Commercial M365 Consulting
Copilot Studio agents, Power Automate workflows, and AI readiness assessments for organizations running Microsoft 365 Business or Enterprise. The same engineering and delivery model as the government work. Fixed price. Sole practitioner. The engineer who scopes it builds it.
Most of this site is aimed at government agencies and contractors running Microsoft 365 GCC. That is where the majority of Puget Sound AI's production work lives, and the GCC-specific knowledge on this site is real and current. The compliance constraints, connector restrictions, and FedRAMP boundary requirements for government AI are different from commercial M365, and most of the site copy reflects that.
The underlying engineering applies equally to commercial Microsoft 365. If your organization runs Business Premium, E3, or E5 and you need Copilot Studio agents built, Power Automate workflows deployed, or a structured assessment of where AI actually saves time in your environment, the engagement structure is identical to the government work. The compliance overhead is lighter. The delivery model is the same: fixed scope, fixed price, sole practitioner, working systems at handoff.
Commercial Organizations That Get Real Value From This
You don't need a government procurement vehicle or a GCC tenant. Standard commercial M365 is enough.
Professional Services Firms
Legal, accounting, and engineering firms running M365 who need document automation or AI-assisted workflows. Contract review, policy lookup agents, approval chain automation, and client intake flows are common starting points. Most professional services firms already have the licensing. None of it is configured to do anything useful yet.
Healthcare Organizations
Commercial M365 healthcare organizations that need Power Automate flows and want someone who understands data sensitivity without over-engineering it. Scheduling automation, intake processing, staff communication flows, and document management are strong candidates. HIPAA considerations are part of the scoping conversation, not an afterthought.
Nonprofits and Associations
Organizations that pay for M365 through nonprofit pricing and are getting nothing out of it. Grant reporting automation, member communication flows, document management, and staff-facing knowledge agents are common starting points. Budget realities are part of the scoping conversation; fixed-price engagements mean you know the total cost before committing.
Mid-Market Companies
Companies that purchased Copilot licenses and have no clear plan for what to build. The AI Readiness Assessment answers exactly that question: what workflows in your current environment would benefit most, in what order, at what cost. You get a prioritized build sequence, not a generic roadmap about AI transformation.
Finance and Operations Teams
Organizations with manual approval chains, data entry bottlenecks, or repetitive reporting cycles inside Microsoft 365. Power Automate flows backed by Graph API can eliminate most of this work without custom software development. Fixed-scope, fixed-price builds with complete documentation at handoff.
IT Teams Without AI Engineering Depth
In-house IT teams that manage M365 well but haven't built Copilot Studio agents or complex Power Automate flows before. The engagement delivers working systems and transfers the operational knowledge to your team at handoff. You own the code and can extend it without calling us back.
Deliverables: Every Engagement
Scope defined in writing before work begins. Everything listed here is a hard deliverable, not an aspiration.
M365 Footprint and Workflow Assessment
Structured review of your current Microsoft 365 configuration: what you're licensed for, what's enabled, what connectors and data sources are available, and where manual processes are consuming staff time. Output: a prioritized workflow map with build sequencing and fixed-price estimates for each item.
Production-Ready Workflows
Copilot Studio agents or Power Automate flows designed, built, tested, and deployed inside your M365 tenant. Not a proof of concept. Not a demo. Production-ready on handoff day, with documentation your IT team can use to operate and extend the system independently.
Data Governance Documentation
Data flow documentation, access control configuration, and audit logging setup appropriate for your industry and data sensitivity level. Not a compliance framework built for a government audit, but a governance baseline that satisfies internal IT review and demonstrates responsible AI deployment to your leadership.
Complete Documentation Transfer
Architecture diagrams, annotated flow exports, operational runbooks, and a guide for extending the system. Everything needed to own and operate the work without calling us back. Your IT team must be able to modify and troubleshoot every system we deliver. That is a hard requirement, not an add-on.
Knowledge Transfer and Training
Hands-on walkthrough of every system delivered, including how to operate, extend, and troubleshoot. Your IT or operations staff leave knowing how each workflow functions and what to do when something needs to change. Q&A session included. The goal is independence, not dependency.
Prioritized Expansion Roadmap
A ranked list of the next workflows worth building, with rationale, complexity estimates, and sequencing guidance. You leave with a clear picture of what to build next and in what order, without needing another discovery engagement before you can make a decision.
Fixed-Price Engagements
Scope and price agreed before work begins. No hourly billing. No mid-engagement surprises.
| Engagement | Price | Duration | Primary Deliverable |
|---|---|---|---|
| AI Readiness Assessment | $12,000–$22,000 | 2 weeks | M365 footprint review, top 3–5 workflows identified and scoped, prioritized build sequence with fixed-price estimates |
| Copilot Studio Agent Build | Scoped after assessment | 2–5 weeks | Custom agent with knowledge sources, topic orchestration, and production deployment inside your tenant |
| Power Automate Workflow(s) | Scoped after assessment | 1–4 weeks | Graph API-backed flows, full audit trail, documentation and handoff |
| Commercial AI Jumpstart (2–3 workflows) | $30,000–$50,000 | 5–7 weeks | Multiple production-ready workflows, governance documentation, training, and expansion roadmap. Lighter scope than GCC Jumpstart; no government compliance overhead. |
| Monthly Retainer | $4,000–$10,000/mo | Ongoing | Post-engagement optimization, new workflows, and ongoing support. Optional. Available after any build engagement. |
| Training Workshop | $2,500–$8,500 | 1–2 days | Hands-on training on Copilot Studio, Power Automate, or AI governance. Custom topic available. |
Not sure where to start? The AI Readiness Assessment is the right entry point. It maps your M365 footprint, identifies the top 3–5 workflows where automation saves the most time, and produces fixed-price estimates for each. The next engagement scope is defined before you commit to anything.
Price ranges reflect scope and complexity. Final price is agreed in writing before build work begins and does not change.
The Direct-Engineer Model
One Engineer, Start to Finish
The person who scopes your engagement is the person who builds it. No handoff from sales to delivery. No junior staff doing the actual build under senior oversight. The expertise you evaluated on the call is the expertise that shows up on Day 1 and stays through handoff.
No License Revenue. No Quota.
Puget Sound AI does not resell Microsoft licenses and carries no partner quota. Every recommendation is about making the licenses your organization already owns do something useful. There is no financial incentive to recommend additional products or platforms.
Fixed Scope Before Build Starts
Scope is defined in writing at the end of the discovery phase. Price agreed before build begins and does not change. No mid-engagement additions without a written change order. You know what you are getting before you commit to building it.
Documentation-First Delivery
If we disappeared tomorrow, your team could operate, audit, and extend every system we delivered. Architecture diagrams, annotated source, and operational runbooks are required deliverables on every engagement. Your IT team must be able to own the system independently at handoff. That is a hard requirement, not an aspiration.
| Factor | Puget Sound AI | Enterprise consulting firm |
|---|---|---|
| Who delivers the work | The same senior engineer who scoped it | Assigned team; the engineer who sold it typically rotates off after proposals |
| Junior substitution | None. One engineer, same person through handoff. | Common. Junior-to-mid staff do most build work under senior oversight. |
| License-resale incentive | None. We do not resell Microsoft licenses. | Often present. Partner margin on license resale can influence platform recommendations. |
| Scope model | Fixed scope, defined in writing. Price does not change. | T&M engagements common. Scope creep risk is real and billing continues regardless. |
| Source code ownership | Client owns all code, flows, and documentation at handoff. | Varies. Review IP ownership terms carefully; some firms retain rights to accelerators or templates embedded in the work. |
| Time to first production system | First workflow in production typically by Week 3–4. | Varies widely. Onboarding, staffing, and contract setup can extend pre-build phase by months. |
| Minimum engagement | AI Readiness Assessment ($12K–$22K, 2 weeks). No six-month retainer required. | Often requires a multi-month retainer or large initial engagement to justify resourcing. |
Where to Start
The AI Readiness Assessment is the right entry point for most commercial organizations. It answers what to build, in what order, and at what cost before you commit to building anything. All other engagements are available individually or as part of a scoped multi-workflow build.
Commercial M365 Questions
Do I need a government or GCC tenant to work with Puget Sound AI?
No. The work on this page is for standard commercial Microsoft 365 tenants. Business Premium, E3, and E5 are all supported. GCC is a separate, government-specific Microsoft cloud environment that most commercial organizations never need. If you are running standard commercial M365 and you need Copilot Studio agents or Power Automate workflows built, this is the right engagement.
What Microsoft 365 licensing do I need?
It depends on what you want to build. Most Power Automate work requires M365 Business Premium or an E3/E5 plan plus Power Automate per-user licenses. Copilot Studio agents require a Copilot Studio standalone license ($200/month per tenant as of 2026, not per user). The AI Readiness Assessment inventories your current licensing and identifies any gaps before you spend money on additional licenses. You will know exactly what you need before any build work begins.
What is the right starting point if I do not know what to build first?
The AI Readiness Assessment. It is a two-week, fixed-price engagement that maps your current M365 footprint, interviews your team to identify where manual processes are consuming the most time, and produces a prioritized build sequence with fixed-price estimates for each item. You leave knowing exactly what to build and in what order, without committing to a build engagement first.
How long does it take to get a working Copilot Studio agent or Power Automate flow?
After scoping, most single-workflow builds take two to four weeks from scoping sign-off to production deployment. Copilot Studio agents with custom knowledge sources and complex topic orchestration can run four to six weeks. Multi-workflow builds (the Commercial AI Jumpstart) run five to seven weeks. Scope and timeline are defined in writing before build begins, so there are no surprises after the fact.
Who owns the code and documentation at the end of the engagement?
You own everything. All Power Automate flow exports, Copilot Studio solution exports, architecture documentation, and operational runbooks are transferred at handoff. No ongoing license required beyond your standard M365 subscription. Puget Sound AI does not retain access to your tenant after handoff. The documentation requirement exists specifically so your team can extend and operate the systems without calling us back.
Ready to Get AI Working in Your M365 Environment?
Book a 20-minute scoping call. No intake forms, no sales process. We will assess your environment and define scope in writing before any work begins.