The Ultimate Guide to Microsoft 365 Governance

Microsoft 365 governance refers to the set of policies, processes, and controls implemented to ensure the effective management, security, and compliance of data and collaboration activities within the Microsoft 365 suite of applications and services. It involves establishing rules and guidelines to protect sensitive information, control user access and permissions, enforce data retention policies, and maintain regulatory compliance.

With Microsoft 365, you can secure your digital ecosystem and minimize risk, ensuring your organization thrives in today’s interconnected world. It comprises a set of features that not only allows you to implement governance capabilities in your organisation but also reduces the risk of shadow IT.

By implementing effective governance practices, organizations can protect their data, maintain regulatory compliance, streamline collaboration, and minimize the risks associated with unauthorized data access or misuse. Microsoft 365 governance plays a crucial role in creating a secure and productive digital environment for businesses of all sizes.

In this article, we will dive deep into the realm of Microsoft 365 Governance, exploring its significance for businesses and unveiling the best practices that drive its effective implementation. From protecting sensitive information to streamlining collaboration, Microsoft 365 Governance oelevates productivity, data integrity, and compliance in the modern workplace.

Let’s delve deep into Microsoft 365 Governance, why your business needs it, and what are the best practices related to its effective use.

What is Microsoft 365 Governance?

The concept of governance in Microsoft 365 mainly involves safeguarding sensitive information from any unauthorised access. The main tool you use for collaboration while ensuring governance is Microsoft 365 groups. Besides letting you manage the groups in your organisation, it also consists of a variety of governance controls. 

These controls include a blocked words policy, an expiration policy, and the naming conversations functionality. Microsoft 365 group can be referred to as a suite of linked resources that includes the following permanent services:

• Mailbox
• Calendar
• Power BI workspace
• Stream
• SharePoint site
• Planner

Apart from these services, you also have the option to add more solutions depending on the specific requirements of your group.

Benefits of Microsoft 365 Governance

As defined by Microsoft, governance is “the set of policies, roles, responsibilities, and processes” used to manage collaboration, compliance, and data security in an organisation. Microsoft 365 governance is mainly ensured by creating groups of people and setting up a collection of resources they can access.

Once more people are added to the group, automatic permission is granted, and they can access all the assets provided by the group. Depending on company size, the governance roles may be managed by one person or may be distributed across departments among several professionals. 

Considering that all of Microsoft’s apps are deeply integrated, the policies and permissions are applied to all the programs. This eliminates the chances of any accidental use of sensitive information. It also ensures a safe and secure work ecosystem.

Why Does Your Business Need Microsoft 365?

Every day, modern businesses produce a vast quantity of data. Protecting this information is critical for businesses as its misuse can put them in deep financial and legal trouble. To let the team members know where to begin a conversation, it is essential to define a communication strategy. When using a Microsoft 365 governance model, there are three main communication methods that you may choose.

• Outlook: This is the traditional method of communication where the users send emails to each other’s inbox folders. It comes with basic tools like a calendar, address book and to-do list, etc.
• Microsoft Teams: It is a persistent-chat-based workspace that is a perfect solution for hybrid work environments. Live chat, voice calls, and audio/video conferencing are some of the best functions of this tool.
• Yammer (evolving to Viva Engage): It is an enterprise social networking service that is used to drive business transformation through collaboration and empowerment. Yammer is evolving into Viva Engage, offering a more holistic and integrated approach to workplace collaboration. Viva Engage builds upon the foundation of Yammer, combining its social networking capabilities with other Viva modules, such as Viva Topics and Viva Insights. This integration enables employees to seamlessly access relevant information, expertise, and resources from within the familiar Yammer interface.

Top Tips & Best Practices for Governance in Microsoft 365

Unlock the secrets to seamless Microsoft 365 governance with our top tips and best practices to follow before you start your planning process. This will ensure that your digital ecosystem thrives with efficiency and compliance.

• Ensure that your governance model adapts to the different needs of the departments. For instance, while some departments might require using OneDrive content, other departments might need intranet content.
• Make sure to fully understand the core business requirement by talking to the biggest users of collaboration features.
• Do not roll collaboration features out to all the departments at once. Instead, you must adopt a phased approach. The features must be introduced to a small group of users. Once the features are in use, get feedback, and make any necessary updates to the setting before proceeding across other departments in your organisation.
• Make sure to have a well-defined strategy to communicate the governance policies across different departments in your organisation. For this purpose, a Microsoft 365 Adoption Center in a SharePoint communication site might be created.
• Refer to the vision, mission, and goals of your organisation. This will help you decide the investment required in the governance according to the priorities of your business.
• Technological advancements are an ongoing process. Therefore, make sure to periodically revisit your decisions. You might need to update new business expectations and might have an opportunity to add new capabilities.

Conclusion

Microsoft 365 governance is all about ensuring that your critical information assets are protected. By embracing robust governance principles, your organisation can drive productivity while ensuring seamless collaboration, data integrity, and compliance. Contact us now and leverage the power of Microsoft 365 to protect your critical IT assets while minimising risk.

Clint Shiels

With over 20 years in the technology space and a background focused on Microsoft and Security, my methodology is to understand business requirements and outcomes first and foremost then set out a roadmap and delivery plan to achieve these through advisory and modern workplace delivery services.