Microsoft 365 is rising in price from July 2026, which gives businesses a useful reason to look again at what they are paying for. For many Devon organisations, email will be one of the most important parts of that review.
Your inbox is where invoices arrive, client conversations happen, documents are shared and decisions are recorded. That makes email security services in Devon worth checking before costs change, especially if your Microsoft 365 setup has not been reviewed for a while.
Paying more for Microsoft 365 should come with clearer value
Microsoft has confirmed commercial Microsoft 365 price changes from 1 July 2026, including changes to Business Basic and Business Standard plans.
For many businesses, a Microsoft 365 plan was set up years ago and has grown organically since. More users have been added, shared mailboxes created, mobile access enabled, Teams rolled out and external suppliers brought in. If nobody has reviewed the setup in that time, there may be licences going to waste, accounts with unnecessary access, or security settings still sitting on defaults.
BCNS provides Microsoft 365 support in Devon covering audits, deployment, security, user management and troubleshooting. Before costs change, it makes sense to check that the setup still fits the business and that email security has not been left on default settings.
Built-in business email security is a starting point
Microsoft 365 includes built-in email protection. Microsoft’s own guidance says Exchange Online Protection helps protect cloud mailboxes from spam, malware, phishing and other email threats. You can see this in Microsoft’s overview of Exchange Online Protection.
Not every business has the same level of protection. Some features depend on the licence. Some settings need to be configured. Some risks sit outside the basic inbox controls.
For example, a business should know whether its domain is protected against spoofing. Spoofing is when someone sends an email that appears to come from your domain, even though it does not. The National Cyber Security Centre explains how SPF, DKIM and DMARC help protect organisations from this kind of problem in its email security and anti-spoofing guidance.
That can sound technical, but the practical issue is simple. If those records are missing or poorly set up, criminals may find it easier to impersonate your business by email. That can affect customers, suppliers and staff.
This is where managed email support becomes useful. BCNS’s managed email services cover email filtering, email monitoring, encryption, archiving and security configuration. Those are the areas many businesses assume are already covered, until someone checks the detail.
Email filtering, encryption and archiving all do different jobs
Email security is often talked about as one thing, but different controls solve different problems:
- Email filtering helps stop unwanted or suspicious messages from reaching staff. That might include spam, phishing emails, harmful attachments or messages that should be quarantined before anyone opens them.
- Email encryption is about protecting sensitive information while it is being sent. The Information Commissioner’s Office does not say every email must be encrypted, but its encryption and data protection guidance explains that encryption is one way organisations can protect personal data. For businesses that send financial information, client records, HR documents or other confidential material by email, that deserves attention.
- Email archiving deals with access and retention. It helps a business keep copies of messages in a way that can be searched and recovered when needed. That can matter for disputes, internal investigations, regulatory requests or simply finding an old client conversation without relying on one person’s mailbox.
Each control has a different job, so it is worth looking at them together rather than treating one as a replacement for another. Filtering can reduce the number of suspicious emails reaching staff, while archiving helps the business keep and retrieve important messages. Encryption adds protection when sensitive information is being sent. A sensible setup starts with how the business uses email, then applies the right level of protection around that.
Managed email support reduces the burden on staff
In many smaller organisations, email problems fall to whoever is most comfortable with IT. That person might be an office manager, finance lead, operations manager or someone in the leadership team. They may be capable, but they also have their own job to do.
That becomes a problem when email management starts to involve security policies, licence choices, mailbox permissions, mobile access, phishing reports, archiving rules and account recovery. These are not small admin tasks when the business depends on email every day.
Managed email support gives the business a proper route for handling those issues. Staff know who to contact. Problems are dealt with by people who understand the systems. Settings can be reviewed before they cause disruption.
BCNS’s wider managed IT support is built around bespoke support and dedicated engineers, so businesses are not left trying to work everything out themselves. That matters with email because the right answer often depends on the organisation. A school, charity, professional services firm and SME may all use Microsoft 365, but they will not all need the same access rules, retention settings or support arrangement.
Local email support helps Devon businesses make practical decisions
For businesses in Plymouth, Totnes, Torquay and across Devon, local support can make the review process easier. You can talk through what the business needs, where the current setup falls short and what should be changed first.
BCNS provides IT support in Devon for businesses, schools, colleges, charities and SMEs. Its email services are also aimed at organisations across Devon, which keeps the support grounded in the needs of local organisations rather than generic software advice.
A good review should cover questions such as whether former staff accounts have been removed, whether shared mailboxes are set up correctly, whether email forwarding is being monitored, whether sensitive messages need encryption, whether archiving is in place and whether staff know what to do with suspicious emails.
Review your email security services with BCNS in Devon
Microsoft 365 costs are changing, but the bigger issue is whether your email environment is secure, supported and fit for purpose.
With a free consultation, review your email setup, understand what is already in place and decide what level of protection your business needs. That might include filtering, encryption, archiving, monitoring, Microsoft 365 support or wider cyber security advice.
