbox and data volume, source platform and security setup, with licences quoted separately.
- Google Workspace to Microsoft 365 Migration: A Dubai Office GuideWhat moves from Gmail and Drive to Exchange and SharePoint, what breaks, which tools to use, and how to run the cut-over so Monday works.
- Microsoft 365 vs Google Workspace for Dubai SMEs: which fits your office?A fair comparison of Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace for Dubai offices, and how to tell which one suits the way your team works.
- Does Microsoft 365 Need a Separate Backup? What Microsoft Actually ProtectsMicrosoft replicates your data across datacentres, so offices assume it is backed up. Replication survives hardware failure, not a deleted mailbox.
- Microsoft 365 migration plan: moving a Dubai office without a chaotic MondayCopy first, switch second: the phases, DNS records and weekend cut-over behind a calm move to Microsoft 365.
Frequently asked questions
Yes, we migrate between Microsoft 365, Google Workspace and legacy mail servers in either direction.
No. Data is copied and verified before cut-over and the old system stays available until you confirm everything is in place.
Usually not. SharePoint and OneDrive replace most on-premise file servers; where a local server is still needed we integrate it.
Not by default. We add third-party backup so deleted or corrupted data can be restored beyond Microsoft's retention windows.
Start with what you actually need, not the lowest price. For most small Dubai offices that means Microsoft 365 set up and secured properly, cloud backup, and device management, rather than a complex multi-cloud build. Ask the provider: who owns the accounts and data, is MFA and backup included, what are the response times, and will you get documentation you keep if you leave. A provider that answers those in writing is a safer choice than one that only quotes a monthly figure. Listonics provides this as part of office IT for offices of 5 to 200 staff, and brings in specialist partners for larger Azure or AWS projects.
Microsoft 365 is the main one for most offices, but cloud work usually goes wider. We set up and manage cloud backup, Intune to look after laptops and phones from the cloud, Conditional Access so people can only sign in from safe devices, and the SaaS apps your team uses every day, like accounting and CRM tools. For bigger cloud projects, such as moving servers into Azure, we plan it with you and bring in specialist partners where the design needs it.
Microsoft runs data centres inside the UAE, and many Microsoft 365 tenants for UAE businesses keep their core data in the country. What matters more for day-to-day safety is how your tenant is set up: MFA for every user, admin accounts kept separate, sharing rules that make sense, and a backup Microsoft does not provide. We check all of that, write it down, and keep it current.
Both are capable, and the honest answer depends on what your staff already know and what your clients use. Offices working with law firms, accountants and larger companies in the UAE tend to find Microsoft 365 fits better because that is what those organisations run. The [comparison guide](/blog/microsoft-365-vs-google-workspace-dubai/) sets out the differences without a sales pitch.
Done properly, staff notice a new login and very little else. Mail is migrated in advance, the cutover happens at a quiet time, and the old system stays readable for a period afterwards. What disrupts email is a migration attempted over a single afternoon with no plan for what happens when something does not copy.
Yes. Microsoft keeps the service running; it does not undo your deletions, recover a mailbox removed with a leaver, or restore files encrypted by ransomware beyond a limited window. A separate backup covers those, and the [Microsoft 365 backup guide](/blog/microsoft-365-backup-dubai/) explains what to look for.
Written by Srinivasan Ramachandran, Founder, Listonics · Last reviewed October 29, 2026