Johanna Winqvist
Microsoft, Modern Workplace
“This file is too large to send.”
We’ve all done it. When time is of the essence, and a large file won’t go where we want it to go, risky public file-transfer methods are suddenly a very appealing option. Security goes out the door in place of convenience. For local governments this creates a systemic problem, and huge security risks. Söderhamn’s local government, overseeing a coastal region in Sweden, decided not to rush to ban this behaviour but take lessons from why it was occurring. Then, turning to modern cloud technology, they sought to close the productivity gap causing the unsecured practices in the first place.
Söderhamn is made up of around 500 small Swedish islands, dotted along its coastal mainland. Famed for its historic ‘blue hills’, another historic asset garnered much less fame―an ageing on-premises infrastructure causing a slew of productivity issues. With new GDPR laws looming over all government practices like an overzealous watchdog, the status quo could no longer be maintained and a new way of working had become vital.
With 2,500 full-time employees, overseeing everything from education to healthcare, sensitive documents were being regularly shared with file-sharing tools, email and, shockingly, written down. Acknowledging that these practices were occurring due to a gap in the available infrastructure and software to do their jobs safely, Söderhamns Kommun turned to the built-in security and productivity tools found in Microsoft 365 to give employees a secure environment to communicate and innovate.
“We saw the benefits of what they were doing. We didn’t want to ban people from using data in ways they shouldn’t, because it was much more convenient. We had to provide a solution and an environment where people didn’t have to come up with their own ways of doing things.”
Read the full customer story here.
One year to go: Preparing for NIS2 isn’t a compliance exercise – it’s a business opportunity
I recently read an insight from IDC that suggests addressing cybersecurity threats is the top board priority worldwide. Further, CEOs of large firms say security is their most important expenditure. It was interesting to see the international consensus here. Certainly, in my work with Microsoft’s customers in Western Europe, I know cybersecurity is very much […]
Mike Hughes
Business Group Director, Security at Microsoft Western Europe
Five ways your business can stay safe – and succeed
Get the actionable guide to business success and security.
Johanna Winqvist
Microsoft, Modern Workplace
How boards can enable trust, security and compliance in the digital enterprise: all you need to know
In a world where data and technology and are dramatically reshaping business models, trust is more than ever determining companies’ success. However, many Board members and leaders are only just starting to recognize it – and often lack a clear strategy to enable it. Commissioned by Microsoft and developed by EY, our eBook is all […]
Johanna Winqvist
Microsoft, Modern Workplace
