Onboarding
Getting Started
with Lucente
We make onboarding simple — whether you’re switching providers, adding support alongside your internal team, or setting up IT for the first time. We guide you through every step, keep disruption to zero, and get set up quickly so we can start supporting your business.
Typically 1 to 6 weeks depending on the number of assets and complexity of the environment.
Five Steps. Minimal Effort from You.
We do the heavy lifting. You point us in the right direction and keep doing what you do best: running your business.
The tasks below are provided as a guide. Your final onboarding plan will be tailored to your environment, package, and any bolt-on selections.
1
Prepare
We collect key information, coordinate any provider handover, and get everything ready before we visit.
Prepare
We collect key information, coordinate any provider handover, and get everything ready before we visit.
We collect key information about your environment, users, and existing IT arrangements. If you have a current provider, we coordinate a structured handover.
What we do
- Stakeholder meeting to understand business priorities and requirements
- Collect environment details: users, credentials, domains, licensing
- Coordinate handover with outgoing IT provider (if applicable)
- Request removal of outgoing provider tools to avoid conflicts
- Collect third-party vendor details (telco, software, hosting, copier)
- Review existing documentation and environment history
- Prepare onboarding kit and schedule onsite visit
- Share support contact details and processes with your team
What you provide
- 30 to 60 minute meeting with key decision-makers
- Nominated key contact for IT matters
- M365 Global Admin credentials (or delegate access)
- Current IT provider details (if applicable)
- Staff list with roles and devices (if available)
2
Discover
We attend your site, document every device, network, and system, and deploy our monitoring and security tools.
Discover
We attend your site, document every device, network, and system, and deploy our monitoring and security tools.
Our team attends your site to document all devices, network equipment, and infrastructure, and deploy our monitoring and security tools.
What we do
- Walk the site: identify all workstations, servers, printers, network gear
- Complete full asset inventory with serial numbers, OS, encryption status
- Document network equipment: firewall, switches, access points, Wi-Fi
- Record IP addressing, VLANs, and connectivity details
- Deploy monitoring and security agents to all in-scope devices
- Deploy endpoint protection (Defender for Business)
- Check device encryption, Entra ID join, and patch status on each device
- Photograph server room, comms cabinet, and key infrastructure
- Identify immediate issues and quick wins
- Share IT Support and Onboarding guide with your team, including how to contact support and what to expect
What you provide
- Site access and someone to help with locked rooms or equipment
- Device login PINs or passwords available for each workstation
- Availability of staff if devices are in use
3
Configure
We set up your Microsoft 365 security, email protection, backup, and device policies remotely.
Configure
We set up your Microsoft 365 security, email protection, backup, and device policies remotely.
Following the onsite visit, we configure your Microsoft 365 security, email protection, backup, and device management policies remotely.
What we do
- Configure M365 tenant security defaults and MFA for all users
- Set up Conditional Access policies (if Business Premium)
- Configure email anti-phishing, anti-spam, Safe Links, Safe Attachments
- Configure and verify SPF, DKIM, and DMARC email authentication
- Set up break-glass admin account and password policies
- Configure M365 backup (Mail, OneDrive, SharePoint)
- Configure Windows Update and patch management policies
- Enable BitLocker encryption and Intune device management remotely
- Complete security baseline assessment covering patching, identity, and endpoint posture
- Complete third-party vendor register and confirm authority to liaise
What you provide
- Any compliance or regulatory requirements we should be aware of
- Approval for MFA rollout to staff (we handle the deployment)
- Confirmation of vendor contact authority
4
Stabilise
We close gaps, patch systems, and share a prioritised roadmap of recommendations.
Stabilise
We close gaps, patch systems, and share a prioritised roadmap of recommendations.
We address issues identified during onboarding, remediate priority risks, and share a prioritised roadmap of recommendations.
What we do
- Remediate critical patching gaps and security risks
- Remove consumer or legacy antivirus software
- Convert local account users to Entra ID sign-in
- Upgrade Windows Home devices to Windows Pro (if in scope)
- Resolve printer, peripheral, and connectivity issues
- Deploy managed network monitoring (if in scope)
- Complete prioritised uplift roadmap with short, medium, and longer term recommendations
- Complete risk register with identified risks and mitigations
- Share roadmap and recommendations with management
- Where additional project work is identified, this is scoped and proposed separately
What you provide
- Known pain points or recurring issues to prioritise
- Decision on roadmap items that require commercial approval
- Feedback on recommendations
5
Support
Proactive support begins, with regular check-ins and a clear maintenance schedule.
Support
Proactive support begins, with regular check-ins and a clear maintenance schedule.
Onboarding is complete. We confirm escalation paths, transition outstanding items into the service desk, and move into proactive ongoing support.
What we do
- Confirm escalation paths and key contacts
- Transition any outstanding items or known issues into service desk
- Confirm steady-state maintenance schedules and reporting cadence
- Deliver onboarding completion summary covering what was deployed, outstanding items, and recommendations
- Schedule first quarterly customer success meeting
- Proactive monitoring, scheduled business reviews, and IT roadmap
- Honest, ongoing technology advice
What you get
- A team that knows your environment inside out
- Proactive monitoring that catches issues early
- Regular check-ins and transparent reporting
- Honest advice you can act on
What to Expect
We handle the complexity. Here’s what it looks like from your side.
Throughout the process, you get:
Don’t have all the details ready? That’s normal. We’ll help you track down credentials, contacts, and contracts — it’s part of what we do. If onboarding uncovers work beyond standard transition (e.g. infrastructure upgrades), we’ll document it and propose it separately.
Common Questions
That’s completely normal — most clients don’t have everything ready to go. We’ll help you track down credentials, contacts, and contracts. Part of our onboarding process is uncovering what’s there and filling in the gaps.
Our process is designed for zero disruption. We deploy tools quietly in the background, and any changes that could affect your team are scheduled outside business hours or coordinated in advance. Your people keep working — they’ll barely notice we’re there.
If you’re switching from another provider, we’ll coordinate the handover directly — requesting documentation, credentials, and access transfers. We handle the communication so you don’t have to manage it yourself. If you don’t have a current provider, we simply start from scratch and build everything up.
Absolutely. Our tools and support model work across office, remote, and hybrid setups. We can deploy monitoring agents, security tools, and provide helpdesk support regardless of where your team is located.
Absolutely. Many of our clients have an internal IT person or small team. We can work alongside them — providing strategic guidance, managing cybersecurity, handling vendor coordination and procurement, or picking up specific projects. We tailor our involvement to what your business actually needs, whether that’s full IT partnership or targeted augmentation.
Yes — from day one you’ll have access to our team. If something urgent comes up during the onboarding window, we’ll handle it. You don’t need to wait until onboarding is finished to get support.
Have other questions? See our full FAQ.
Ready to Get Started?
Book a free, no-obligation consultation and we’ll walk you through how onboarding works for your business.
No obligation. We typically respond within 1 business day.