Microsoft 365 Education Plans for Triangle-Area Schools
Empower students and educators with Microsoft 365 Education. PTG helps schools and educational institutions across Raleigh-Durham deploy, configure, and manage Microsoft 365 with education-specific features, security, and compliance.
Education Licensing • FERPA Compliant • Classroom Tools • Managed by PTG
Built for Teaching and Learning
Microsoft Teams for Education
Virtual classrooms, assignments, grading, and collaboration tools designed specifically for education. Teachers create class teams, distribute assignments, provide feedback, and communicate with students and parents from a single platform. PTG configures Teams for Education with appropriate security policies for K-12 and higher education environments across the Triangle.
Free and Discounted Licensing
Qualifying educational institutions receive Microsoft 365 Education plans at significantly reduced costs or free for basic tiers. PTG helps Triangle-area schools navigate Microsoft's education licensing programs to maximize value. We handle license procurement, assignment, and ongoing management so your IT staff can focus on supporting the learning environment.
FERPA & Student Data Protection
PTG configures Microsoft 365 Education environments with FERPA-compliant security controls including data loss prevention, access policies, and student data protection. We ensure your Microsoft 365 tenant meets the regulatory requirements for handling student educational records and personally identifiable information in educational settings.
Education Plan Questions Answered
Does our school qualify for education pricing?
Most accredited K-12 schools, colleges, and universities qualify for Microsoft 365 Education licensing. PTG can verify your eligibility and help you apply for education pricing. Contact us at 919-348-4912 for a consultation.
Can PTG manage our school Microsoft 365 environment?
Yes. PTG provides full managed services for educational Microsoft 365 tenants including user provisioning, security configuration, device management, backup, and helpdesk support for staff and faculty.
What education-specific tools are included?
Microsoft 365 Education includes Teams for Education with classroom features, OneNote Class Notebooks, Immersive Reader, Learning Accelerators, and education-specific compliance tools. PTG configures these features for optimal use in your educational environment.
Why Choose Petronella Technology Group
Petronella Technology Group has been a trusted IT and cybersecurity partner for businesses across Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill, Cary, Apex, and the Research Triangle since 2002. Led by CEO Craig Petronella, a Licensed Digital Forensic Examiner, CMMC Certified Registered Practitioner, and MIT-certified professional in cybersecurity, AI, blockchain, and compliance, PTG brings deep expertise to every engagement.
With BBB accreditation since 2003 and more than 2,500 businesses served, PTG has the experience and track record to deliver results. Craig Petronella is an Amazon number-one best-selling author of books including "How HIPAA Can Crush Your Medical Practice," "How Hackers Can Crush Your Law Firm," and "The Ultimate Guide To CMMC." He has been featured on ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, and WRAL, and serves as an expert witness for law firms in cybercrime and compliance cases.
PTG holds certifications including CCNA, MCNS, Microsoft Cloud Essentials, and specializes in CMMC 2.0, NIST 800-171/172/173, HIPAA, FTC Safeguards, SOC 2 Type II, PCI DSS, GDPR, CCPA, and ISO 27001 compliance. Our forensic specialties include endpoint and networking cybercrime investigation, data breach forensics, ransomware analysis, data exfiltration investigation, cryptocurrency and blockchain analysis, and SIM swap fraud investigation.
PTG Cloud Services and Strategy
Cloud computing has transformed how businesses operate, but migrating to the cloud without a clear strategy can lead to security gaps, unexpected costs, and operational disruptions. PTG takes a strategic approach to cloud services, starting with a thorough evaluation of your current environment, business requirements, compliance obligations, and growth plans. We help organizations determine which workloads are best suited for public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid architectures, ensuring that your cloud strategy aligns with both your technical needs and business objectives.
Our cloud migration services follow a proven methodology that minimizes risk and downtime during the transition. We begin with a detailed inventory and dependency mapping of your current systems, followed by a pilot migration of non-critical workloads to validate our approach. Production migrations are carefully scheduled and executed with rollback plans in place. Post-migration, we optimize your cloud environment for performance, security, and cost efficiency, ensuring that you realize the full benefits of cloud computing without wasting resources on oversized or underutilized cloud instances.
Security is paramount in any cloud deployment. PTG implements comprehensive cloud security controls including identity and access management with multi-factor authentication, data encryption at rest and in transit, network security groups and firewall rules, continuous monitoring and threat detection, and compliance controls mapped to your regulatory requirements. We also conduct regular cloud security assessments to identify misconfigurations and vulnerabilities that could expose your data, staying ahead of the evolving threat landscape that targets cloud environments.
Beyond migration and security, PTG provides ongoing cloud management and optimization services. Cloud environments require continuous attention to maintain security, optimize costs, and adapt to changing business needs. Our cloud management team monitors performance, manages updates and patches, optimizes resource allocation, and provides regular reporting on usage, costs, and security posture. We help organizations take advantage of new cloud capabilities as they become available, ensuring that your cloud investment continues to deliver maximum value as technology and your business evolve over time.
Our Approach to Cybersecurity
At Petronella Technology Group, cybersecurity is not just about installing antivirus software or setting up a firewall. We take a comprehensive, layered approach to security that addresses people, processes, and technology. Our methodology is built on industry-standard frameworks including NIST Cybersecurity Framework, CIS Controls, and MITRE ATT&CK, ensuring that your security program is aligned with the same standards used by Fortune 500 companies and government agencies. Every engagement begins with a thorough assessment of your current security posture, followed by a prioritized remediation roadmap that addresses your most critical risks first.
Our security operations team provides continuous monitoring through our Security Information and Event Management platform, which correlates events across your entire environment to detect threats in real time. When a potential threat is identified, our analysts investigate and respond immediately, often containing threats before they can cause damage. This proactive approach dramatically reduces the risk of successful cyberattacks and provides the rapid response capability that is essential in today's threat landscape.
We believe that employee awareness is one of the most important layers of defense. Human error remains the leading cause of data breaches, and no amount of technology can fully compensate for untrained employees. PTG provides comprehensive security awareness training programs that educate your team about phishing, social engineering, password security, data handling, and incident reporting. Our training programs include simulated phishing campaigns that test employee readiness and identify areas where additional education is needed, helping organizations build a strong security culture from the ground up.
Beyond prevention, PTG prepares organizations for the reality that breaches can occur despite the best defenses. Our incident response planning services help businesses develop, document, and test response procedures so that when an incident does occur, your team knows exactly what to do. From tabletop exercises to full incident simulations, we ensure that your organization is prepared to respond quickly and effectively, minimizing damage, preserving evidence, and meeting all regulatory notification requirements within required timeframes.
Additional Questions and Answers
What are the benefits of moving to the cloud for small businesses?
How does PTG ensure cloud security for business data?
What cloud platforms does PTG support?
How long does a typical cloud migration take?
What happens to our data if we need to switch cloud providers?
PTG Service Areas
Petronella Technology Group delivers a comprehensive suite of technology and cybersecurity services to businesses throughout the Research Triangle. Our managed IT services provide proactive monitoring, maintenance, and help desk support that keeps your technology running smoothly and your team productive. We handle everything from server management and workstation support to cloud migrations and network infrastructure, giving you a complete IT department without the overhead of hiring in-house staff.
Our cybersecurity services protect your business from the constantly evolving threat landscape. We offer security risk assessments, vulnerability scanning, penetration testing, security awareness training, endpoint detection and response, email security, and managed SIEM monitoring. For businesses that need to meet regulatory requirements, our compliance consulting services cover CMMC, NIST, HIPAA, SOC 2, PCI DSS, GDPR, CCPA, ISO 27001, and FTC Safeguards Rule compliance with gap assessments, remediation planning, policy development, and audit preparation.
PTG also provides digital forensics and incident response services for businesses and law firms dealing with data breaches, cybercrimes, and litigation support. Our forensic lab handles computer and mobile device forensics, network forensics, cryptocurrency investigation, and electronic discovery. Craig Petronella provides expert witness testimony and forensic consulting for attorneys across North Carolina. Additionally, our cloud services team manages migrations to and ongoing operations in Microsoft Azure, AWS, Google Cloud, and private cloud environments.
Our emerging technology practice helps businesses leverage artificial intelligence, blockchain, and automation securely and compliantly. From custom AI development and secure inference hosting to AI compliance consulting and blockchain security, PTG ensures that organizations can adopt new technologies without compromising security or regulatory standing. We combine deep technical expertise with practical business insight to deliver technology solutions that drive real results for businesses of all sizes in the Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill area.
Ready to Get Started?
Contact Petronella Technology Group today for a free consultation. Serving Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill, and the Research Triangle since 2002.
919-348-4912 Schedule a Free Consultation5540 Centerview Dr., Suite 200, Raleigh, NC 27606