Veteran-Owned · Aurora / Denver Metro

Cybersecurity, Microsoft 365 Hardening, and Managed IT for Colorado SMBs

BlueStrata helps small and midsize businesses reduce identity risk, endpoint exposure, network misconfiguration, and operational chaos — without enterprise overhead or an anonymous helpdesk shuffle.

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Veteran-Owned
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Local to Aurora & Denver
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Microsoft 365 & Security Focused

Most SMBs Are Running Exposed and Don't Know It

SMBs rely on Microsoft 365, cloud apps, endpoints, firewalls, VPNs, wireless, and email every day — but most don't have a dedicated security team watching any of it.

The risk usually lives in misconfigured identity, stale accounts, weak MFA, unmanaged endpoints, poor offboarding, flat networks, missing backup validation, and unclear ownership.

  • Shared admin credentials and over-privileged accounts
  • No MFA, or MFA that can be bypassed
  • Former employee accounts still active
  • Endpoints with no EDR or inconsistent patching
  • Email domains with no SPF, DKIM, or DMARC
  • Backups that have never been tested
  • Firewall and VPN configs nobody has reviewed in years
  • No documentation of what exists or who owns it

SMB Security & Operations Baseline

A fixed-scope assessment that gives business owners a clear, risk-rated view of what is exposed, what is misconfigured, and what should be fixed first.

The Baseline covers the full operational attack surface for Colorado SMBs: identity, endpoints, email, network, backup, and operational processes — including an AI/automation readiness review. You get a deliverable you can act on, not a sales pitch dressed up as an audit.

Deliverables
Executive summary
Risk-rated findings
Prioritized remediation roadmap
Business-impact explanation
Optional remediation sprint proposal
Optional managed services proposal
The Baseline is a paid, fixed-scope engagement. Scope and pricing are confirmed after the Discovery Call.
Book a Discovery Call

What the Baseline Covers

Every Baseline engagement reviews these eight areas against practical security and operational standards.

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Identity & Access

Microsoft 365 / Entra ID, MFA enrollment, Conditional Access, admin roles, and privileged access review.

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Endpoint Posture

Device management, Intune / MDM readiness, EDR coverage, local admin accounts, and patch status.

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Email Security

SPF, DKIM, DMARC, anti-phishing policies, mail forwarding rules, delegate permissions, and transport rules.

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Network & VPN

Firewall configuration, VPN setup, Wi-Fi security, and basic network segmentation posture.

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Backup & Recovery

Backup strategy, recovery testing, RTO/RPO awareness, and Microsoft 365 data protection posture.

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Onboarding & Offboarding

User lifecycle controls, access removal procedures, and stale account review.

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Documentation & Process

Operational SOPs, asset documentation, vendor inventory, and known process gaps.

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AI & Automation Readiness

Shadow AI exposure, OAuth consent posture, automation risk, and readiness for safe workflow automation.

How It Works

Four steps from first conversation to an environment under active management.

1

Discovery Call

We discuss your environment, pain points, and business risk. No credentials required. You leave with a clear next step.

2

Baseline Assessment

We review identity, endpoints, email, network, backup, and operational controls against practical security standards.

3

Report & Roadmap

You receive risk-rated findings, a prioritized remediation roadmap, and an executive summary written for business owners.

4

Fix or Manage

BlueStrata can execute targeted remediation sprints or provide ongoing managed IT and security support.

Problems That Usually Point to a Security & Operations Baseline

Most owners don't think in IT categories — they think in situations. If any of these sound familiar, these are fixable problems. But only once they're visible.

Identity & access

"Former employees may still have access to our systems."

People have left, but nobody is confident their Microsoft 365 accounts, shared mailboxes, or file access were fully removed. Admin rights have accumulated, and there's no consistent offboarding process.


What we do

We audit active accounts, admin roles, MFA coverage, mail forwarding rules, external file sharing, and third-party app permissions. We clear the urgent exposures and give you a prioritized roadmap for the rest.

Best next step: Security & Operations Baseline
AI governance

"Staff are using AI tools, and we have no policy or guardrails."

Employees are using ChatGPT, AI meeting note tools, and browser extensions. Nobody knows what data is being pasted in, what accounts those tools have access to, or how to allow AI adoption without creating new risk.


What we do

We assess current AI usage, review Microsoft 365 data exposure, identify risky workflows, draft an acceptable-use policy, and build a 30/60/90-day AI governance roadmap with approved tool categories.

Best next step: AI & Automation Assessment or Security & Operations Baseline
Backup & recovery

"Our backups say they're working, but nobody has tested a restore."

The backup software shows green checkmarks. But the business has never performed a real restore test, there's no documented recovery process, and nobody knows how long it would take to get back online after an incident.


What we do

We verify backup jobs, perform a controlled restore test, document recovery credentials, identify gaps in Microsoft 365 backup coverage, define your recovery expectations, and produce a written gap report.

Best next step: Security & Operations Baseline, then Backup & DR Cleanup
Microsoft 365

"Microsoft 365 has turned into permission chaos."

Files are shared externally without oversight, MFA is inconsistent, too many people have admin rights, and nobody knows which third-party apps still have access to the tenant. It was manageable when the business was smaller.


What we do

We harden Microsoft 365 and Entra ID — cleaning up Conditional Access, reviewing OAuth app consent, tightening external sharing, and reviewing DLP and audit logging so you have visibility and control again.

Best next step: Security & Operations Baseline, then M365 / Entra ID Hardening
Network & devices

"Wi-Fi, VPN, printers, and shared devices keep interrupting work."

Staff lose time to unreliable Wi-Fi, broken scan-to-email, VPN issues, and undocumented shared workstations. The network gear is a mix of whatever was purchased over the years, and nobody knows what's actually on the network.


What we do

We document the network, review firewall and Wi-Fi configuration, inventory devices, and identify the specific sources of friction — then provide a prioritized fix plan that actually resolves the problems.

Best next step: Security & Operations Baseline, then Firewall, VPN & Wi-Fi Review
IT stabilization

"We've outgrown the person who used to handle our IT."

The business has grown, but IT still runs on tribal knowledge — undocumented passwords, unclear vendors, inconsistent patching, and one person who "just knows how it works." There's no real support process and no visibility into what's at risk.


What we do

We inventory users, devices, network gear, Microsoft 365, admin accounts, vendors, and critical systems. We close the most urgent gaps and produce a 90-day stabilization roadmap — moving the business from tribal knowledge to a documented, supportable environment.

Best next step: Security & Operations Baseline, then managed support

Not sure which situation fits? Most clients start with a free external security assessment or a 30-minute discovery call. BlueStrata will help you determine the right next step — whether that's a Security & Operations Baseline, a focused remediation sprint, managed support, or an AI governance review.

Book a Discovery Call Free External Assessment

Remediation Sprints

Project-based fixes executed after the Baseline. Each sprint is fixed-scope with defined deliverables — no ongoing retainer required.

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M365 / Entra ID Hardening

Full security configuration of your Microsoft 365 tenant — MFA, Conditional Access, audit logging, DLP, and external sharing controls.

Scoped after assessment
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Conditional Access & MFA Cleanup

Review and rebuild Conditional Access policies, eliminate legacy auth, and enforce phishing-resistant MFA across your tenant.

Scoped after assessment
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Email Security Hardening

SPF, DKIM, DMARC configuration, anti-phishing policy review, and mail flow security cleanup.

Scoped after assessment
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Intune / Endpoint Hardening

Enroll and configure devices in Intune, enforce compliance policies, and deploy EDR to unmanaged endpoints.

Scoped after assessment
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Backup & DR Cleanup

Design and implement a backup strategy with tested recovery procedures and documented RTO/RPO targets.

Scoped after assessment
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Firewall, VPN & Wi-Fi Review

Firewall rule review, VPN hardening, Wi-Fi segmentation, and network configuration cleanup.

Scoped after assessment
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Offboarding & Access Control

Stale account cleanup, privilege reduction, offboarding process documentation, and access control review.

Scoped after assessment
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Security Documentation & SOPs

Build or clean up SOPs, runbooks, and technical documentation for repeatable IT operations.

Scoped after assessment
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Something Else?

Not every problem fits a standard sprint. Reach out and we'll scope it after a discovery conversation.

Custom scope

Managed IT & Security Retainers

Security-focused IT management with senior-level oversight — for businesses that need consistent protection, support, and accountability without hiring full-time staff.

Managed IT & Security
Proactive, security-focused IT management delivered by a senior engineer who treats your business like his own.
$125–$150
per user / per month
$1,500/mo minimum
Endpoint monitoring, patching, and management via professional RMM
Enterprise-grade endpoint detection and response (EDR) on every device
MFA enforcement using Authenticator app — not SMS
Firewall, switch, and access point monitoring with firmware updates
User onboarding and offboarding with documented procedures
Business-hours remote support for covered users and supported systems
Monthly summary covering patch status, incidents, and actions taken
Up to 5 shared network devices included at no extra charge
What this is — and what it isn't. This is proactive, security-focused IT management. Your devices are patched, protected, and monitored. Your users are set up correctly and locked down. When something breaks, you call one person who already knows your environment. Business-hours remote support is included for covered users and supported systems, with scope defined in the service agreement.
Additional Pricing
Additional devices beyond 2 per user $50/device/mo
Shared devices (kiosks, conference PCs) $50–$75/device/mo
Additional network devices beyond 5 included $25–$50/device/mo
Server management (standard workloads) $150–$250/server/mo
Server management (business-critical) $250–$400/server/mo
After-hours emergency support $200–$300/hr
Book a Discovery Call

Month-to-month and annual agreements available. Scope and coverage defined in the service agreement.

AI & Automation for SMB Operations

BlueStrata helps businesses identify where automation and AI agents can safely reduce repetitive work — without exposing sensitive data or bypassing human approval. The focus is practical: intake, documentation, onboarding, offboarding, reporting, SOP generation, and internal knowledge retrieval.

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AI Workflow Readiness Assessment

Evaluate where AI and automation can safely reduce operational overhead, and identify data exposure or access control gaps before deployment.

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Internal Documentation Assistant

AI-assisted knowledge retrieval and documentation tools for internal teams — scoped with access controls and data boundaries.

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Ticket Intake & Scoping Assistant

Structured intake workflows that capture issue context, categorize requests, and route work without manual triage overhead.

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SOP Generation & Reporting

Automated SOP drafting, change documentation, and executive report generation from operational data.

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AI Governance & Access Control Review

Audit OAuth consent posture, shadow AI usage, and permission scope for AI tools already operating in your environment.

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Secure Business Process Automation

Design and implement automations for onboarding, offboarding, approvals, and reporting — with human approval gates and audit trails.

Every implementation is scoped with access controls, data boundaries, and human approval gates. BlueStrata does not deploy AI that operates without guardrails, exposes sensitive business data to unreviewed third-party services, or bypasses human oversight for consequential actions.

Built for SMBs That Need Serious IT Without Enterprise Overhead

BlueStrata is designed for businesses that have real operational and security risk but no full-time security team to address it.

Best Fit

  • 10–75 employees
  • Microsoft 365 environments
  • No full-time security team
  • Growing compliance or cyber insurance pressure
  • Remote or hybrid users
  • Sensitive client, financial, healthcare, legal, or operational data
  • Businesses tired of reactive break/fix IT

Industries Served

  • Professional Services
  • Financial Services
  • Law Firms
  • Healthcare Adjacent
  • Accounting & Insurance
  • Construction & Trades
BlueStrata is not built for businesses looking for the cheapest possible IT, or for environments that want security controls disabled without accepting documented ownership of the risk.

Why Buyers Choose BlueStrata

Small businesses usually do not need another vendor. They need a responsible operator who can see risk clearly, communicate plainly, and bring order to an environment that has been running on shortcuts.

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No Anonymous Helpdesk Shuffle

Every engagement is founder-led, documented, and handled with senior-level oversight. You are not handed off to a random queue or left waiting on someone who has never seen your environment.

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Built for Colorado SMBs

BlueStrata is designed for Colorado businesses that have outgrown ad hoc support and need a practical, security-first operator who can work with what they already have.

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Microsoft 365 and Identity Focus

Most small-business risk now lives in email, identity, devices, and access. That is where we focus first so you get the most meaningful reduction in exposure.

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Clear Communication, Not Black Box IT

You get direct updates, documented findings, and a clear next step. No vague jargon, no surprise bills, and no disappearing act after the initial sale.

The Default Gateway

BlueStrata is backed by The Default Gateway, a practical IT operations and security publication focused on real-world MSP scenarios, identity risk, endpoint security, Microsoft 365, and operational discipline.

Read The Default Gateway ↗

Book a Discovery Call

Tell me about your environment, the biggest gaps you know about, and what has been keeping you from addressing them. You will leave with a clear next step — whether that is the Security Baseline, a remediation sprint, or ongoing managed support.

Best Fit

10–75 user businesses in Colorado

Email

Patrick.Welsh@BlueStrata.io

Prefer email? Send a message directly to Patrick.Welsh@BlueStrata.io with your company name, user count, current IT/security concern, and whether you are looking for a Security Baseline, remediation sprint, managed support, or AI automation review.

Response Time

Replies within one business day

Insights

The Default Gateway — practical IT and security insights

The Discovery Call is 30 minutes and free. The Security Baseline is a paid, fixed-scope engagement — pricing is provided after the call.

Prefer email? Contact Patrick.Welsh@BlueStrata.io directly.