By now, you probably realize that Microsoft Office 365 can free up time, money, and valued resources. But what about security?
Surveys show that security is the no. 1 reason why some enterprises hesitate to move their information into the cloud. Specifically, IT administrators fear their data won’t be protected, that it won’t be available when they need it, and that the privacy of information won’t be maintained.
Yet the reality is that Office 365 can provide a higher standard of security at lower cost than many organizations are capable of achieving themselves. Says Stefan Truthän, chief information officer of hhpberlin, a fire-safety consultancy that recently migrated to Office 365: “We are confident Microsoft has the resources to protect our data in the cloud and provide us with more robust security and reliability than we can do ourselves.”
Paul Lovette, vice president and executive manager of the nonprofit, D&L Representative Payee Services, agrees: “If a computer fails, our data is still accessible up in the cloud, with Microsoft safeguarding it,” he says. “That’s great for our peace of mind, especially because we’re handling sensitive, confidential documents.”
So how exactly does Microsoft safeguard your data with Office 365? Here are seven ways:
1. We provide a secure foundation: Microsoft data centers are built from the ground up to protect services and data from harm, whether is a natural disaster or unauthorized access. Physical security best practices are maintained, including state-of-the-art hardware, 24-hour secured access, redundant power supplies, multiple fiber trunks, and other features.
2. We make sure your data is available: Office 365 data is stored in Microsoft’s own network of highly available data centers, strategically located around the world. Because of system redundancy, updates can generally be deployed to the system without any downtime for your users.
3. We adopt security best practices: The products and services that make up Office 365 were designed and built according to the rigorous security practices encoded in the Microsoft Security Development Lifecycle (SDL). The SDL is constantly updated and freely shared within the software industry to help drive better security practices across vendors and platforms.
4. We make sure your data remains yours: With Microsoft, you retain the ownership of your data. If you decide to stop using Office 365, by default we provide 90 days of reduced functionality service, allowing you to export your data. Microsoft also provides multiple notices prior to deletion of customer data.
5. We separate customer data: Data storage and processing is logically segregated between customers through specialized Active Directory technology. For organizations that want additional data isolation, a version of Office 365 is available that stores your data on dedicated hardware.
6. We provide industry-standard log-in security: When users sign in, connections established over the Internet to the Office 365 service are encrypted using industry-standard encryption measures. As the IT administrator, you remain in control and can restrict who can access and perform specific actions on documents, email, and voicemail messages.
7. We protect your data against viruses and spam: To protect incoming, outgoing, and internal email and shared files against viruses and spam, Office 365 includes Microsoft Forefront Online Protection for Exchange. This multi-layered antivirus and anti-spam solution uses multiple scanning engines for highly accurate identification and mitigation of threats. It also minimizes “false positives” that can lead to improperly blocked email.
To learn more about Microsoft’s approach to security with Office 365, check out the Security in Office 365 Whitepaper. Also, please share your feedback. What security concerns did you have about moving your business data to the cloud? What has been your experience?