Getting started
From files and spreadsheets to one policy record
Beacon is a solution accelerator. The foundation is already designed, so iomer builds your organization’s version, installs it in your tenant and brings your policies across. Most of your effort goes into deciding owners, approvers and schedules.
Go live in five steps
Five steps, in order
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Step 1
Plan
We map your policies and where they live, their owners and approvers, review and re-signing schedules, certification types and audiences.
From you: a list of your policies, who owns and approves each one, and how sign-off works today.
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Step 2
Build
We build Beacon for your organization as a single deployment package: your categories, approvers, audiences, cycles, certification types, lifecycle rules and theme.
From you: decisions on schedules, time to sign and who each policy applies to.
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Step 3
Install
We install your package in your tenant and test it there with your Microsoft 365 admin. There’s nothing for your IT team to assemble.
From you: an admin to approve the installation with us, and up-to-date manager fields in Entra ID.
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Step 4
Import
We bring your policies across as the documents they are or as policy pages, each with an owner, an approver and a review date, and load your certification records.
From you: owners to confirm review dates, and your current certification spreadsheets.
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Step 5
Launch
Training for policy owners, approvers, managers and admins, and a launch plan for staff. As your needs change, we build and install a new version of your package.
From you: a policy owner who will run Beacon day to day.
Everyone on board
Bring HR or compliance, an approver from legal, a manager and IT into the conversation early. Policy sign-off touches all four.
Who’s involved
Importing your policies
Your policies can stay as they are
Policies drafted by legal or signed off offline can come across as the Word or PDF files they already are. Policies staff read often can become policy pages from the Beacon template. Either way, each one gets an owner, an approver and a review date as it arrives.
We scope the import separately, so you can see the effort before you commit.
What sets the size of an import
- How many policies you have
- Whether they have clear owners and review dates
- How many become policy pages rather than documents
- How many certification types and records you bring across
Before we talk
Questions to think about
You don’t need answers to all of these for a first conversation. They’re what tells us how Beacon fits, who else should be involved, and how big the job is.
Where do your policies live today: Word or PDF files, intranet pages, or both?
Tells us whether to lead with uploads, policy pages or both, and sizes the import.
Who approves a new or changed policy, and how is that recorded?
Email approvals map to Beacon’s approval step. Several sequential stages need a conversation first.
How often are policies reviewed, and how do you know one is overdue?
A calendar reminder, or nothing, points to review cycles and the needs-attention list.
How do you track who has signed off on a policy update?
Email threads, paper forms or a spreadsheet point straight at Beacon’s signature record.
Have you had to show an auditor which version was in force, who approved it and who signed it?
If it took days, version history and signatures by version matter most.
Which certifications do you track expiry on, and who is told when one lapses?
Sizes the certification side, and shows whether it’s led by HR, safety or both.
How often do policies need re-signing: every year, on every change, or both?
Shapes your attestation cycles and the major and minor version rule.
Who owns each policy today: HR, compliance, legal, IT, finance?
Tells us who your policy owners and approvers are.
How reliable are your Entra ID departments and manager fields?
Audiences and manager escalation depend on them.
Do any staff work without a computer or a Microsoft 365 account?
Managers can record paper sign-offs for them, so plan who does it.
Do you already have Hazel, or a knowledge centre for procedures?
If so, we agree which content belongs there and which policies belong in Beacon.
Do you use Journey or Hazel, or plan to?
They can share one SharePoint site design, Entra ID set-up and governance model.
Why a solution accelerator
The benefits of off-the-shelf and custom, without the trade-offs
No two organizations are the same, but every policy program needs the same foundation. Beacon gives you that foundation already designed, and builds the rest around you.
| Policy management software | Custom build | Beacon solution accelerator | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fits how you work | You adapt to it | Built around you | Your approvers, audiences, schedules and certifications are built in |
| Designed before you start | Yes | No, designed as it’s built | Yes, the foundation is already designed |
| Time to go live | Fast to start, slow to fit | Slow, everything is built from scratch | Faster, because only your parts are built |
| Who sets it up | Your team | Your developers or a partner | iomer, as one deployment package |
| Where records live | Usually the vendor’s cloud, with its own sign-in | Wherever it’s built | Your own Microsoft 365 tenant |
| Cost | Per-user subscription | An open-ended project | Scoped with you first, then a work estimate and proposal |
| Changes later | Wait for the vendor’s roadmap | Another project | A new version of your package, built and installed by iomer |
Pricing
Scoped with you first, then a work estimate and proposal
Every Beacon engagement starts by working through your policies, approvals and certifications with you. Then we give you a work estimate and a written proposal for building, installing and importing, so you can see the effort before you commit.
What the estimate depends on
- How many policies we bring across, and their condition
- How your approvals, reviews and re-signing schedules work
- How many certification types you track
- The number of business units, brands and languages
Already running Journey or Hazel? Beacon can share the same SharePoint site design, Entra ID set-up and governance model.
What happens next
From first call to proposal
Watch the 45-second tour first Download the datasheet (PDF, 2 pages)
- Discovery call
We learn how policies and sign-off work today and what matters most.
- Tailored walkthrough
Thirty minutes with Beacon, set up with policies like yours.
- Scoping workshop
Your policies and where they live, owners and approvers, review cycles, certification types and audiences.
- Proposal
A written proposal with the work estimate and timeline.
See Beacon with policies like yours
Book a 30-minute walkthrough set up with policies like yours, or take the evaluation kit away and come back when you’re ready.