Simplify IT with Tenant Consolidation

Tenant Consolidation: Senior Engineer Aaron Stallabrass Thoughts.

By Aaron Stallabrass, Senior Engineer at INTEGY


In recent years, I’ve had countless conversations with education organisations, especially multi-academy trusts (MATs), that are struggling with the complexity of managing multiple Microsoft 365 tenants. While these structures may have been set up with good intentions, the reality is that they create silos, increase costs, and make IT management unnecessarily complex.


At INTEGY, we specialise in helping organisations like yours consolidate into a single tenant, unlocking new levels of efficiency, collaboration, and cost savings.


Why Consolidate?


Managing multiple tenants often leads to:


  • Operational Inefficiencies: Collaboration becomes cumbersome, with users unable to share calendars, files, and resources seamlessly.
  • Security Risks: Inconsistent policies across tenants can leave gaps in your security posture.
  • Unnecessary Costs: Duplicate licensing and services inflate your IT spend.
  • Administrative Complexity: IT teams waste time managing redundant configurations and troubleshooting across multiple environments.


Consolidating your Microsoft 365 environment into a single tenant addresses these challenges, creating a unified, simplified IT landscape that supports your trust’s long-term goals.


The INTEGY Approach to Tenant Consolidation


At INTEGY, we’ve developed a proven methodology to make tenant consolidation as smooth and stress-free as possible. Here’s an outline of how we approach these projects:


  1. Discovery and Planning
    We begin with a detailed review of your existing tenants, including user accounts, data, and configurations. This helps us understand your specific challenges and design a consolidation strategy tailored to your organisation’s needs.
  2. Data Mapping and Preparation
    Before any migration, we map out where data resides and how it will be organised in the new tenant. We also identify potential risks, such as data duplication or loss, and ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place.
  3. License Optimisation
    Consolidation is the perfect opportunity to review your licensing strategy. We ensure you’re only paying for what you need, with no overlaps or wasted spend.
  4. Migration Execution
    Our engineers use industry-leading tools and best practices to migrate your data, accounts, and configurations. We prioritise minimal disruption to staff and students, scheduling migrations during low-usage periods whenever possible.
  5. Post-Migration Support
    Once the consolidation is complete, we provide ongoing support to address any issues and help your IT team adapt to the new environment.


Real-World Impact


One of our recent projects involved consolidating five tenants for a newly formed MAT. The IT team was overwhelmed by the complexity of managing separate environments, and collaboration between schools was a major pain point. After working with INTEGY, the trust achieved:


  • 30% reduction in licensing costs by eliminating duplication.
  • Seamless collaboration across all schools, with shared calendars, Teams, and OneDrive integration.
  • Improved security through unified policies and consistent enforcement.
  • Significant time savings for IT staff, allowing them to focus on strategic initiatives rather than firefighting.


Ready to Simplify Your IT?


If your organisation is grappling with multiple tenants, it’s time to consider consolidation. At INTEGY, we have the expertise and experience to guide you through the process and deliver tangible results.



Let’s start a conversation about how tenant consolidation can benefit your trust.

Contact Us

Call us today on 01392 796525 or Email us at ask@integy.co.uk

December 16, 2024
At INTEGY, we’re passionate about enabling organisations to embrace the future of work, especially when innovation and agility are at the heart of their mission. Recently, we had the privilege of supporting a client whose business serves as a launchpad for startups, providing the technology and equipment needed to kickstart their journey.  The Challenge: Outdated IT for a Growing Organisation Our client’s IT infrastructure was a traditional setup, with user accounts and devices tightly bound to Active Directory. This configuration required devices to maintain network connectivity to on-premises servers, creating operational limitations. With the facility expanding to three separate locations, this approach no longer supported their need for flexibility, scalability, and efficiency. Startups thrive on speed and adaptability, and their IT systems needed to reflect those principles. The reliance on traditional IT was slowing them down, creating unnecessary overhead, and limiting their ability to provide the seamless experience their customers expected. The Solution: A Cloud-Native Transformation We transformed their IT environment into a modern, cloud-native setup: Entra ID for Identity Management Every device is now joined to Entra ID (formerly Azure AD), shifting identity management to the cloud. This eliminates the need for on-premises servers, offering secure access from anywhere. Intune for Device Management Devices are now managed through Microsoft Intune, enabling streamlined policy enforcement, application deployment, and security updates, all delivered from the cloud. Enhanced Security with Zero Trust Principles We implemented a Zero Trust security model, ensuring that devices and users are authenticated and compliant before accessing resources. Defender for Endpoint provides enhanced threat protection and visibility across their environment. Simplified User Experience By decoupling devices from on-premises dependencies, we empowered their users to work from any location with a secure, seamless experience. Scalability and Agility With their new cloud-native IT framework, our client is no longer constrained by physical infrastructure. They can now scale operations effortlessly as they open new locations and onboard new startups. The Results: Flexibility, Efficiency, and Growth The move to a cloud-native configuration has been a game-changer for our client. They’ve gained: Operational Efficiency : IT management is simpler and faster, reducing administrative overhead. Improved User Experience : Users now enjoy consistent and reliable access to systems, regardless of location. Scalability : Expansion to new sites no longer requires complex IT overhauls. Security : Advanced cloud security tools ensure their data and devices remain protected. By embracing modern IT, our client is better positioned to serve their customers and focus on what matters most: empowering innovation for startups. Helping You Move Forward If your organisation is grappling with the limitations of traditional IT and looking to make the leap to a cloud-native future, we’re here to help. Let’s transform your IT and unlock your potential.
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