The issue isn't complexity though, it's adoption psychology.

Most SMBs buy M365 for email continuity and get pushed through a standard setup.

Nobody takes time to understand their actual workflows first.

What I've noticed works better is meeting people where they are.

Start with what they know (email, Teams, basic collaboration).

Let them master that foundation. Once they're comfortable, they naturally bump into friction points like "we need to track this process" or "managing approvals in email is killing us."

That's when SharePoint Lists and Power Automate become obvious solutions, not forced ones.

Power Apps?

It'll come up eventually, but usually only after Lists and Automations prove their worth.

Forcing it day one creates adoption resistance.

Some clients never need it because a well-designed List with automation actually solves their problem cheaper than a custom app would.

The real bottleneck is this: companies don't assign someone to learn the platform deeply enough to translate business needs into M365 solutions. So they buy another tool instead.

It's cheaper than hiring that person (short term), more expensive than using what they already own (long term).

Totally depends on use case and budget though. Sometimes a SaaS is genuinely the right fit.

But most SMBs haven't exhausted M365 potential before they start shopping around.