Field notes from Microsoft 365 security and readiness work.
Scoped Microsoft 365 workReview, fix, document and hand back the next checks.
Cyber Essentials Plus Readiness Sprint
Short readiness sprint to expose the Microsoft 365, endpoint, patching and evidence gaps most likely to derail assessment.
The Cyber Essentials Plus Readiness Sprint prepares a Microsoft 365 tenant for the assessment week. The engagement works through the controls that catch teams out — endpoint samples, MFA evidence, patching gaps and scope decisions — before the assessor has a chance to find them.
How it runs
Assessment risk first, evidence pack second.
The sprint starts with the declared scope: which devices and users are in scope, what evidence currently exists and which gaps need remediation before assessment day. Access is confirmed, scope is locked and the work stays focused on assessment-critical controls.
Findings are grouped by assessment risk, not by Microsoft 365 portal area. Endpoint and evidence gaps come first because those produce the fastest assessor findings. Each item has a named evidence owner, a remediation path and a check date.
Best for
- Teams with a booked or planned Cyber Essentials Plus assessment.
- SMEs that failed a previous control check or assessor dry run.
- Organisations that need collection points and remediation ownership clear before audit pressure lands.
Commercial details
- Commercial model
- Two-to-three-week sprint with fee agreed before work starts.
- Typical budget
- £2,500 to £5,000
- Typical timeframe
- Usually 2 to 3 weeks depending on access, device scope and change approval.
Signs this is the right fit
Use these signals before booking the sprint. They help separate readiness work from wider tenant cleanup, so the engagement stays focused on the assessment, not general housekeeping.
- An assessment date is close and device, MFA or patching evidence is still unclear.
- Previous checks raised findings but the remediation order is not agreed.
- Internal IT needs assessor-facing evidence without losing time to broad tenant cleanup.
The output gives internal owners a readiness register, evidence list, remediation notes and assessor discussion points for the controls still in motion.
The first week should identify what could fail sampling: unmanaged devices, missing patch proof, weak MFA evidence, unclear malware protection and unsupported systems. Remediation then follows assessment risk, not whichever setting is easiest to click, so effort stays aligned with assessor pressure.
Included
- Readiness gap review across MFA, endpoint, patching and evidence.
- Microsoft 365, Entra ID, Intune and Defender control review.
- Remediation sequencing for controls most likely to affect outcome.
- Evidence pack structure with named collection points.
- Assessor-facing remediation log where useful.
Outputs
- Readiness risk register.
- Assessor-ready evidence list.
- Remediation tracker.
- Internal IT notes and assessor discussion points.
Not included
- Certification or assessment.
- Guarantee of pass outcome.
- Commodity endpoint support outside the agreed readiness scope.
Avoid before assessment week unless necessary
- Broad tenant redesign unrelated to sampled controls.
- New device-management rollout across every user without a pilot.
- Large policy moves without rollback notes.
- Cosmetic Secure Score chasing that does not affect the assessment path.
Cyber Essentials Plus evidence pack preview
- Device sample list and ownership note
- MFA and admin access evidence
- Patch and malware protection proof
- Assessor-facing remediation log
Useful before you book
Quick self-check across identity, endpoint, governance, and monitoring.
Anonymised examples showing what was fixed and how delivery worked.