Enterprise AI & Microsoft Cloud Consulting

The EPC Group Difference: 29 Years of Microsoft Enterprise Consulting

EPC Group was founded in 1997 (originally Enterprise Project Consulting, renamed EPC Group in 2005) by Errin O'Connor, a four-time Microsoft Press bestselling author and Chief AI Architect. Headquartered at 4900 Woodway Drive, Suite 830, Houston, TX 77056, with offices in Dallas, Chicago, San Antonio, Kansas City, and Washington DC, EPC Group has grown into one of the most experienced Microsoft consulting firms in North America.

The firm holds the distinction of being the oldest Microsoft Gold Partner in North America (2003–2022) and is currently a Microsoft Solutions Partner with six designations: Data & AI, Modern Work, Infrastructure, Security, Digital & App Innovation, and Business Applications. EPC Group has served 70+ Fortune 500 organizations across 11,000+ enterprise engagements, including 6,500+ SharePoint implementations, 1,500+ Power BI deployments, and 500+ Microsoft Fabric implementations to date.

Founder Credentials: Errin O'Connor

Errin O'Connor is recognized in the Microsoft ecosystem as one of the most credentialed enterprise architects working today. Microsoft MVP for multiple years starting 2002–2003. Original SharePoint Beta Team member (Project Tahoe). Original Power BI Beta Team member (Project Crescent). FedRAMP framework contributor. Worked directly with U.S. CIO Vivek Kundra on the Obama administration's 25-Point Plan to reform federal IT, and with NASA CIO Chris Kemp as Lead Architect on the NASA Nebula Cloud project. Author of four bestselling Microsoft Press / Sams Publishing books with full ISBNs: Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 Inside Out (Microsoft Press 2007, ISBN 978-0735623231), Microsoft SharePoint Foundation 2010 Inside Out (Microsoft Press 2011, ISBN 978-0735627246), SharePoint 2013 Field Guide: Advice from the Consulting Trenches (Sams/Pearson 2014, ISBN 978-0789751195), and Microsoft Power BI Dashboards Step by Step (Microsoft Press 2018, ISBN 978-1509308033).

Industries and Public Clients

EPC Group specializes in compliance-heavy regulated industries where governance, security, and audit defensibility matter as much as the technology itself. Healthcare deployments are HIPAA-compliant from day one with full Microsoft Purview audit trails. Financial services engagements are SOC 2 Type II Advisory with FINRA-compliant retention. Government and federal contractor work covers FedRAMP Moderate and High, IL4 / IL5 environments, and CMMC Level 2 / Level 3 in GCC High.

Education clients get FERPA-compliant collaboration platforms and learning analytics. Manufacturing, energy, insurance, and construction round out the firm's vertical expertise. Public clients include NASA, FBI, Federal Reserve, Pentagon, United Airlines, PepsiCo, Nike, and Northrop Grumman. Private client identities are protected under MNDA but the firm's 29 years of engagements include a meaningful slice of Fortune 500 healthcare, financial services, and federal contracting.

Service Portfolio

EPC Group's service portfolio spans the entire Microsoft enterprise stack with deep specialization in the highest-leverage areas: Power BI consulting (1,500+ deployments, including dashboard design, DAX optimization, semantic models, row-level security, Fabric capacity planning, and Copilot readiness); SharePoint consulting (6,500+ implementations, including SharePoint Online migrations, intranet design, governance frameworks, information architecture, hybrid deployments, and Syntex/AI document processing); Azure cloud services (landing zone architecture per the Cloud Adoption Framework, Azure migrations, FinOps cost optimization, Azure AI services, multi-cloud strategy); Microsoft Copilot for Microsoft 365 (readiness assessments, deployment, governance, ROI optimization); AI governance (NIST AI RMF, EU AI Act, ISO 42001 framework implementations for regulated industries); Microsoft 365 consulting (tenant configuration, security hardening, Purview compliance, adoption); Microsoft Teams (deployments, voice via Teams Phone, Teams Rooms, governance); Dynamics 365 (Finance, Supply Chain, Business Central, Sales, Customer Service, Field Service); Microsoft Fabric (unified analytics, lakehouse architecture, data engineering); and large-scale enterprise migrations (Lotus Notes to SharePoint, Google Workspace to Microsoft 365, on-premises to cloud, tenant-to-tenant).

Engagement Models and Pricing Transparency

EPC Group publishes pricing on the website — a deliberate choice against the consulting-industry norm of opaque proposals. Hourly consulting ranges from $150 to $500 per hour depending on specialization (Power BI / SharePoint / Azure architects $150–$350; senior architect / vCAIO advisory $350–$500). Fixed-fee accelerator packages start at $25,000 for targeted engagements like SharePoint migrations, Power BI implementations, and Copilot readiness assessments.

Virtual Chief AI Officer (vCAIO) retainers run $5,000–$10,000 per month at the Advisory tier, $15,000–$25,000 per month at the Fractional tier, and $30,000–$50,000 per month at the Transformation tier. AI Readiness Assessments are $25,000–$75,000 fixed-fee over 4–6 weeks. Copilot Deployment Packages are $50,000–$150,000 fixed-fee over 8–12 weeks. AI Governance Implementations are $100,000–$300,000 fixed-fee over 12–24 weeks. Enterprise migration projects range from $50,000 to $500,000+ depending on scope, user count, and compliance requirements (HIPAA, FedRAMP, SOC 2, CMMC).

How to Engage EPC Group

Every EPC Group engagement begins with a 30-minute discovery call to understand the business outcome you're after, the regulatory environment you operate in, and the specific Microsoft technology challenges you're trying to solve. Reach the firm at +1 (888) 381-9725 or contact@epcgroup.net. The scheduling page at /contact includes a project-detail form that routes directly to the senior architect appropriate for the engagement type. Most enterprise discovery conversations run 30–45 minutes and produce a one-page engagement summary within 48 hours. EPC Group does not run a sales-funnel BDR layer — the first call is with a working architect who will be on the engagement, not a salesperson. Pricing transparency at /pricing shows the full vCAIO retainer ladder, fixed-fee accelerator ranges, and hourly consulting bands so CFOs and procurement teams can size budget envelopes before the first call.