How Office 365 Security Keeps Your Business Safe

Here is why you shouldn't fear the cloud June Blog 1

An increasing number of organizations are migrating to Microsoft Office 365 (O365). If you’ve ever considered moving your own company into the cloud, then there’s a good chance you know how important the decision can be. It offers many benefits, like infrastructure optimization, enhanced accessibility, and turnkey maintenance. Yet, there are still some companies that continue to be wary of digitizing their infrastructure.

Office 365 Security Concerns

Imagine having the ability to seamlessly create, edit, and collaborate on a document with others from anywhere and at any time. This is the beauty of an online office suite like O365. The service uses the internet to give you freedom to access a variety of productivity and collaboration tools on any device.

Given the advantages O365 provides, it’s surprising that not every business uses it. While there are a few reasons an organization may choose not to migrate, the leading issue is security. It can be hard to trust a third-party service with sensitive data, as it’s the lifeblood of your company. However, with Office 365 cloud security, your information is secure.

A few other related concerns include:

Microsoft having access to your data: Although your information is stored within their service, Microsoft does not have access to your data. Access is controlled through auditing, an approval process, and role-based access.
There’s no way to know if data is secure from hacking: The truth is no system is completely immune to hacking. Office 365’s data protection measures are just as strong as most cybersecurity offerings, if not stronger.
The possibility of other companies accessing data that’s not theirs: Other companies also can’t access your information. To gain access to your files, a user has to first authenticate themselves with your Active Directory.
Microsoft owns any data it’s given: In no way does Microsoft own or even use your data. If you were to cancel your subscription, your data would be purged from the servers after 90 days. The time allotment is there simply to give businesses enough time to retrieve all of their data.
A bad actor within Microsoft could steal data: While it’s possible that a disgruntled worker could attempt this, Microsoft has extensive security measures that limit access to your data. This applies to both their employees and subcontractors.
Data in the cloud is vulnerable: From transfer to storage, Microsoft encrypts your information. In fact, O365 uses multiple encryption technologies to keep your data secure.
Office 365 could violate compliance requirements: Compliance differs across industries. It’s true that O365’s cloud security solutions may not meet the compliance requirements of all companies. You may need to do some research if you operate in an industry with strict cybersecurity stipulations.

The common link behind these concerns is the misconception that a cloud platform can’t be secure. Although you may lack the control to tack your own cybersecurity solutions onto this service, you shouldn’t fear the cloud. Office 365 is actually more secure than most on-premises infrastructures.

Does Microsoft’s Security Only Extend to Exchange?

Another prevalent misconception is that Office 365’s numerous security measures only apply to Exchange. It’s important to understand that Office 365 has customizable security options. The platform allows subscription-based clients to secure their data, improve workflows, and save on technical resources. As a result, O365 goes far beyond the confines of Exchange.

Microsoft’s Service-Level Agreement

Microsoft understands the importance of company data and is serious in its efforts to protect client information. To further ease customer’s anxiety towards O365 migration, the technology giant includes a financially backed service-level agreement (SLA). This SLA comes with a 99.9% uptime guarantee for every subscription.

Additionally, O365 is used by a large number of organizations across the world. With their massive list of clients, Microsoft has gained a notable track record of keeping data secure.

Compliance With Office 365

As mentioned earlier, O365 may not be right for businesses with very strict compliance requirements. However, the service does offer plenty of solutions to keep most companies in compliance. Although O365 has built-in capabilities and controls to help businesses meet their security needs, Microsoft is continually adding new features to fulfill various compliance needs.

Through its Security & Compliance Center—a hub for compliance in Office 365—subscribers have access to various compliance tools like:

Data governance: This is a feature that allows you to import email from external platforms, create archive mailboxes, and establish new policies to retain email and other content.
Threat management: With threat management, you can prevent data loss and protect against malicious software and spam.
User permissions: O365 is built with permissions that prevent Microsoft’s employees from meddling with your information. However, you also have the power to set user permissions. This enables you to choose who has access to what.
Alerts: The alert feature allows you to create and view notifications about specific activities in O365. Having alerts can help you keep an eye on your solution and stop suspicious activity.

Office 365 Support

If the only thing stopping you from migrating to the cloud is a lack of knowledge or a team to handle the management, Office 365 support services can provide just what you need. When you partner with an IT provider that offers this service, they can manage O365 for you. For example, RCS Secure makes sure your platform has all the security applications your business requires.

Get Work Done Securely

RCS Secure specializes in cybersecurity solutions. If you want to make sure your O365 solution is secure, we can help. In addition to helping you create a migration plan, we can also provide training, so your employees make the most out of their new tools.