Microsoft 365 and Teams Governance is an important, but often ignored, aspect of running critical business processes in the Cloud. Without governance, organizations can face security and compliance gaps, spiraling costs, unnecessary licensing, and misuse of storage.
The adoption of Microsoft 365 and Teams grew rapidly with the switch to remote work caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Since the start of the pandemic nearly three years ago, many organizations have moved operations to cloud to accommodate the new demands of remote employees and the new hybrid workspace.
However, all too often, governance of that environment has not followed suit. For many companies, governance is an afterthought – until there is a security breach or other impact to business continuity.
Microsoft 365 Governance Makes Good Business Sense
Microsoft Office 365 Governance ensures that the platform is used effectively and securely. It helps organizations establish policies and procedures for managing and using the many components of Microsoft 365, including Teams, SharePoint, and the Office 365 apps.
Governance includes monitoring user roles and permissions, data retention, and compliance with regulatory requirements. Governance also helps organizations manage costs by ensuring that users are only given access to the features and services they need. Additionally, good governance can help organizations maintain control over their data and ensure that it is protected from unauthorized access or breaches.
Here are some examples of how Governance can be applied in Microsoft 365:
User roles and permissions: Establishing clear roles and permissions for users in Microsoft 365 and Teams can help ensure that only authorized users have access to sensitive data and can prevent unauthorized access.
Data Retention: Implementing data retention policies for Microsoft 365 can help organizations ensure that data is not kept for longer than necessary, which can help reduce costs and comply with legal and regulatory requirements.
Compliance: Microsoft 365, SharePoint, and Teams can be used to store and share sensitive information, so it’s important to have policies in place to ensure that the platform is used in compliance with regulatory requirements such as GDPR, HIPAA, SOC2, and others.
Security: Implementing security controls such as Multi-Factor Authentication, Conditional Access and Azure AD Identity protection, can help protect data stored in the Microsoft cloud from unauthorized access, and can also help protect against phishing and other types of cyberattacks.
Auditing and reporting: Auditing and reporting capabilities can help organizations monitor and analyze usage data, identify potential security risks, and track compliance with governance policies.
Governance in Microsoft 365 and Teams is critical to ensure that the platform is used effectively and securely, thereby reducing costs, improving security, and maintaining compliance with regulatory requirements.
