This blog is part of a series that responds to common questions we receive from customers about how to most effectively deploy Microsoft 365 Security. In this series you’ll find context, answers, and guidance for deployment and driving adoption within your organization.
This past year, we’ve been listening to our customers’ questions about how to deploy and drive adoption around the full suite of Microsoft 365 Security products. The questions we get most often include:
- In what order should I deploy security features?
- How do I deploy quickly and with minimal business disruption?
- How do I as an IT Pro get buy-in from my business decision makers?
- How do I get my users to actually use the solution?
- How will this impact my end users?
This blog series will provide you with our best answers to these and related questions and offer tips from our security deployment experts.
The good news is that Microsoft 365 customers already have a powerful security solution to address security challenges. Together with Enterprise Mobility + Security, Windows 10, Office 365, our Microsoft 365 Security products deliver on today’s most pressing security needs.
The Security capabilities in Microsoft 365 integrate where it counts and offers specialized tools for different functions. The result is a comprehensive security solution across your identity, devices, apps, and infrastructure:
One of the most common questions we receive is “Where do I begin?” Microsoft has provided a sampling of the most common security scenarios customers like you may be wanting to accomplish. To help you envision your plan, we provided the optimum combination of Microsoft 365 products and features you need to bring your scenarios to life Microsoft Security such as:
- Work securely from anywhere, anytime
- Detect and protect against external threats
- Protect your data on files, apps, and devices
- Protect your users and their accounts
How do I get started?
The first step to any effective security strategy is careful planning. Here are a few best practices to get you started:
- Know your goals and tackle quick wins first. Trying to address every security challenge that comes along can quickly become overwhelming. Get very specific about what you are hoping to gain from a solution. And don’t let the search for the perfect setup stand in the way of getting started with quick wins today. For example, setting up self-service password resets or getting company apps securely behind your cloud firewall can quickly show business value.
- Map your key stakeholders and influencers. In addition to key influencers (CTO, CSO, CEO, business development managers, etc.), make sure to involve department managers and explore how the new security will impact people, processes, and data internally as well as externally with customers and partners.
- Build a good communications plan. Quick user adoption starts with early user communication. Prepare your end users for the changes in advance so that there are no surprises. Communicate every step of the way during pilot and deployment phases. Don’t just provide technical details, but try to capture also what they care about—how the new scenarios will help them to do their job better, how to get started with the new software, where to go for more training, etc.
We’ll explore these and other planning best practices in future blog posts. Then we’ll move on to key deployment and adoption considerations as well as specific security scenarios. Check back in a few weeks for our next blog post when we drill into FastTrack for Microsoft 365 Security.
Need help getting started? FastTrack provides you with a set of best practices, tools, resources, and experts committed to making your experience with the Microsoft Cloud a great one. Get started on your journey today with a request for assistance from the FastTrack security page.
More blog posts from this series: