Most enterprise IT leaders we work with in North America share a similar frustration.

They own Microsoft 365. It is deployed broadly. Teams, SharePoint, security tooling, and now Copilot are in place. On paper, the platform is powerful. In practice, the business impact often feels uneven and harder to measure than expected.

This is not a Microsoft problem. It is an execution problem.

This experience is also reflected in recent independent research. In our opinion, the 2026 Gartner® Market Guide for Microsoft 365 Implementation and Support Services shares valuable insights on this problem.

Adoption is easy. Sustained value is not.

Turning on Microsoft 365 features is straightforward. Sustaining adoption across roles, regions, and business units is where things break down.

We commonly see unclear ownership models, fragmented governance, and policies that were written once and never evolved. Internal teams are stretched thin, and knowledge of the platform lives in silos. Over time, this leads to inconsistent usage, security gaps, and growing frustration from the business.

When leaders ask why ROI is elusive, the answer is rarely “we need more technology.” More often, it is “we need a better operating model.”

The services market adds complexity instead of clarity

Microsoft 365 is one of the most competitive services markets in enterprise IT. Many providers promise fast implementations and broad expertise. Fewer can demonstrate how they help organizations move from deployment to measurable outcomes.

With so many providers offering similar services, it becomes difficult to evaluate real differentiators such as proprietary IP, deep Microsoft alignment, or industry-specific experience.

We often meet organizations after they have cycled through multiple partners, each solving a narrow problem without addressing the bigger picture. The result is a platform that technically works but never fully supports how the business operates.

Copilot has changed expectations and raised risk

AI has accelerated executive interest in Microsoft 365. Copilot, in particular, has raised expectations for productivity gains and operational efficiency.

At the same time, it has exposed foundational gaps. Gartner notes that while demand for implementation and managed services is accelerating due to AI capabilities, many organizations struggle to align these investments with measurable business outcomes and maximize ROI.

We see the same thing. Without strong data foundations, governance, and security models, Copilot adoption stalls or introduces new risk. AI does not compensate for weak foundations. It amplifies them.

Support models are evolving, and so should expectations

Another important shift described in the Gartner research is the move away from reactive support models toward proactive, outcome-based managed services with providers offering continuous monitoring and automated solutions to address issues before they impact business operations.

Microsoft 365 is not a static platform. Features, security controls, and AI capabilities evolve continuously. Waiting for something to break before responding no longer works.

Leading organizations are prioritizing support models that focus on continuous improvement, user experience, and performance tied to business outcomes, not just ticket resolution.

From our perspective, this shift is essential to sustaining long-term value.

How Quisitive helps organizations create impact with M365

At Quisitive, we approach Microsoft 365 as a long-term business platform, not a one-time project.

We help organizations define strategy, establish governance that scales, align security and compliance with real-world operations, and operationalize Copilot responsibly. Our managed services are designed to evolve alongside Microsoft 365, keeping organizations aligned with both the platform and their business goals.

The goal is not to deploy more features. The goal is to make Microsoft 365 work better for the people who rely on it every day.

Gartner ®, Market Guide for Microsoft 365 Implementation and Support Services, Tom Sieber, Biswajit Maity, Matt Baldino, 7 January 2026. Gartner is a trademark of Gartner, Inc. and/or its affiliates. Gartner does not endorse any company, vendor, product or service depicted in its publications, and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors with the highest ratings or other designation. Gartner publications consist of the opinions of Gartner’s business and technology insights organization and should not be construed as statements of fact. Gartner disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, with respect to this publication, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.