Accounts and access
Every user and admin account in Microsoft 365, the domain and key applications. Look for MFA gaps, shared logins, former staff who still have access, and too many admins.
Assessment checklist
What a network assessment should include
A useful network assessment inventories every account, device and vendor, tests whether backups actually restore, checks Microsoft 365 and firewall security, and ends with a short ranked list of fixes and rough costs. If the report is a long scan printout with no priorities, it was not an assessment. Here is what to expect and what to ask for.
By the Velocity Technologies team ยท Last updated October 2026
What should the assessment review?
Six areas cover most of the risk in a 10 to 100 person office.
Devices
Workstations, laptops, servers and phones, with operating system versions, warranty dates, disk encryption and endpoint protection status.
Network and firewall
Firewall firmware and rules, VPN and remote access, switches, Wi-Fi coverage and guest separation, and internet circuits with any failover.
Backups
What is backed up, where the copies live, whether one copy is offline or immutable, and the result of an actual test restore.
Microsoft 365 security
MFA and conditional access, legacy sign-in, mailbox forwarding rules, external sharing, Secure Score and whether licenses match what people use.
Vendors and contracts
Who owns the domain, DNS, internet, phones, copiers and line-of-business software, with support contacts and renewal dates.
What should the report give you?
A short ranked list
Five to ten findings ranked by business impact, not hundreds of scan results sorted by a severity score.
Plain-language risk
Each finding says what could happen, how likely it is, and what it takes to fix.
A rough budget
One-time project costs and any change in monthly support, so leadership can decide what to do first.
The raw evidence
Inventories, screenshots and scan output in an appendix that you keep.
How is an assessment run?
Kickoff call
A short conversation about your concerns, locations, users and vendors.
Approved access
Temporary, documented admin access to Microsoft 365, the firewall and key systems, removed when the work is done.
On-site walk-through
The network closet, Wi-Fi, printers, cabling and anything a scan cannot see.
Findings review
A meeting to walk through the report and answer questions. You keep the report whether or not you hire us.
What are the warning signs of a weak assessment?
No restore test
If nobody restored a file, nobody knows whether the backups work.
Scans only
Automated scans miss vendor ownership, physical risks and how people actually work.
Findings that read like a sales pitch
Every recommendation should tie back to a finding you can verify yourself.
What happens after the assessment?
The report is yours, and you decide what to do with it.
Fix it in-house
Many findings, such as turning on MFA or removing old accounts, are quick for an internal IT person once someone has listed them.
Hand it to your current provider
A clear list gives your existing provider a fair chance to close the gaps, with dates.
Hire us for projects or ongoing support
If you want Velocity to take it on, the report becomes the onboarding plan. Ongoing support is $185 per user per month for 1-10 users, $165 for 11-25, $150 for 26-50 and $140 for 51-100.
Related services
Checklist
Work through this list before the assessment call
- A list of users and office locations.
- Who holds admin passwords for Microsoft 365, the domain and the firewall.
- Internet, phone and software vendors with account numbers.
- Where backups go and when a file was last restored.
- Recent outages, security scares or audit findings.
- Planned moves, hires or projects in the next year.
FAQ
Questions about this guide
How long does a network assessment take?
For a single office of 10 to 50 users, usually a few business days from kickoff to findings review. More sites, missing documentation and slow vendor responses add time.
Do you need admin credentials?
Yes, for some checks. Access should be temporary, approved in writing, logged, and removed when the assessment ends.
Is the Velocity assessment free?
Yes. The free network assessment reviews support, security, backup and risk for Phoenix and East Valley businesses and ends with a written summary of what we found.
Will the assessment disrupt our staff?
No. Most checks run in the background or after hours, and the on-site walk-through does not require anyone to log off.
Is an assessment the same as a penetration test?
No. An assessment reviews configuration, coverage and ownership. A penetration test actively tries to break in. Most offices should fix what an assessment finds before paying for a penetration test.
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