The Setup Looked Solid — Until It Didn’t
An MSP we spoke to had been using a popular free, open-source tool to manage and monitor Microsoft 365 environments across multiple clients. It was lightweight, highly configurable, and seemed like a no-brainer: why pay when there’s a free solution that works?
Everything went fine… until it didn’t.
One client’s setup stopped working as expected.
Permissions were misaligned. Security settings weren’t applying. No logs to trace what happened. And no alerts had gone off to flag the issue.
Worse still — the MSP couldn’t give the client a clear answer.
There was no vendor to call. No formal support to lean on. No reliable audit trail.
They spent days trying to diagnose and manually fix the issue.
By the time things were back on track, the client had already decided to move on.
What This Experience Taught Us (and Them)
Free tools have a place — especially in the hands of highly technical professionals who are comfortable maintaining and troubleshooting the system themselves.
But for the average MSP juggling multiple clients and environments, the stakes are higher. You're not just maintaining your own systems — you’re responsible for others’ businesses, data, and trust.
Here’s the question this situation raised:
Would you trust a free antivirus to protect your business?
Or drive a work vehicle on free tyres you found online?
Probably not. Because some things are just too important to leave to chance.
What to Consider Before Going Free
If you’re weighing a free tool vs. a paid solution for Microsoft 365 monitoring, ask yourself:
- Is there a support team I can contact if something goes wrong?
- Can I confidently explain what’s happening inside the system — and what failed — if a client asks?
- Is the data secure? Is it compliant? Is it regularly updated and maintained?
- And if it breaks, do I have the time, skills, and resources to fix it — quickly?
In the case above, the MSP came to us after the fallout — not to undo what happened, but to prevent it from happening again.
A Better Way Forward
At MSP Easy Tools, we built our platform specifically for MSPs who want reliability, clarity, and confidence in how they manage Microsoft 365.
We provide:
- 🔒 Enterprise-grade security with full encryption and GDPR compliance
- 📊 Real-time monitoring, alerting, reporting, and auto-fixing
- ✅ Support you can count on — no guessing, no forums
- 💡 A platform that’s hardened, hosted, and built to scale with your business
We're not here to bash free tools — they have their role. But when it comes to safeguarding client trust and delivering service you can stand behind, it helps to know someone has your back.
👉 Explore the difference between free and professional-grade tools here.
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