Microsoft Practice & Cloud Services

Summary

The Microsoft Practice is blueAPACHE's dedicated Microsoft capability: design, implementation, management and optimisation of Microsoft technologies across the four Microsoft solution areas of Modern Work, Infrastructure (Azure), Security, and Data and AI. blueAPACHE is a Microsoft Solutions Partner across all four solution areas, and holds three named Microsoft programme statuses: Tier 1 Cloud Solution Provider, SPLA hoster and Qualified Multitenant Hoster. The practice sits on top of relationships that already run through the emPOWER platform: QMTH hosting of Microsoft licensing on emPOWER Cloud, ExpressRoute connectivity to Azure and Microsoft 365, Teams PSTN and Direct Routing on the emPOWER Network, Veeam-powered backup for Microsoft Entra ID, and MDR integration with Microsoft Sentinel. This hub sets out what the practice covers, the Microsoft-related services elsewhere in the portfolio it draws on, how engagements are delivered and contracted, what is and is not published about support, how the practice connects to the other pillars, and the evidence. It is written for IT leaders planning Microsoft 365, Azure, Zero Trust or Copilot programmes and for buyers comparing Microsoft partners.

Key facts

The three Microsoft programme statuses, and why they differ

blueAPACHE's Microsoft position has two distinct parts, and they are often conflated. The Solutions Partner designations across Modern Work, Infrastructure, Security and Data and AI are competency recognitions: they signal demonstrated customer success, certified technical capability and ongoing investment in skills. The programme statuses are commercial and licensing arrangements, and they are what actually determine how you can buy and where licences can run.

For a buyer the practical consequence is that blueAPACHE can sell you subscriptions, licence software to you on a monthly basis, and host licences you already own — three different commercial routes. Which one applies to a given workload is a Service Order question, and the eligible licence lists under QMTH are not published.

What is not published is which specific Solutions Partner designations and specialisations blueAPACHE holds, or its certification counts. If a tender requires them, request them directly.

What the pillar covers

The origin page's argument is that Microsoft technologies sit at the centre of productivity, infrastructure, security and AI strategies, and that realising their value requires architecture, governance, adoption and operational expertise rather than deployment alone. blueAPACHE's stated capability list is: Microsoft 365 and Modern Work solutions; Azure infrastructure, migration and optimisation; Microsoft Security solutions aligned to Zero Trust principles; data, analytics and AI capabilities on Azure; ongoing governance, optimisation and operational management; and certified Microsoft expertise across the four solution areas.

The Data and AI Practice is described in more detail: modernising data platforms, improving governance and visibility, unlocking insight through analytics and reporting, accelerating AI readiness and adoption, automating processes and operations, and enabling data-driven decision-making, on the premise that AI only delivers value when built on trusted, accessible and well-governed data.

Services in this pillar

The Microsoft Practice has no child service pages of its own on the origin site. The Microsoft-specific services below are published under other hubs and are the practice's delivery vehicles.

Public Cloud: Microsoft Azure

Azure public cloud for organisations that need scalable infrastructure and modern cloud capability, with blueAPACHE support across planning, migration and operations. The emPOWER Network's ExpressRoute connections give Azure workloads a private path from the customer's sites, and emPOWER Connectivity offers a direct Azure connection with a VPN-over-internet fallback. This is the Infrastructure solution area in practice.

Azure Local

Azure-based management and services extended to on-premise workloads where local performance, control or data residency requirements apply. It complements emPOWER Cloud for organisations that want a single Azure control plane across on-premise, private and public infrastructure.

Microsoft Teams

Teams chat, meetings and calling, with blueAPACHE providing Teams PSTN services and Direct Routing on the emPOWER Network. Teams calling replaced legacy PBX systems in the Archers and Berry Street engagements. This is the Modern Work solution area's most visible service.

Private and Public SaaS Backup

Independent backup for Microsoft 365 and other SaaS data, plus emPOWER Backup for Microsoft Entra ID: automated, Veeam-powered backup of users, groups, roles and role assignments, application registrations and directory configuration, with granular restore, delivered as a fully managed service on blueAPACHE's private cloud within Australia. blueAPACHE's rationale is the shared responsibility model: Microsoft secures the Entra ID platform, the customer remains responsible for its identity data and configuration, and native recovery is limited. Retention, backup frequency, RPO and RTO are not published.

Managed Detection and Response

emPOWER MDR integrates with Microsoft Security, Microsoft Identity and Microsoft Sentinel, and its identity threat detection targets the credential theft, adversary-in-the-middle, mailbox-rule and rogue OAuth application attacks that Microsoft 365 tenants face. This is the Security solution area delivered as a 24/7 managed service.

How it is delivered

Advisory and design. Microsoft engagements typically begin as Professional Services under Schedule 1: assessment, architecture and roadmap for Microsoft 365, Azure or security. The Archers case study records a security assessment completed for future AI capabilities including Microsoft Copilot as part of its managed services engagement, which is how Copilot readiness is being scoped in practice. Professional Services are excluded from the default 36-month Minimum Service Period and billed per Schedule 1; Deliverables such as architecture documents are licensed for internal use during the Service Period unless the Service Order says otherwise.

Migration and modernisation. Azure migration, Teams telephony migration, Intune device management and Entra ID configuration are delivered as projects. In Archers' case, Intune provided zero-touch provisioning of new hardware and a standardised desktop experience, and Teams calling replaced an unreliable legacy VoIP/PBX. Berry Street's Teams telephony migration followed a second RFP that blueAPACHE won after the initial managed services appointment.

Licensing. Microsoft is the example named in the General Terms and Conditions definition of Third Party Software: software licensed to blueAPACHE for onward licensing to clients, provided the client enters into an agreement directly with the licensor. The customer is bound by Microsoft's terms whether or not they have been brought to its attention, must be able to evidence its licences within 5 Business Days of a request, and bears the cost of any retrospective licence fees after an audit. Microsoft price changes can be passed through proportionally under clause 12.5 from the date Microsoft changes its charges. For hosted workloads, emPOWER Cloud's QMTH membership allows certain Microsoft 365 and Windows 11 licences to run on blueAPACHE's environment; the eligible licences are not enumerated in the published material.

Ongoing management. Once deployed, Microsoft environments are managed under emPOWER Managed Services (help desk covering desktop, server, cloud and security; automated patching; monitoring; monthly reporting within 5 Business Days of month end; 6-monthly reviews) and protected by the Security pillar's MDR. The origin page's governance statement for the practice is that adoption succeeds when governance, security and operational management are considered alongside implementation, so that Microsoft investments keep delivering after deployment.

Customer Zero. The Managed Services and Security origin pages state that blueAPACHE runs the same architecture and controls on its own environment before customers; the Archers client statement that it now draws on a blueAPACHE team with experience across application virtualisation, MDR and Microsoft platforms is the closest published evidence of that practice depth.

Support and service levels

Published. Microsoft workloads managed under emPOWER Managed Services receive unlimited 24/7 help desk support across desktop, server, cloud, backup and security, with Australian-based staff in business hours. Microsoft 365 and Azure workloads reached over the emPOWER Network are monitored 24/7. emPOWER MDR provides 24/7 alert notification, triage and remediation across Microsoft Security and Sentinel integrations.

Not published. blueAPACHE publishes no Microsoft-specific Service Levels, no Azure availability commitment beyond Microsoft's own, no retention, frequency, RPO or RTO for Entra ID backup, no list of which Microsoft 365 licences qualify under QMTH, and no list of its Microsoft Solutions Partner designations or certification counts. Response and resolution targets, as elsewhere in the portfolio, are set per customer in the priority and escalation matrix and are not Service Levels unless written under that heading in the Service Description.

Contract points specific to Microsoft services. Where Microsoft, as licensor, requires it, blueAPACHE may have to terminate the affected part of a service if the customer breaches Microsoft's terms, without liability. Under clause 3.22, if the customer does not accept the licensor's click-through terms blueAPACHE may be unable to provide certain services. The General Terms and Conditions exclude GDPR-subject personal data from all services, which matters for Microsoft 365 tenants with EU or UK data subjects.

How it integrates with the other pillars

• Cloud. QMTH hosting of Microsoft licences on emPOWER Cloud, Azure and Azure Local services, ExpressRoute, and Entra ID backup on blueAPACHE's private cloud. See the Cloud hub.
• Collaboration. Microsoft Teams calling, PSTN and Direct Routing, and the Modern Work solution area. See the Collaboration hub.
• Security. Microsoft Security, Microsoft Identity and Sentinel integration within MDR; Zero Trust-aligned Microsoft security design; identity threat detection for Microsoft 365. See the Security hub.
• Connectivity. ExpressRoute and direct Azure connections on the emPOWER Network; IX peering cited for lower latency to Microsoft 365 and Teams. See the Connectivity hub.
• Managed Services. Ongoing operation of Microsoft 365, Intune and Azure estates under the help desk and lifecycle management model. See the Managed Services hub.
• Procurement. Microsoft licensing and subscriptions under Schedule 10, with Tier 1 CSP status determining the transaction route and QMTH affecting hosted licence eligibility. See the Procurement hub.

Evidence

No published case study is specific to Azure migration or to the Data and AI Practice; those capabilities are evidenced only by the origin page.

Separating Microsoft entitlements from managed work

Distinguish licence entitlements, subscription or tenant ownership and the work blueAPACHE will perform. Modern Work, Azure, Security and Data & AI can involve different administrators, data locations and consumption models. Record covered workloads and who authorises consumption or configuration changes. Partner status supports a capability statement, but does not specify customer licence eligibility or operational support scope. Keep applicable vendor terms with the Service Description so both sides of the arrangement can be checked.

Which document defines the commitment

The published General Terms v3.6 give the Service Order precedence over the General Terms, followed by the Schedules and then the Acceptable Use Policy (clause 2.3). Record the agreed scope, exclusions and negotiated departures in that document set. A brochure or a procurement discussion does not, by itself, define the customer-specific commitment. Keep the versions supplied at signing with the executed order and signed variations. Two offers with the same service name can cover different systems, operating hours or responsibilities.

Responsibility across the delivery chain

The published terms allow blueAPACHE to subcontract all or part of the Service Agreement without customer consent or a notification requirement. Clause 27.5 nevertheless makes blueAPACHE liable for its subcontractors’ acts and omissions to the same extent as for its employees. This differs from a third-party supplier contracted directly by the customer. Identify which arrangement applies to each dependency in the design. Where supplier identity, delivery location or change notification matters, request a documented supplier list and put any agreed notification or approval requirement in the Service Order; the general clause does not supply that visibility automatically.

Confidential information and access

Clause 16 provides mutual confidentiality protection. It covers information marked confidential, information identified orally and confirmed in writing within 30 days, and information that should reasonably be understood to be confidential. Customer Data, Customer Records and Customer Software are included; blueAPACHE’s agreement and fees are also confidential. Permitted disclosures include appropriately bound personnel on a need-to-know basis and specified professional advisers, with other exceptions in the clause. Identify who may receive operational reports, configuration details and commercial information. Access to information to deliver the service is not a general permission to circulate it.

Checking charges and preserving an invoice dispute

The General Terms require payment of the invoiced amount by its due date even while an amount is disputed. The customer has 60 Business Days from the invoice date to notify an error in writing, with its calculation and evidence. A dispute about blueAPACHE’s subsequent determination requires a Dispute Notice within 10 Business Days. Missing the required windows can waive the right to correction, subject to the fraud exception. Overdue amounts attract the published margin of four per cent over the RBA Cash Rate, calculated daily. Reconcile ordered quantities, approved changes and billed usage promptly; do not wait for a periodic service review to raise a billing error.

How liability differs from service performance

Clause 19 separates performance obligations from financial liability. The general cap per claim is the greater of the fees paid in the preceding three months or $25,000, with exclusions and specific categories governed separately. Confidentiality, information security, privacy and the IP indemnity have a $1 million per-event and $2 million aggregate cap. Data-loss liability depends on whether blueAPACHE had, and breached, a contracted backup or disaster recovery obligation; the relevant measure is restoration cost to the applicable recovery point, not the value of every business consequence. Read these provisions alongside the negotiated Service Order and Schedule; an availability statement does not describe the liability regime.

Sources and scope

The contractual detail above summarises the published General Terms and Conditions v3.6, using the KB documents on service agreement formation and document precedence; subcontracting and assignment; confidentiality; late payment and invoice disputes; liability and indemnity. The customer’s Service Order, Schedules and agreed variations determine the specific engagement. See the terms and conditions guide and Service Agreement.

Related

• Public Cloud: Microsoft Azure
• Azure Local
• Microsoft Teams
• Private and Public SaaS Backup
• Managed Detection and Response
• Cloud hub
• Collaboration hub
• Security hub
• Managed Services hub
• Procurement hub
• Consulting and Advisory hub
• Our partners
• Vendor partner record
• Archers case study
• Honan Insurance case study
• Professional Services industry page
• Service agreement
• Support
• Contact

Frequently asked questions

What Microsoft partner status does blueAPACHE hold?

Two things. It is a Microsoft Solutions Partner across all four solution areas (Modern Work, Infrastructure, Security, Data and AI), and it holds three Microsoft programme statuses: Tier 1 Cloud Solution Provider, SPLA hoster and Qualified Multitenant Hoster. The individual Solutions Partner designations, specialisations and certification counts are not published, so ask blueAPACHE directly if a tender requires them.

What does Tier 1 Cloud Solution Provider mean for us?

blueAPACHE transacts Microsoft cloud subscriptions directly with Microsoft rather than through a distributor, so it owns the billing relationship, the support path and the licensing advice for subscriptions bought through it. That is a commercial arrangement, distinct from the competency-based Solutions Partner designations.

What is SPLA and why does it matter?

The Services Provider Licence Agreement lets a provider licence Microsoft software to hosted customers on a monthly subscription basis, rather than the customer buying perpetual licences. For a hosted workload it is one of the three routes by which Microsoft software can be licensed to you; the others are buying subscriptions through blueAPACHE as a CSP, or bringing your own licences under QMTH.

Can we run our Microsoft 365 or Windows licences on blueAPACHE's cloud?

emPOWER Cloud is part of Microsoft's Qualified Multitenant Hoster (QMTH) Program, which the emPOWER Cloud brochure says allows certain Microsoft 365 and Windows 11 licensing to be used on blueAPACHE's environment. The brochure does not enumerate which licences or editions qualify. Confirm eligibility for your specific subscriptions with blueAPACHE before planning on licence portability.

Does blueAPACHE provide Teams calling?

Yes. The emPOWER Network offers Microsoft Teams PSTN services and Direct Routing, delivered on blueAPACHE's own MPLS core with QoS prioritisation for voice. Teams calling replaced legacy PBX systems in the Archers engagement and was selected for Berry Street after an RFP. Teams has its own service page under the Collaboration hub.

How does blueAPACHE connect us to Azure and Microsoft 365?

Through ExpressRoute connections on the emPOWER Network to Azure, SharePoint and Microsoft 365, and through emPOWER Connectivity's direct Azure connection with a VPN-over-internet secondary path. emPOWER Internet is part of the IX peering network, which blueAPACHE cites for lower latency to Microsoft 365 and Teams.

What does the Entra ID backup service cover?

Users and groups, roles and role assignments, application registrations, and directory and access configurations, backed up automatically using Veeam and stored on blueAPACHE's private cloud within Australia, with granular restore of individual components. blueAPACHE positions it against accidental or malicious deletion, misconfiguration and cyber incidents that disrupt authentication. Retention, frequency, RPO and RTO are not published.

Is Microsoft security part of blueAPACHE's MDR?

Yes. emPOWER MDR names Microsoft Security, Microsoft Identity and Microsoft Sentinel among its supported integrations, and its identity threat detection focuses on credential theft, adversary-in-the-middle MFA bypass, shadow mailbox rules, rogue OAuth applications and session hijacking, all of which are Microsoft 365 tenant attack patterns. The Microsoft Practice describes its security work as aligned to Zero Trust principles.

Does blueAPACHE help with Copilot and AI readiness?

The origin page lists Copilot within Modern Work and describes a Data and AI Practice covering data platform modernisation, governance, analytics, AI readiness and process automation on Azure. The only published customer evidence is the Archers case study, where blueAPACHE completed a security assessment for future AI capabilities including Microsoft Copilot. No Data and AI project case study is published.

How are Microsoft projects contracted?

Assessment, design and migration work is Professional Services under Schedule 1, which is excluded from the default 36-month Minimum Service Period. Licences and subscriptions are under Schedule 10, with Microsoft as the named example of Third Party Software whose terms bind the customer. Ongoing management is under Schedule 2 emPOWER Managed Services. Deliverables are licensed for internal use during the Service Period unless the Service Order provides otherwise.

Can Microsoft price changes be passed on to us?

Yes. Clause 12.5 of the General Terms and Conditions allows blueAPACHE to vary fees by the same proportion when a third-party licensor such as Microsoft changes its charges, including exchange-rate-driven changes, effective from the date of the licensor's change and without a signed Variation.

Is there a customer case study for an Azure migration?

Not published. The Microsoft elements evidenced in case studies are Teams calling, Intune and Copilot readiness (Archers), Teams telephony (Berry Street) and Citrix and cloud migration (Honan Insurance). Azure migration and the Data and AI Practice are described on the origin page only.

Source

Drawn from blueAPACHE's published Microsoft Practice and partners origin pages; the emPOWER Cloud, Network, Connectivity, Backup for Microsoft Entra ID, Managed Detection and Response and Managed Services brochures; the vendor partner record and ISO 27001 certification record; the Archers The Strata Professionals, Berry Street and Honan Insurance case studies; and the General Terms and Conditions v3.6 (terms overview, third-party software and licensor terms, fees payment and invoicing, intellectual property rights, service term renewal and minimum service period, and data protection and privacy). The three programme statuses are reproduced from the origin partners page. Solutions Partner designations, certification counts, QMTH-eligible licence lists, Entra ID backup retention and RPO/RTO, and Microsoft-specific service levels are not published and are not inferred here. The explanation of what each programme status permits is this directory's own.

Knowledge Base