How IT can build a secure environment for collaboration

As an IT leader, it falls to you to anticipate and respond to the evolving technology needs of your business. Your goal is to create an environment where everyone can collaborate and communicate effectively.

The best way to achieve this is by implementing an all-encompassing suite of collaboration tools, as opposed to multiple fragmented solutions.

Not only will employees be more productive, but your IT team will feel confident, knowing every individual tool is supported and secure. Plus, you’ll only deal with one vendor, meaning fewer requests for general support, updates and training.

“So how do you deliver the best of modern collaboration, while reducing the complexity challenges? Use a platform that seamlessly blends as many of these features into a single user experience as possible.” — Alan Lepofsky, Vice President and Principal Analyst, Constellation

Ensuring end-to-end security and compliance

When everyone works together seamlessly and securely, everybody wins. And one of the best, most secure collaboration suites available is one you might already have: Microsoft Office 365.

Office 365’s built-in safeguard and privacy features are available across devices, so businesses don’t have to worry when it comes to security. You can create management policies and settings to help control who has access to Microsoft Office 365 and its various programs.

And with Mobile Device Management, standard with Office 365 Enterprise, you can perform selected wipes on any lost or stolen personal or company-owned devices. Additionally, Exchange Online Advanced Threat Protection scans all incoming and outgoing email for sophisticated attacks, unsafe attachments, and malicious links.

Office 365 can also help you on your journey to reducing risks and achieving compliance with the GDPR, thanks to industry-leading security measures and privacy policies to safeguard your data in the cloud.

“Microsoft has worked with us to provide assurances that we are working in an environment that minimizes business risk. They are clearly focusing on information security in the cloud.” — Michael Waters, Director of Enterprise Information Security, Booz Allen Hamilton

Save time, increase productivity

Implementing a suite solution like Office 365 will allow your teams to work faster and smarter, as employees and departments can communicate seamlessly using any document or tool. A hybrid deployment gives IT the flexibility to store content on-premises and in the cloud, while users can easily access content regardless of where it is stored.

A recent study found companies that promoted collaborative working were 5 times as likely to be high performing
SOURCE: Institute for Corporate Productivity, 2017

Empower your organisation with Microsoft Teams

Microsoft Teams is the hub for teamwork in Office 365 that integrates all the people, content, and tools your team needs to be more engaged and effective. Team members can co-author and collaborate on Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote documents without ever leaving the app.

And the best part? If you have Office 365 you already have Microsoft Teams included. To help you get started we’ve created a simple guide, including tips and tricks, to help all types of teams in your organisation collaborate better, and more securely.