What's the difference between Cyber Essentials and Cyber Essentials Plus?

Cyber Essentials is a verified self-assessment against five security controls. Cyber Essentials Plus tests the same controls with a hands-on technical audit by a licensed assessor. You must hold Cyber Essentials before doing Plus.

Do you do the work, or just assess us?

We do the work. Foresight runs the gap analysis, carries out hands-on remediation, prepares the evidence and liaises with the assessor, so you pass first time rather than paying to re-sit a failed audit.

How much does Cyber Essentials cost?

The IASME assessment fee is tiered by size from around £320 + VAT and includes £25,000 cyber liability insurance for eligible UK businesses. Cyber Essentials Plus is scoped to your estate, typically from around £1,380 + VAT.

AI & Copilot

How do I use Microsoft Copilot?

Got Copilot but not sure where to start? Here’s the practical, app-by-app guide to actually getting value from it.

See Copilot for business Call 0161 738 1399

Greater Manchester & UK-wide · free, no-obligation advice

Why Foresight

Cyber Essentials Plus certified
Microsoft CSP & Copilot specialists
We reply within one working hour
Plain-English, no jargon

Quick answer

Microsoft 365 Copilot is your AI assistant built into the apps you already use — Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and Teams. To use it you need a Microsoft 365 Copilot licence on top of your Microsoft 365 plan; then you’ll see a Copilot button in each app. You use it by typing a plain-English instruction: “draft a proposal from these notes”, “summarise this email thread”, “analyse this spreadsheet”, “create a slide deck from this document”, or “catch me up on what I missed in Teams”. The clearer your instruction, the better the result.

Where to use it

Copilot, app by app

App	What to ask Copilot to do
Word	Draft, rewrite, summarise or shorten — “write a first draft of a proposal from these notes”
Outlook	Summarise long threads and draft replies — “summarise this thread and draft a polite reply”
Excel	Analyse data, spot trends, suggest formulas — “what are the top trends in this data?”
PowerPoint	Create a deck from a document, or tidy slides — “turn this Word doc into a 10-slide deck”
Teams	Catch up on meetings and chats — “recap the meeting and list my action points”
Copilot Chat	Ask questions across your work files and emails — securely, over your own data

Getting good results

How to write a good prompt

Think of it as briefing a capable new colleague. Be specific (what you want, how long, what tone), give context (point it at the document or data), and iterate — ask it to refine, shorten or change the tone. The biggest early wins are nearly always summarising and first drafts.

What you need

And how to get more from it

You need a Microsoft 365 Copilot licence on top of your Microsoft 365 plan. Rolling it out well — with the right licences, a bit of training and the data governance done first — is the difference between Copilot being a gimmick and a genuine time-saver. We help businesses do exactly that, and run hands-on Copilot sessions. See also is Copilot safe for business? and Copilot vs ChatGPT, Claude & Gemini.

FAQs

Common questions

Do I need a licence to use Microsoft Copilot?

Yes — Microsoft 365 Copilot requires a per-user Copilot licence on top of your existing Microsoft 365 plan. Once licensed, a Copilot button appears in your apps.

Which apps have Copilot?

Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and Teams, plus Copilot Chat for asking questions across your work files and emails. It also appears in other Microsoft 365 tools over time.

How do I write a good Copilot prompt?

Be specific about what you want, give it context (point it at the document or data), state the tone and length, and iterate — ask it to refine or shorten the result.

Can Copilot see all my company data?

Copilot only works with data the signed-in user already has permission to see — it respects your existing Microsoft 365 permissions. That’s why tidying permissions before rollout matters.

What should I use Copilot for first?

Start with summarising (long emails, meetings, documents) and first drafts. These give the fastest, most reliable time savings while you build confidence.

Want your team actually using Copilot well?

We handle licensing, a safe rollout and hands-on training so Copilot saves real time. Talk to us about Copilot.

See Copilot for business Call 0161 738 1399