Now with Intermedia Backup & Email Protection

Microsoft 365 — Done Right

SynergyIQ deploys, migrates, and manages Microsoft 365 for Houston-area businesses — and goes further than most MSPs by bundling Intermedia Cloud Backup for M365 and Intermedia Email Protection on top, closing the data-protection and email-security gaps Microsoft leaves behind. One bill, one local team, J.D. Power-certified 24/7 support behind it.

Email Migration Microsoft Teams SharePoint & OneDrive M365 Backup Email Protection HIPAA Capable Houston, TX · Nationwide
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Quick Answer

SynergyIQ sells, deploys, and manages Microsoft 365 for businesses in Greater Houston and nationwide. Unlike most resellers, we bundle two Intermedia add-ons that fill M365's biggest gaps: Intermedia Cloud Backup for M365 (Microsoft does not back up your mailboxes, OneDrive, SharePoint, or Teams beyond short retention windows) and Intermedia Email Protection (advanced anti-phishing, link sandboxing, and impersonation protection that layer on top of Exchange Online). Microsoft 365 plans run $6–$22 per user per month; the Intermedia add-ons add roughly $4–$11 per user per month. Everything ships on one SynergyIQ invoice with a HIPAA BAA available. Call (832) 617-0477 or book a free consultation.

The Microsoft 365 Gap Most Businesses Don't Know About

Microsoft 365 is a brilliant productivity suite. It is not a complete data-protection or email-security solution — and Microsoft says so in their own service agreement.

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Microsoft Doesn't Back You Up

Microsoft's Services Agreement explicitly recommends third-party backup. Native M365 retention is short: 14–30 days for deleted items, 93 days for deleted mailboxes. Ransomware, malicious deletion, or a misconfigured retention policy can wipe data permanently.

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Default Email Security Stops at the Basics

Exchange Online Protection blocks obvious spam and known threats. Sophisticated phishing, CEO impersonation, and weaponized link/attachment attacks routinely slip through unless you've upgraded to Defender for Office 365 Plan 2 — which most SMBs haven't.

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Compliance Archiving Isn't Automatic

HIPAA, FINRA, and other regulated industries require multi-year tamper-proof email archives. M365 native retention won't satisfy auditors without significant configuration — and even then, it doesn't include independent third-party attestation.

What SynergyIQ Bundles With Microsoft 365

Everything you'd expect from a Microsoft 365 partner — plus the Intermedia add-ons that close the gaps above.

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Exchange Online Migration

Migrate from Gmail, GoDaddy, on-prem Exchange, or any other email platform to Microsoft Exchange Online — with zero data loss, minimal downtime, and a clean cutover plan.

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Microsoft Teams Deployment

Channels, guest access, meeting rooms, Teams Phone integration, and live staff training so the platform actually gets adopted instead of becoming shelfware.

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SharePoint & OneDrive Setup

Replace aging file servers with properly architected SharePoint sites and OneDrive — permission structures, department libraries, and retention rules tuned to how your team actually works.

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Intermedia Cloud Backup for M365 · New

Independent backup of every Exchange mailbox, OneDrive, SharePoint site, and Teams chat. Unlimited retention. Point-in-time and item-level restore. Designed for ransomware, accidental deletion, and departing-employee scenarios.

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Intermedia Email Protection · New

Advanced anti-phishing, impersonation protection, URL sandboxing, attachment detonation, and outbound DLP layered on top of Exchange Online — no MX changes required.

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Compliance Archiving · New

10-year tamper-evident email archiving with eDiscovery and legal-hold tools — built for HIPAA, FINRA, and SEC-regulated industries.

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Microsoft Security Baseline

MFA for all users, Conditional Access policies, Microsoft Defender for Business, anti-phishing policies, and quarterly Secure Score reviews.

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License Right-Sizing

We audit every user, identify overlicensing (a common 20–30% waste), and recommend the right mix of Business Basic, Standard, Premium, and add-on SKUs.

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Ongoing M365 Administration

Day-to-day admin: user onboarding/offboarding, password resets, mailbox management, Teams configuration, and security monitoring — covered by your monthly retainer.

M365 Native vs. M365 + Intermedia (via SynergyIQ)

Side by side, where the bundle actually helps.

Capability Microsoft 365 Native M365 + Intermedia (SynergyIQ)
Mailbox / OneDrive backup14–30 day deletion retention onlyUnlimited retention · point-in-time restore
Teams chat & channel backupNot protected separatelyFully backed up & restorable
SharePoint site recovery93-day site recycle binIndependent backup, granular restore
Advanced threat protectionRequires Defender for O365 Plan 2 upgradeIntermedia Email Protection included
CEO impersonation defenseLimitedBuilt-in impersonation engine
URL & attachment sandboxingRequires Defender for O365 Plan 1+Included with Intermedia EP
Compliance archivingRequires E3+/E5 SKU configuration10-year tamper-evident archive add-on
Support modelMicrosoft ticket queueSynergyIQ + Intermedia J.D. Power-certified 24/7
BillingMicrosoft direct or CSP invoiceOne consolidated SynergyIQ invoice
HIPAA BAAMicrosoft BAA onlyMicrosoft BAA + Intermedia BAA
99.9%
Microsoft 365 SLA
0
Data Loss on Our Migrations
30%
Avg. License Savings After Audit
<2hr
M365 Issue Response

Built For Regulated & Growing Businesses

SynergyIQ already supports IT, automation, and compliance for these verticals — Intermedia M365 plugs in cleanly.

Healthcare & DME

HIPAA-capable M365 deployment with Intermedia BAA, encrypted email, compliance archiving, and backup tested against audit scenarios. Used by our DME, dental, cardiology, sleep lab, and pharmacy clients.

CPA & Financial Services

Encrypted email, file-share retention, tamper-evident archiving for IRS and SEC audit trails, and seasonal scale for tax season — without rewriting your tech stack.

Small & Mid-Sized Businesses

From a 5-person team in Sugar Land to a 200-seat distributed operation, the same M365 + Intermedia bundle scales without re-platforming.

How an M365 Migration Works

A typical SynergyIQ Microsoft 365 + Intermedia rollout, week by week.

  1. Week 1

    Audit & Plan

    Review your current email, file shares, license inventory, and compliance requirements. Map every mailbox, distribution list, public folder, and shared drive into the new M365 environment.

  2. Week 2

    Tenant & Security Setup

    Provision the M365 tenant, configure DNS, set up MFA + Conditional Access, deploy Intermedia Backup, and onboard Intermedia Email Protection.

  3. Week 3

    Migration & Training

    Stage email and file migrations using Microsoft-supported tools. Run live training sessions on Outlook, Teams, SharePoint, and OneDrive for your users.

  4. Week 4

    Cutover & Hyper-Care

    Final email cutover at a scheduled low-traffic window. SynergyIQ engineers are on-call for 30 days of hyper-care, then it transitions to your standard managed-IT retainer.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Microsoft back up my Microsoft 365 data?
No — not in the way most businesses assume. Microsoft's Services Agreement explicitly recommends that customers use a third-party backup. M365 has limited native retention (typically 14–30 days for deleted items, and 93 days for deleted mailboxes), but it does not protect against accidental deletion, ransomware, malicious insiders, or retention-policy mistakes beyond those windows. SynergyIQ resells Intermedia Cloud Backup for M365 to close this gap.
What does Intermedia Cloud Backup for M365 protect?
It backs up Exchange Online mailboxes (including calendar, contacts, and tasks), OneDrive for Business, SharePoint Online sites and document libraries, Teams chats, and Teams channels. Restores are point-in-time and item-level — you can recover a single deleted email from three months ago without restoring an entire mailbox.
Is Intermedia Email Protection different from Microsoft Defender for Office 365?
Yes. Intermedia Email Protection is an independent security layer that runs alongside Microsoft 365. It adds anti-phishing, impersonation protection, URL sandboxing, attachment detonation, and outbound DLP — and is often more cost-effective than upgrading to a Microsoft 365 plan that includes Defender for Office 365 Plan 2. We help you decide whether to layer it on or upgrade your Microsoft plan, based on your size and budget.
How long does a Microsoft 365 email migration take?
Most small business email migrations (under 25 mailboxes) complete within 24–48 hours with zero downtime using Microsoft cutover migration tools. Larger migrations are staged over several days. SynergyIQ handles all the technical work — you just keep working.
What Microsoft 365 plan does my business need?
For most small businesses, Microsoft 365 Business Basic or Business Standard provides everything needed — Exchange email, Teams, SharePoint, and OneDrive. Larger or more security-conscious teams may need Business Premium for Intune device management. SynergyIQ assesses your needs and right-sizes the plan so you don't overpay for features you won't use.
Is the Microsoft 365 + Intermedia bundle HIPAA compliant?
Yes. Microsoft signs a HIPAA Business Associate Agreement (BAA) for Microsoft 365, and Intermedia signs a BAA for its M365 add-on services. SynergyIQ configures Exchange Online, Teams, OneDrive, SharePoint, and Intermedia Backup for HIPAA-compliant workflows — important for our DME, dental, sleep lab, cardiology, and pharmacy clients.
Can you migrate us from Google Workspace to Microsoft 365?
Yes. We handle Google Workspace to Microsoft 365 migrations regularly — moving email, calendar, contacts, and files from Google Drive into OneDrive and SharePoint with a clear cutover plan and minimal disruption to your business.
How do you secure our Microsoft 365 environment?
We implement the Microsoft security baseline (MFA for all users, Conditional Access policies, Microsoft Defender for Business, anti-phishing policies, regular Secure Score reviews) and then layer Intermedia Email Protection on top for advanced threats and impersonation attacks. We can also enable Intermedia compliance archiving for regulated industries.
How much does Microsoft 365 with Intermedia backup and security cost?
Microsoft 365 Business plans range from $6.00 to $22.00 per user per month, depending on tier. Intermedia Cloud Backup for M365 starts around $4.00 per user per month, and Intermedia Email Protection ranges from $3.00 to $7.00 per user per month depending on features. A typical bundled SynergyIQ + Intermedia M365 setup runs $20 to $40 per user per month on a single invoice.
Do you provide Microsoft 365 training for our staff?
Yes. We offer live and recorded Microsoft 365 training for your team — Outlook, Teams, SharePoint, OneDrive, and security best practices. Trained users get more value from M365 and create fewer IT support tickets.

Related SynergyIQ Services

Get the Most Out of Your Microsoft 365 Investment

Free Microsoft 365 health check for Houston-area businesses. We'll review your setup, security configuration, backup posture, and licensing — and tell you exactly what's missing and what it costs to fix.

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