Products and Capabilities

Overview

Every customer has a unique source environment. To ensure a successful onboarding experience, it’s vital for customer expectations to be explained before we begin.

Based on each customer's current setup, a FastTrack Specialist works to create a remediation plan that brings the customer source environment up to the minimum requirements for successful onboarding. All supported Microsoft 365 products have different requirements. Please review the requirements provided for each before beginning deployment.

Getting started

FastTrack provides deployment guidance for Microsoft 365 products and services through various deployment channels. When a customer submits a request for assistance, that request is reviewed to determine the best method of assistance. These guidelines include:

  • Microsoft 365 advanced deployment guides – Tailored guidance and resources for planning and deploying your tenant, apps, and services.
  • Partner assistance – Dedicated FastTrack Partners that assist with deployment of Microsoft 365.
  • Internal resources – FastTrack Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) and Engineers that assist with deployment of Microsoft 365.

Supported products and capabilities

FastTrack Specialists provide remote guidance first for core capabilities (common for all Microsoft Online Services) and then onboarding of each eligible service.

These guidelines include:

FastTrack core onboarding

FastTrack provides remote guidance for core onboarding, which involves service provisioning, tenant configuration, and identity integration. It also includes steps for providing a foundation for onboarding services like Exchange Online, SharePoint Online, and Microsoft Teams, including a discussion on security, network connectivity, and compliance.

Onboarding for one or more eligible services can begin once core onboarding is finished.

Identity integration

FastTrack provides remote guidance for:

  • Preparing on-premises Active Directory Identities for synchronization to Microsoft Entra ID including installing and configuring Microsoft Entra Connect (single or multi-forest) and licensing (including group-based licensing).
  • Creating cloud identities including bulk import and licensing including using group-based licensing.
  • Choosing and enabling the correct authentication method for your cloud journey, password hash sync, pass-through authentication, or Active Directory Federation Services (AD FS).
  • Choosing and enabling a more convenient authentication experience for your users with passwordless authentication using Fast Identity Online (FIDO2), Microsoft Authenticator app, or Windows Hello for Business cloud trust.
  • Providing planning documentation for Windows Hello for Business hybrid key or certificate trust.
  • Migrating authentication from AD FS to Microsoft Entra ID using password hash sync or Pass-through Authentication.
  • Migrating pre-integrated software-as-a-service (SaaS) apps (Microsoft Entra app gallery) from AD FS to Microsoft Entra ID for single sign-on (SSO).
  • Enabling SaaS app integrations with SSO from the Microsoft Entra app gallery.
  • Enabling automatic user provisioning for pre-integrated SaaS apps as listed in the app integration tutorial list (limited to Microsoft Entra app gallery and outbound provisioning only).
  • Enabling security defaults to secure your Identities for non-premium Microsoft Entra customers.
  • Configuring Microsoft Entra join.
  • Configuring Microsoft Entra hybrid join.

Network enablement

As part of the FastTrack benefit, we advise connecting to Microsoft 365 cloud services to ensure the highest levels of performance of Microsoft 365. Active Directory forests have the functional forest level set to Windows Server 2003 onward, with the following forest configuration:

  • A single Active Directory forest.
  • A single Active Directory account forest and resource forest (Exchange, Lync 2013, or Skype for Business) topologies.
  • Multiple Active Directory account forests and resource forest (Exchange, Lync 2013, or Skype for Business) topologies.
  • Multiple Active Directory account forests with one of the forests being a centralized Active Directory account forest that includes Exchange, Lync 2013, or Skype for Business.
  • Multiple Active Directory account forests, each with its own Exchange organization.
  • Tasks required for tenant configuration and integration with Microsoft Entra ID, if needed.

Important

  • For multi-forest Active Directory scenarios, if Lync 2013 or Skype for Business is deployed, it must be deployed in the same Active Directory forest as Exchange.
  • When implementing multiple Active Directory forests with multiple Exchange organizations in an Exchange multi-hybrid configuration, shared user principal name (UPN) namespaces between source forests aren't supported. Primary SMTP namespaces between Exchange organizations should also be separated. For more information, see Hybrid deployments with multiple Active Directory forests.
  • Active Directory Federation Services (AD FS) deployment is out of scope. Contact a Microsoft Partner for assistance with this.

Out of scope for all products and capabilities

  • On-site support.
  • Project management of the customer’s remediation activities.
  • Ongoing management, threat response, and remediation.
  • Security information and event management (SIEM) or API integration.
  • Troubleshooting issues encountered during engagement (including devices that fail to onboard).
  • Ongoing management and threat response.
  • Management of break/fix issues related to already deployed services
  • Custom scripting and coding
  • Design, architect, and third-party document review.
  • Tenant to Tenant migration

Microsoft advanced deployment guides

Microsoft provides customers with technology and guidance to assist with deploying your Microsoft 365, Microsoft Viva, and security services. We encourage our IT pro customers to start their deployment journey with these offerings.

For all non-IT pro customers, see **Microsoft 365 Setup.

Additional support

Microsoft-approved Partners can provide support with out-of-scope services, including:

US Government assistance

For more information about Us Government assistance, see Office 365 US Government - Service Descriptions | Microsoft Learn.