What I work with, in plain English.
Most IT websites list acronyms and leave you to guess. Here is what each of these actually is and why it might matter to you.
Cloud & identity
The Microsoft platform most small businesses run on, and the identity layer that decides who gets in.
Microsoft Azure
Microsoft's cloud platform. Where servers, storage and services live once they leave your office cupboard.
Microsoft Entra ID
The identity system behind Microsoft 365, formerly Azure AD. Controls who your users are and what they can reach.
Microsoft 365
Email, Office apps, Teams and file storage as a subscription. The core of most small business IT.
Exchange Online
The cloud email service inside Microsoft 365. Where mailbox migrations land.
SharePoint & OneDrive
Cloud file storage. SharePoint for shared company files, OneDrive for personal work files.
Azure Virtual Desktop
A full Windows desktop delivered from the cloud, useful for remote or contractor access.
Conditional Access
Rules that decide when a login is allowed: which device, which location, and whether MFA is needed.
Windows Autopilot
Ships a new laptop that configures itself when the user first switches it on. No imaging, no build day.
Device management
Keeping laptops and phones patched, encrypted and accounted for.
Microsoft Intune
Cloud device management for Windows, iOS and Android. Enrolment, policies, apps and compliance reporting.
Action1
Patch management. Keeps third-party software and Windows updated across the estate and shows you where the gaps are.
Windows Server & Active Directory
The traditional on-premise foundation. Still common, and usually what a cloud migration is moving away from.
Security
Detection, protection and the evidence to prove both exist.
SentinelOne
Endpoint detection and response. Watches device behaviour for attacks rather than just matching known viruses.
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint
Microsoft's endpoint protection, tightly integrated with the rest of the 365 estate.
Barracuda
Email security and backup. Filters inbound mail and runs phishing awareness simulations.
Tenable
Vulnerability scanning. Finds the unpatched, misconfigured and forgotten things before someone else does.
Cyber Essentials
The UK government-backed baseline security certification. Often required to win contracts or get insurance.
Networking & voice
The connectivity underneath everything, and the phone systems that ride on it.
Cisco Meraki
Cloud-managed firewalls, switches, wireless and SD-WAN. Manage multiple sites from one dashboard.
Sophos, Aruba & Ruckus
Firewall and wireless platforms commonly found in place. I have consolidated estates off all three.
PRTG
Network and infrastructure monitoring. Flags outages automatically instead of waiting for users to ring.
UCaaS
Unified Communications as a Service: cloud phone systems replacing on-premise hardware.
CCaaS
Contact Centre as a Service: call queuing, routing and reporting for teams handling volume.
Microsoft Teams Phone
Turns Teams into your phone system, so calls and chat live in one place.
Infrastructure & continuity
Servers, virtualisation and being able to recover when something fails.
VMware & Hyper-V
Virtualisation platforms. Run multiple servers on one physical machine.
Veeam
Backup and recovery across virtual and cloud environments, including restore testing.
Paxton & IP CCTV
Door access control and camera systems. Frequently IT's problem in practice, whoever owns it on paper.
Service management & delivery
How work gets tracked, prioritised and reported on.
ITIL v4
The service management framework behind consistent incident, problem and change handling.
Freshservice
Service desk and ticketing platform. Where support requests live and get measured.
Monday.com
Work and project tracking. I have rolled this out at enterprise level for board-level project visibility.
Jira & Smartsheet
Development and delivery tracking, used for managing change and release work.
IT Glue
IT documentation. The record of how everything is configured, so knowledge is not stuck in one person's head.
Automation & business systems
Cutting out manual work and joining systems together.
Power Automate
Microsoft's automation tool. Connects systems and removes repetitive manual steps.
CRM & ERP integration
Joining business systems so data flows automatically rather than being rekeyed.
UK GDPR & governance
Acceptable use, BYOD, data handling and asset management policies. The paperwork behind the controls.
Do not recognise something on this list? That is completely fine, and it is rather the point of the descriptions. If you are trying to work out whether a tool you have been quoted for is worth it, ask me and I will give you a straight answer.
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