Lately, all IT and information systems and applications companies have been using the term MODERN WORKPLACE and the solutions they offer for it.
By the term MODERN WORKPLACE (we dare to call it a new business environment) they mean the ability for everyone to work, inside or outside the buildings (sites) of the companies they work in, with different devices – functional (e.g. PCs – tablets – smartphones), always connected, in order to immediately offer competitive and better products and services to their customers. They also have the ability to promote these products and services more quickly and effectively through new (social) communication channels. And all this through an operationally controlled and secure environment.
The challenge for businesses and their IT is: how to manage, control, protect and comply with the various standards when employees work either in the central office or in regional offices or on the road or from remote places and with different devices and platforms, e.g. IOS, Android, Windows.
All large companies provide solutions and services for the Modern Workplace, but here we will refer to Microsoft’s Public Cloud solutions and services, and specifically to the products and services called Microsoft 365.
The solution that Microsoft provides to the dynamically changing business environment is Microsoft 365. The provision of services and applications so that employees can work directly – collaboratively from different places and with different devices in order to achieve the best possible for their organizations. And all this in a controlled and secure business environment.
Microsoft 365 includes Office 365, Windows 10, and Enterprise Mobility & Security (Figure 1)
Office 365 includes office applications for PC, MAC, iOS, Android, as well as email, file storage and collaboration, meetings, and more.Windows 10 The most productive and secure version of Windows with comprehensive deployment, device, and app management.Enterprise Mobility + Security (EMS) Services with which we control and manage users – devices and data. Namely Microsoft Intune, Azure AD Premium, and Azure Rights Management
The advantages of Microsoft 365 are:
Unlocks Creativity: It has innovative tools with AI that help creativity
Built for Teamwork: It enables teamwork and collaboration through tools for collaboration in real time. Microsoft Teams is a hub for teamwork, where users chat, manage meetings and share files and applications
Integrated for simplicity: It helps reduce complexity, increases flexibility and makes it easier to adopt and manage technologies and ultimately reduce costs. The platform provides centralized installation, management of all device resources such as mobile computers, tablets on all platforms.
Intelligent Security: Provides holistic security for users, devices, applications and data.
Microsoft 365 editions
The edition for small and medium-sized businesses up to 300 users is Microsoft 365 Business. For larger organizations, there are M365 E3 and M365 E5. Microsoft 365 Business is a complete solution for businesses in Greece because it contains many of the features of Enterprise solutions, namely E3 – E5, except for Advanced threat protection, security, and collaboration tools. .
Below we list the main features and services:
It is important to mention the Security solutions provided by the platform which has a holistic approach to Identities, data applications, and devices across on-premises, cloud, and mobile. The pillars of the Microsoft Security approach are four:
Specifically, we will mention in Identity and Access Management we have capabilities such as MFA (Multi-Factor Authentication) and Conditional Access Control (FIGURE 2).
Multi Factor Authentication
With multi-factor authentication we ensure that the user requesting access to Microsoft 365 is the one who should be and not, for example, someone who has the credentials (user name and password). Now, if access is granted, access will only be granted to the resources for which they have been granted rights.
Conditional Access
Conditional Access helps protect sensitive data by assessing users, devices, applications, location, and risk before granting access to corporate data. This helps ensure that only authorized users and devices have access to critical company resources.
Conditional access evaluates each access request on a number of different criteria and then using policies you define, decides if it should be allowed, if stricter controls are needed or if the access attempt should be blocked altogether
And of course there are tools and applications such as Azure Information Protection and Advanced Threat Protection to protect the organization and data.
Below is the link to Microsoft’s training for M365.
https://docs.microsoft.com/el-gr/learn/paths/m365-fundamentals