What you get from a free IT assessment for architecture and design practices

For architecture, interior design and project management practices, “IT” can easily become a blur of licences, tools, security requirements and vendor promises. A free IT assessment is designed to cut through that – and give you a clear, practice‑specific view of where you stand.

Who this IT assessment is for: architecture, interiors and project management firms

This is aimed at small and mid‑sized AEC firms – typically 3 to 250 people – who:

• Suspect they’re not getting full value from Microsoft 365 and other core tools.
• Are being asked tougher questions by clients about security and information handling.
• Have grown organically, with IT decisions made project‑by‑project or person‑by‑person.
• Want a clearer picture before committing to big changes or new spend.

What we cover in a free IT assessment for AEC practices

The assessment is a structured review of how your practice currently uses technology. We focus on five main areas:

1. Security across your core Microsoft 365 services

Most AEC practices now live inside Microsoft 365, but the security configuration is rarely revisited after the initial setup. We review your posture across:

• Entra ID (Azure AD) – how users sign in, MFA usage, basic access controls.
• Exchange Online – mailbox security, forwarding rules, basic hygiene.
• Intune – whether devices are enrolled and receiving consistent policies.
• SharePoint – how project and company data is structured and shared.
• Teams – how you use Teams for collaboration and external sharing.

The goal here isn’t to sell you a new security product. It’s to highlight simple configuration changes and policies that materially reduce risk for a design‑led business handling client data and project information.

2. Software licence usage

Many firms quietly over‑spend on licences – or keep legacy tools around because “we’ve always had them”. We look at:

• Which Microsoft 365 and Autodesk (and similar) licences you hold.
• Who is actually using what, and how often.
• Where there may be unused or duplicated licences.
• Opportunities to simplify licence types without hurting delivery.

3. Hardware, software and connectivity

We then step back and look at the foundations that keep day‑to‑day work moving:

• The age and specification of workstations and laptops.
• Any specialist hardware used for BIM, visualization or collaboration.
• Key line‑of‑business software and how it fits together.
• Your internet access and any remote‑working considerations.

This often surfaces simple, staged improvements that make project teams faster and reduce the “it’s just a bit slow today” friction that nobody quite owns.

4. Gaps, inefficiencies and risks

Based on the above, we identify practical gaps and inefficiencies – not from a theoretical framework, but from the perspective of how your practice actually works:

• Areas where manual workarounds slow projects down or introduce risk.
• Places where the same data is stored or entered multiple times.
• Inconsistencies in how different teams handle files, email and approvals.
• Any obvious “single points of failure” in people or systems.

5. A written summary with recommended actions and tools

You’ll receive a short, written summary that captures:

• Where things are working well today.
• The most important gaps or risks to address.
• A prioritised list of recommended actions.
• Any tools or approaches worth considering – starting with what you already own.

What happens after the assessment?

There’s no obligation to engage IT Synergies beyond the assessment. Some practices use the report to brief their internal team or existing suppliers. Others ask us to help them phase and deliver the recommendations over time.

Either way, the aim is the same: a clearer view of where you stand today, and a realistic, AEC‑specific path to smoother, more secure digital operations.