Azure Cloud
Hosting, networking and migration on Microsoft Azure, sized and costed for a small organisation.
Azure
Microsoft infrastructure, hybrid & cloud consultancy
Your Microsoft infrastructure shouldn’t be this hard.
Practical support across Windows Server, networking, Microsoft 365, Azure, identity and remote working — for small businesses and organisations that need reliable IT without unnecessary complexity.
- Windows Server
- Microsoft 365
- Microsoft Azure
- Identity & Security
- Networking & Remote Access
- Business Telephony
How we help
Practical IT help, without building a large internal IT department.
Small organisations rarely have a single IT problem. More often it is an accumulation: a server that was meant to be temporary, remote access set up by someone who has since left, Microsoft 365 licences that have not been reviewed, and a growing sense that it all takes more effort than it should.
Latchman Consulting works across on-premises, hybrid and Microsoft cloud infrastructure, including Windows Server, Microsoft 365, Azure, identity, networking and remote access. We look at what you already have, explain plainly what needs to change and what does not, do the work, and, if you want us to, keep looking after it afterwards. Where a full migration is not the right answer yet, we will say so and put a sensible interim arrangement in place instead.
The same approach suits small businesses, transport operators and small public-sector organisations such as town councils and schools: organisations that need Microsoft cloud expertise, clear scope and security taken seriously, without a large internal IT team.
Fixed-price project work is available after scoping. Ongoing Microsoft cloud management is available for organisations that would rather not manage it themselves.
Common problems we solve
Sound familiar?
- Old server or business application?
- Remote staff struggling to connect?
- Microsoft 365 getting difficult to manage?
- Paying for Microsoft 365 features you are not using?
- Cloud bill higher than expected?
- Business phone system no longer fit for hybrid working?
If any of those sound like your organisation, that is enough to start a conversation. Tell us what isn't working.
What we do
The work sits in a few areas.
Microsoft 365
Tenant administration, licensing, Exchange, OneDrive and security kept in order.
Microsoft 365SharePoint
Shared business documents moved out of unsuitable local storage and into SharePoint you already pay for.
SharePointIdentity & Security
Consistent identity and access across Microsoft 365, Azure and business systems.
Identity and securityRemote Working & Azure Virtual Desktop
Reliable, secure access to business systems for office, hybrid and remote staff.
Remote workingOn-Premises & Hybrid
Windows Server, Active Directory, networking, VPN and hybrid identity — including environments where moving everything to cloud would make no sense.
On-premises & hybridBusiness Telephony & 3CX
Modern business phone systems that work for remote and hybrid teams.
TelephonyOngoing IT Management
Keep the environment maintained after the project, with ongoing administration, advice and improvement work.
Ongoing management
Who we help
Practical Microsoft infrastructure support for businesses and organisations.
Small Businesses
Fix the infrastructure problems that are slowing the business down, then keep the environment under control with ongoing management where useful.
Small-business ITPublic & Local Organisations
Microsoft infrastructure, project and ongoing support for councils, schools, public bodies, charities and local organisations.
Public & local organisationsTransport Operators
Our strongest published sector experience: legacy applications, Microsoft 365, Azure, remote access and hybrid infrastructure.
Transport experience
How working with us works
Five steps, no jargon.
Tell us what is going wrong
No technical brief required. Explain the problem in normal language.
We look at what you already have
We work out what needs fixing, what can stay and what is unnecessarily complicated.
You get a clear recommendation
No cloud migration just for the sake of saying "cloud". If something is fine as it is, we will say so.
We implement it
Migration, configuration, security, connectivity and testing, planned to minimise disruption to the working day.
Stay with us if you want
We can continue managing the environment, or hand it back to you once the project is finished.
Case study
Worth's Motor Services wanted to reduce its dependence on a single on-premises server.
Worth's Motor Services, the family-run coach operator behind Worth's Coaches in Enstone, Oxfordshire, relied on a business-critical physical server located on the ground in the back office, a genuine single point of failure. It wanted to reduce that reliance and improve remote access.
Latchman Consulting moved suitable workloads into Azure, improved connectivity, modernised identity, introduced practical use of SharePoint, and took ongoing responsibility for key parts of the Microsoft 365 and infrastructure environment.
Read the Worth's Motor Services case study · Or the one about a 25-year-old application
Transport sector
Experience with how transport businesses actually run.
Coach and passenger transport operators depend on a small number of business-critical applications, and on office staff, operational staff and remote or hybrid workers all having reliable access to them. Our work with Worth's Motor Services and other operators has covered legacy line-of-business applications, Microsoft 365 and SharePoint, remote access, VPN and networking, Azure-hosted workloads, identity and ongoing infrastructure management.
FAQ
Common questions
Do we have to move everything to the cloud?
No. Some workloads are better left on-premises, some make sense in Azure, and many organisations work best with a hybrid setup. We recommend the option that fits the business rather than forcing a cloud migration.
Can you work with our existing IT supplier?
Yes. We can work alongside an existing IT supplier, software vendor or internal IT contact and focus on the Microsoft cloud or infrastructure work that needs attention. We will be clear about who is responsible for what.
Can you help move an old business application?
Yes. We look at how the application is used, what it depends on and how it needs to be reached, then plan around that. Where a clean move to Azure is practical, we do it. Where it is not, we can put a pragmatic temporary arrangement in place so the business is not depending on a single ageing machine while longer-term options are considered.
Can you help if our business still relies on very old software?
Often, yes. Very old or bespoke software cannot always be redeployed cleanly, particularly if installation files or dependencies are no longer available. In those situations we focus on continuity and risk reduction: keeping the working environment intact, making it accessible from more than one place, and giving the business time to decide what comes next.
Do you provide ongoing support after migration?
Yes. We can continue managing the Microsoft 365, identity, Azure and supporting infrastructure after a project, including users, licensing, security and changes. Or we can hand it back to you with documentation once the project is finished. Either is fine.
Can you work with very small businesses?
Yes. We work with small and growing organisations, including those with no internal IT team. Work is scoped to what you actually need, and fixed-price project work is available after scoping.
Can you help reduce unused Microsoft 365 licences?
Yes. We review who has what, which licences are assigned to leavers or unused accounts, and whether the plans in use match what people actually do. Rationalising licensing is a normal part of taking on a Microsoft 365 environment.
We already pay for Microsoft 365. Can you help us use more of it?
Yes. Many organisations are already licensed for SharePoint, OneDrive, Teams and security features they are not using. We help put those to practical use, for example moving shared business documents into SharePoint rather than leaving them on a local server or in personal drives.
Do you provide business phone systems?
Yes. We provide business telephony using 3CX, including remote and hybrid calling, extensions and call routing, and can administer the system on an ongoing basis where that is useful. It sits alongside our wider infrastructure work rather than being a separate telecoms business.
Tell us what isn't working, or what you want to change.
Something broken, something you have been meaning to modernise, or an idea you want a second opinion on before committing to it — a few sentences is enough to start. We will come back to you with a straight answer about what is involved.