Office work today means more of a remote or hybrid work arrangement. All you need to work effectively in the office is an internet connection and a computer or smartphone but, to collaborate effectively, you need the right applications. What’s more, for the security of our identities and company data, how and from which device we connect to company data is also important. With Microsoft 365 Business Premium applications, organizations can provide their employees with modern office work in a safe environment.

Microsoft Account Login

Research shows that one of the most attractive targets of cyberattacks are user passwords, so it is especially important for all businesses to protect the identities of their employees. Microsoft 365 provides customers with the right authentication method with multiple layers of protection. Instead of a password, Microsoft is convinced that other options, such as fingerprint and face recognition and multi-factor authentication offer greater protection. You can set up passwordless access in Microsoft Entra (formerly Microsoft Azure Active Directory). You can also set up to require multi-factor authentication when changing a password, so that the system can verify that the password change has actually been initiated by the owner of the account. 

Microsoft OneDrive

OneDrive, the online file storage and synchronization feature in Microsoft 365, offers plenty of powerful features and usesacross all popular platforms. OneDrive integrates with Microsoft Office, allowing users to access Word, Excel, and PowerPoint documents directly from OneDrive. Employees can save files, photos, and other documents using multiple devices, and even save documents in OneDrive and sync them automatically across other devices. Users can also share their files stored in OneDrive with anyone, making working with colleagues, in addition to storing personal data, easy and secure. 

Microsoft Teams

Video conferencing, meetings, telephone, chat. Microsoft Teams makes group collaboration easy and effective, whether from home or the office, or while working with colleagues or external partners. Microsoft’s collaboration and video conferencing platform is also integrated with other Microsoft 365 services, such as OneDrive and PowerPoint. In addition, when you order Microsoft Teams Phone, it works as a fully-featured phone system within your organization. It enables effective group collaboration by defining workgroups, which can be organization-wide, public, or even private. Workgroups can not only be created within an organization, but with customers and partners as well. In a workgroup, you can store documents or use other Microsoft or third-party applications that the workgroup needs for effective collaboration. Additional channels can be created within a workgroup with different access rights, making it possible to assign tasks and responsibilities within the workgroup itself and the protection of data accordingly. Microsoft Teams has many useful features for effective online meetings and collaboration, such as the ability to start an ad hoc meeting, the ability to raise your hand during a meeting or presentation, or the essential tool for brainstorming, Whiteboard. You can read more details about the use and benefits of the Whiteboard feature in our Hidden Gems in Microsoft 365 article. 

Version History 

For documents stored in OneDrive or SharePoint, previous versions are also saved, so users can easily go back to the previous version of the document, which is especially important if the document is edited by multiple people at the same time, or when a user makes accidental changes to the document. 

Security

The Microsoft 365 Business Premium suite also includes many security features, such as Conditional Access, which allows you to determine who can access company data, when and where, and with which devices. The algorithm continuously analyzes and evaluates the risk of access to data and decides in real time whether to allow or deny access, or to require additional authentication. Equally important is the protection of your devices against viruses and applying the latest updates, both on company-owned and personal devices. Microsoft Intune offers a solution for this. The security solutions provided by Microsoft 365 Business Premium are presented in our article Work securely and from anywhere in a Microsoft 365 environment. Since employees often access company data on their own devices, it is essential to protect this data when buying new devices or when an employee is leaving. The Retire Device feature in Microsoft Intune provides a solution for this by remotely deleting company data from the device while the employee’s personal content is not accessed by the system and thus remains on the device. 

Data Protection

When companies choose a cloud service, along with many other benefits, they can rest assured that their data are backed up and protected, complying with all legal requirements for data protection. Customers have full control over their data, and only the customer may delete or modify them. Microsoft will only use the data after the customer has consented, and only to provide the services chosen by the customer. Microsoft’s data storage complies with broadly applicable privacy laws, such as the GDPR, and privacy standards. Customers can choose where Microsoft stores their data, and Microsoft offers full support in selecting the location. In addition, Microsoft provides data residency commitments worldwide. Microsoft employs advanced encryption solutions to protect your data, both at rest and in transit. Its encryption protocol includes two or more independent layers of encryption to provide adequate protection against unauthorized access to data. Microsoft does not give any government direct or unrestricted access to customer data, and protects customer data through well-defined response policies and processes, contractual commitments, and even in court, if necessary.