EPC Group FAQ
Common questions about EPC Group Microsoft consulting services, pricing, AI expertise, and enterprise solutions for Fortune 500 and federal agencies. Don't see your question? Contact us or call (888) 381-9725.
AI & Microsoft Copilot
What is a vCAIO (Virtual Chief AI Officer)?
A vCAIO (Virtual Chief AI Officer) is EPC Group's flagship strategic advisory service that provides organizations with executive-level AI leadership at a fraction of the cost of a full-time C-suite hire. The vCAIO delivers AI governance frameworks, ROI modeling, enterprise roadmap development, vendor evaluation, and hands-on implementation support for Microsoft 365 Copilot, Azure OpenAI, and custom AI agent development using Copilot Studio.
How does EPC Group handle Microsoft 365 Copilot Readiness?
EPC Group uses a proprietary 4-Pillar Copilot Readiness Methodology: (1) Data Governance — remediating over-shared files and folders; (2) Sensitivity Labeling — implementing Microsoft Purview labels; (3) Technical Configuration — configuring Copilot licensing and security policies; (4) End-User Adoption — training programs to drive ROI. This ensures your data is secure before AI is enabled, preventing the exposure of sensitive files.
What is EPC Group's "Multiple Models. One Truth." AI strategy?
"Multiple Models. One Truth." is EPC Group's signature framework for enterprise Generative AI. Rather than locking organizations into a single AI vendor, EPC Group integrates multiple frontier models — GPT-4o, Claude 3.5 Sonnet, and Google Gemini — into a unified, governed workflow. This routes tasks to the optimal model while maintaining a single source of truth through Microsoft Fabric and Azure AI Studio.
Can EPC Group build custom AI Agents?
Yes. EPC Group builds production-ready custom AI agents using Microsoft Copilot Studio, Azure OpenAI Service, and semantic search over proprietary enterprise data. These agents connect to Dataverse, SQL Server, Microsoft Fabric, and third-party APIs to automate workflows in HR, Sales, Finance, and IT.
What is the 47-point Copilot Readiness Checklist?
EPC Group's 47-Question Copilot Readiness Checklist is a comprehensive pre-deployment assessment covering data governance, licensing, security, compliance, and adoption planning. Organizations that complete this checklist before enabling Copilot reduce security incidents by 80% and achieve 3x faster user adoption.
How long does a Microsoft 365 Copilot deployment take?
A full Microsoft 365 Copilot deployment with EPC Group typically takes 6-12 weeks, depending on tenant size and governance maturity. Phase 1 (Data Governance) takes 2-4 weeks; Phase 2 (Technical Configuration) takes 2-3 weeks; Phase 3 (User Training) takes 2-4 weeks.
What's the difference between Copilot for Microsoft 365 and Azure OpenAI?
Copilot for Microsoft 365 is a SaaS AI assistant embedded in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Teams — requiring no coding. Azure OpenAI Service is a Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) offering that allows developers to build custom AI applications using GPT-4o with full control over prompts, fine-tuning, and data integration.
Can you integrate Copilot with our legacy systems (SAP, Salesforce, Oracle)?
Yes. EPC Group specializes in integrating Microsoft 365 Copilot and Azure OpenAI with legacy enterprise systems including SAP ERP, Salesforce CRM, Oracle Financials, and custom SQL databases using Microsoft Power Platform and API connectors.
Power BI, Fabric & Data Engineering
Does EPC Group offer same-day Power BI emergency support?
Yes. EPC Group provides Emergency Power BI Support for critical dashboard failures, gateway errors, dataset refresh issues, and performance degradation. Senior Power BI architects are available for immediate intervention with typical response times under 2 hours.
Can you migrate us from Tableau or Qlik to Power BI?
Absolutely. EPC Group specializes in Legacy BI Modernization, migrating organizations from Tableau, Qlik Sense, IBM Cognos, and SAP BusinessObjects to the Microsoft Power BI and Fabric ecosystem, including automated DAX conversion from Tableau Calculated Fields.
What is Microsoft Fabric and do I need it?
Microsoft Fabric is Microsoft's unified analytics platform that combines Power BI, Azure Synapse, Azure Data Factory, and Azure Data Lake into a single SaaS offering with a shared semantic layer called OneLake. EPC Group helps organizations evaluate whether migrating to Fabric will reduce Azure consumption costs and improve query performance.
What's the ROI timeline for a Power BI implementation?
Most EPC Group Power BI implementations deliver measurable ROI within 3-6 months through time savings (replacing manual Excel reporting), decision speed, cost avoidance (eliminating legacy BI licenses), and direct revenue impact via pipeline visibility.
Can you fix broken Power BI dashboards immediately?
Yes. EPC Group's Power BI Emergency Response Team diagnoses and fixes broken dashboards, failed gateway connections, dataset refresh errors, and security misconfigurations within hours.
What's included in Power BI managed services?
EPC Group's Power BI Managed Services includes: 24/7 Dataset Refresh Monitoring, monthly Performance Tuning (DAX optimization), User Support help desk, Security & Governance audits, License Optimization, and an ongoing allocation of hours for New Report Development.
Pricing & Commercial Terms
How does "Consulting Block" pricing work?
EPC Group's Consulting Blocks are pre-purchased blocks of 40 or 80 hours that never expire and can be used for any service — SharePoint, Power BI, Azure, Copilot, or emergency support. There are no rigid SOWs or scope creep penalties.
What are your standard hourly rates?
EPC Group does not publish hourly rates. Prepaid 40- and 80-hour Consulting Blocks provide senior-architect and principal-consultant access with rate lock; block pricing is quoted after a 30-minute discovery call to right-size scope, technology mix, and compliance requirements.
What payment terms do you accept?
EPC Group accepts Net 30 payment terms for enterprise clients via credit card, ACH, or wire. We also support SAM.gov registration and DFARS compliance for government procurement.
Do you offer fixed-fee project pricing?
Yes. EPC Group offers fixed-fee project pricing for well-defined initiatives such as SharePoint migrations, Power BI dashboard development, and Copilot readiness assessments.
What's the minimum engagement size?
EPC Group's minimum engagement is a 40-hour Consulting Block to ensure sufficient time to deliver meaningful business outcomes, though we also offer 4-hour Discovery Workshops for roadmap planning.
Process, Support & Getting Started
How do I get started with EPC Group?
It is a simple 3-step process: (1) Schedule a 30-minute Discovery Call; (2) Receive a Tailored Proposal within 48 hours; (3) Kickoff & Delivery, typically beginning within 1-2 weeks.
What is your typical response time for new inquiries?
EPC Group responds to new inquiry submissions within 2-4 business hours. Urgent requests from existing clients receive prioritized emergency hotline access.
Do you offer 24/7 emergency support?
Yes. EPC Group offers 24/7 Emergency Support for critical outages including SharePoint site failures, Exchange Server downtime, Power BI failures, and Azure infrastructure issues.
What happens during the discovery phase?
The Discovery Phase is a 1-2 week engagement including Stakeholder Interviews, a Technical Architecture Assessment, Readiness Scoring (Governance/Security), and a Roadmap presentation with ROI projections.
Microsoft Fabric, Defender, Sentinel & Entra ID
What's the typical scope of an enterprise Microsoft Copilot rollout?
Enterprise Microsoft 365 Copilot rollouts scope after a 30-minute discovery call based on tenant size, governance complexity, and regulated-industry requirements. Mid-market (500-2,000 users) typically covers readiness assessment, sensitivity label deployment, Copilot governance framework, pilot rollout, and end-user training. Fortune 500 deployments add multi-tenant governance, Microsoft Purview integration, custom AI agents, and 12-18 month phased rollouts with executive change management. Microsoft licensing is separate ($30/user/month for Copilot for M365 — Microsoft list price).
Does EPC Group provide ongoing managed services after project completion?
Yes. EPC Group offers managed Microsoft services covering Microsoft 365 tenant administration, Power BI workspace management, Azure FinOps, SharePoint governance enforcement, Copilot agent monitoring, and Microsoft Sentinel SOC operations. Retainers are fixed-scope and quoted after a scoping call depending on tenant scale, ticket volume, coverage window (business-hours vs 24/7), and dedicated-account-team requirements — right-sized after a 30-minute discovery call.
How does EPC Group differ from larger consulting firms like Accenture or Deloitte?
EPC Group is Microsoft-platform-specialized rather than generalist. Three structural differences: (1) Senior-architect-led delivery — every engagement is led by a senior architect with 15+ years of Microsoft stack depth, not delegated to junior consultants. (2) Fixed-fee engagement model — scope, timeline, and cost are committed up-front; no T&M scope creep. (3) Bench depth at the platform level — 4x Microsoft Press & Sams author (Errin O'Connor), original SharePoint and Power BI beta team members, core Microsoft Solutions Partner designations. Larger firms compete on breadth across many platforms; EPC Group competes on depth in Microsoft 365, Copilot, Power BI, Fabric, Purview, Defender, Sentinel, and Azure.
Can EPC Group integrate AI agents with our existing Microsoft Teams environment?
Yes. EPC Group builds custom Microsoft Copilot agents in Microsoft Copilot Studio that surface in Microsoft Teams as either personal chatbots or channel-deployed assistants. Common patterns: HR onboarding agents (Workday/SAP SuccessFactors integration), IT helpdesk agents (ServiceNow ticket creation), sales intelligence agents (Dynamics 365 lookups), and compliance agents (Microsoft Purview policy queries). Agents inherit M365 identity (Microsoft Entra ID), respect sensitivity labels, and log to Microsoft Purview Audit. Typical agent: 4-8 weeks design + build + deploy; scope after discovery.
Does EPC Group offer Power BI Embedded ISV pricing consulting?
Yes. EPC Group has architected Power BI Embedded for 30+ ISVs (Independent Software Vendors) embedding analytics into their commercial products. We model both Power BI Embedded capacity (A1-A8 SKUs, $735-$94,000 per month — Microsoft list price) and per-app pricing scenarios, recommend the right SKU based on concurrent user load and refresh frequency, and design row-level security architectures that scale to multi-tenant SaaS deployments. Common engagement: 8-week ISV embedded analytics architecture review + 12-week implementation; scope after discovery.
How long does a Microsoft Fabric implementation typically take?
Microsoft Fabric implementations at EPC Group span 4 to 9 months depending on scope. Foundational deployment (Fabric workspace, OneLake setup, Power BI migration, 1-2 data engineering pipelines) typically lands in 4-5 months. Enterprise rollout adding Real-Time Analytics, Data Science workloads, Copilot in Fabric, and 10+ pipelines runs 7-9 months. We architect the data domain model first (typically 4-6 weeks), then deploy in vertical-slice sprints so executives see working dashboards by month 3 rather than waiting for the full implementation. Scope after discovery.
What's the difference between Microsoft Defender for Cloud, Defender for Office 365, and Defender XDR?
Three distinct Microsoft security products with overlapping branding: (1) Microsoft Defender for Cloud (formerly Azure Security Center) — cloud workload protection across Azure/AWS/GCP, including server, container, SQL, storage, and Key Vault protection. (2) Microsoft Defender for Office 365 — email and collaboration security: anti-phishing, safe links, safe attachments, Teams chat protection. (3) Microsoft Defender XDR — the unified portal correlating signals from Defender for Endpoint, Defender for Identity, Defender for Office 365, and Defender for Cloud Apps. EPC Group deploys all three in regulated industries; XDR is the analyst workbench, the others are the source feeds.
Does EPC Group support Microsoft Sentinel SOC implementation?
Yes. EPC Group architects and deploys Microsoft Sentinel SOC for enterprise customers, including data connector setup (Azure AD, Defender XDR, AWS CloudTrail, on-prem syslog), analytics rules (Microsoft's 200+ baseline plus custom KQL queries), automation playbooks (Logic Apps for ticket creation, isolation, password reset), and SOAR integration with ServiceNow or Splunk SOAR. Typical Sentinel SOC deployment: 6-10 months. Ongoing SOC-as-a-service available with named senior analysts. Scope after discovery.
Can EPC Group help with Microsoft Entra ID Conditional Access policy design?
Yes. Microsoft Entra ID (formerly Azure AD) Conditional Access is core to EPC Group's Zero Trust deployments. We design and implement policies covering: device compliance enforcement (Intune-managed devices only), risk-based policies (block sign-in on high-risk users), location-based access (block non-US for FedRAMP), application-specific restrictions, MFA enforcement by sensitivity, session controls via Defender for Cloud Apps, and break-glass account hardening. Typical Conditional Access engagement: 6-8 weeks for design + phased rollout; scope after discovery. Critical: we always pilot in report-only mode before enforcement.
What's EPC Group's experience with Microsoft Purview for regulated industries?
EPC Group has deployed Microsoft Purview for 100+ enterprises in regulated industries: healthcare (HIPAA, HITRUST), financial services (FINRA, SEC, SOX), government (FedRAMP, CMMC, ITAR), pharmaceutical (GxP, 21 CFR Part 11), and EU operations (EU AI Act, GDPR, NIS2). The practice covers Microsoft Purview Information Protection (sensitivity labels), DLP, Data Lifecycle Management, eDiscovery, Insider Risk Management, Compliance Manager, AI Hub, and Data Map and Catalog. Senior architects bring CIPP, CISSP, CISA, FedRAMP 3PAO familiarity, and industry-specific compliance credentials.
Does EPC Group offer Microsoft 365 Copilot training for end users?
Yes. End-user training is included in every EPC Group Copilot rollout, structured in three tiers: (1) Copilot Champions program — train-the-trainer workshops (2 days, ~30 champions per 1,000 users) so the customer builds internal expertise. (2) Role-based labs — 90-minute hands-on sessions tailored to specific roles (sales, finance, HR, IT). (3) Self-service learning paths — curated Microsoft Learn modules plus EPC Group-authored playbooks. Typical training scope: 200-500 users. Ongoing monthly Copilot office hours also available for sustained adoption; scope after discovery.
Still have questions?
30-minute discovery call. No obligation. Senior architect on the line — not a sales rep.
Social Proof & Reputation
How is EPC Group rated on independent review platforms?
EPC Group holds independent third-party reviews across G2 (4.4/5 average across 15 verified enterprise reviews, seven consecutive quarters), Clutch, and Gartner Peer Insights. EPC Group does not publish a cross-platform aggregate rating — the verifiable per-platform figures are the honest record.
Which government agencies have worked with EPC Group?
EPC Group's federal portfolio includes NASA, FRBNY (Federal Reserve Bank of New York), the Department of Justice, and the National Archives. EPC Group specializes in GCC High, FedRAMP, and CMMC compliance.
What Microsoft certifications and partner status does EPC Group hold?
EPC Group is a Microsoft Solutions Partner (former Microsoft Gold Partner 2000-2022, the oldest in North America) holding core designations: Modern Work, Data & AI, Infrastructure, Security, Digital & App Innovation, and Business Applications. The firm maintains active certifications including Azure Solutions Architect Expert and Microsoft 365 Enterprise Administrator Expert.
What do clients say about EPC Group?
Clients consistently highlight three differentiators: Senior-Level Expertise (no junior staff), Responsiveness (same-day turnarounds), and ROI Focus (delivering outcomes over billed hours).
How many Microsoft MVPs or recognized experts work at EPC Group?
EPC Group's team includes multiple alumni. Founder Errin O'Connor maintains an active YouTube channel (@EpcgroupNet) with 28.2K+ subscribers and over 3,200 videos covering Microsoft technologies and AI strategies.