IT Support for Builders Case Study: From Paperwork to Cloud File Server and VPN

Step 1: Planning the setup

We started by mapping how work actually moved through the business, from a customer enquiry to a quote, a booked job and an invoice. That told us what needed to go online first and how the folders and permissions should be laid out, with room for more staff later.

Step 2: From traditional email to Microsoft 365

The business was running on basic, traditional email accounts with no shared calendars or documents. As a Microsoft Partner, we set up a Microsoft 365 tenant, verified the domain, and migrated the existing mailboxes to Exchange Online over IMAP so no email history was lost. Once everything was copied across, we updated the domain’s DNS records so email started flowing to Microsoft 365, and set up email authentication (SPF, DKIM and DMARC) so the business’s emails don’t end up in spam.

From there, staff got Outlook, Teams for messaging and calls, SharePoint team sites for shared documents and OneDrive for their own work. Every account sits in Microsoft Entra ID with multi-factor authentication enforced, and access is managed through security groups rather than per user. Paper templates for quotes and job sheets were rebuilt as digital templates in SharePoint, so staff can create, share and find them from any device.

Step 3: Premium cloud file server for shared files

We set up a premium cloud file server as the central home for larger files and archives. The drives are configured in RAID so a single drive failure doesn’t lose data, and the shares are set up over SMB with folder permissions tied to user groups, so each team only sees what it needs.

Hourly snapshots let us roll back deleted or overwritten files, or recover quickly from ransomware, and a nightly encrypted backup goes to an offsite cloud copy. The file server is monitored, so we get an alert if a drive starts failing or a backup doesn’t complete. We also turned on its built-in security: geo-blocking so connection attempts from countries the business doesn’t operate in are refused, and automatic IP blocking after repeated failed logins. Because it’s a one-time hardware cost rather than a per-user monthly subscription, it gives the business plenty of storage without growing cloud bills.

Step 4: VPN remote access

The premium cloud file server is never exposed directly to the internet, and there are no open ports forwarded to it. Instead, we set up a VPN on the office firewall, so staff connect through an encrypted tunnel before they can reach the file shares. Each user has their own VPN account rather than a shared login, which means access can be removed the moment someone leaves. The firewall also blocks known malicious and unwanted websites, and traffic from high-risk countries, before it ever reaches the network.

The two partners got the same secure access from their laptops and phones, with split tunnelling so only office traffic goes through the VPN. They can check a job, approve a quote or pull a document from home or on site without slowing down their normal internet.

Step 5: Business website

We built the business a website so customers could see its services and get in touch, hosted with an SSL certificate and running on the same domain and DNS we were already managing for Microsoft 365.

Step 6: Growing from 4 to 25 staff

Because everything was built on standard accounts and group-based permissions, adding a new staff member is a short checklist rather than a project. We create the Microsoft 365 account, assign a licence, add them to the right Entra ID security groups (which flows through to SharePoint and the file server), issue their VPN account and set up their device. Leaving staff are handled the same way in reverse, so access is removed everywhere at once. The same core setup now supports 25 staff.