Gold Coast Civil Contractor Goes From Shared Logins to Individual Microsoft 365 Accounts With Role-Based SharePoint

A 9-person Gold Coast civil construction business was running every laptop under a single shared Windows account with no individual logins, no access controls, and files scattered across a personal OneDrive that nobody could find anything in. We upgraded every device to Windows 11 Pro, joined them to Microsoft 365 with individual user accounts, and rebuilt their entire document structure in SharePoint with role-based permissions.

The Situation Before

The business had grown organically — each new laptop was set up the same way the first one was, with Windows 11 Home and a single shared login. There was no separation between who could access what, no audit trail of who had opened or edited files, and the "shared" OneDrive was actually one person's personal OneDrive that everyone accessed. Files were hard to find, version control was nonexistent, and there were no security controls in place.

• 1

  All 9 laptops running Windows 11 Home — no domain join capability, no Group Policy, no centralised management

• 2

  Every device logged in under the same single Windows account — no individual user identity or accountability

• 3

  Files stored on one staff member's personal OneDrive — shared informally with no structure or permissions

• 4

  No version control — staff regularly overwrote each other's work without knowing

• 5

  No role-based access — every person could see and edit every document regardless of their role

• 6

  No way to remotely manage or wipe devices if a laptop was lost or a staff member left

The Solution

We upgraded every laptop from Windows 11 Home to Windows 11 Pro, then enrolled each device into Microsoft Entra ID (Azure AD) so they logged in with each staff member's individual Microsoft 365 account. The personal OneDrive was replaced with a properly structured SharePoint document library, with folder permissions configured by role — site managers, office staff, and directors each seeing only what they needed.

• Windows 11 Home upgraded to Windows 11 Pro on all 9 laptops — enabling Entra ID join and Intune management

• Each laptop enrolled into Microsoft Entra ID — staff now log in with their own Microsoft 365 account

• Personal OneDrive replaced with a SharePoint document library — structured by project, role and department

• Role-based permissions configured across SharePoint — site managers, admin and directors have appropriate access levels

• Version history enabled across all SharePoint libraries — no more overwritten files, full change history retained

• Microsoft Intune enrolled on every device — remote management, remote wipe and security policy enforcement now possible

What Changed

• Every staff member now has an individual login — there is a full audit trail of who accessed or edited every document

• Site managers can only see their own project folders — sensitive financial documents are restricted to directors and admin

• The business can remotely wipe any laptop if it is lost on a job site or a staff member leaves

• Files are now findable — the SharePoint structure mirrors how the business works, not how one person organised their personal OneDrive

• Version history means overwritten files are a thing of the past — every change is tracked and reversible