The Rise of Office 365 and Why You Still Need to Secure It

Many businesses are making the switch to Microsoft Office 365, and for good reason. It eliminates the costs associated with management and upgrades, allowing businesses greater flexibility as their teams grow and their needs change. If you’re unfamiliar with Office 365, let’s review. Office 365 refers to subscription plans for Microsoft’s classic Office applications like Word, Excel, Outlook and PowerPoint, as well as other productivity solutions like Skype and OneDrive.

It is designed to work seamlessly across all your devices and from anywhere. This is ideal for businesses that have employees who telecommute or work remotely, and for teams that collaborate, even across locations. It also allows everyone in your office to have the most up-to-date versions of the Office programs at all times. Rather than paying up front for the Microsoft Office suite for every workstation – and then paying again when it’s time to upgrade – you pay for a subscription on a monthly basis. Businesses are loving this flexibility, in fact, today one in every five business users work with Office 365.

Microsoft Office 365 is great! There’s just one tiny little thing. Many businesses overlook the fact that they still need to secure it. Yes, even a cloud-based email platform can go down. Then what? You’ll need delivery coverage so that none of your emails are lost, emergency access to business-critical emails, and automatic incident alerts.

The fact is, humans are…human. Employees make mistakes that can cause security risks more often than you’d think. According to a 2015 Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report, 23% of users open phishing emails and human error causes 25% of all data breaches. Users can put your business at risk doing everything from uploading files and browsing the web, to opening emails and traveling with their devices.

A good solution for securing Microsoft Office 365 will allow your organization to restrict file types and block access to compromised websites. You’ll need email security and continuity, the latest malware and ransomware protection, and encrypted HDD to keep data secure. We recommend Sophos Central. This powerful solution that gives you a whole host of benefits, including; endpoint protection, mobile protection, server protection, encryption, wireless, web gateway, email security and firewall management.

With Sophos Central you get a lot of the benefits that draw businesses to a cloud solution like Office 365 in the first place. There’s no maintenance or management costs, no upgrades, no on-site security systems and the ability to protect new users as your team grows. It is incredibly easy to set up and manage, boasting impressive email protection – with the latest antivirus, spam and phishing protection, as well as the ability to block suspicious attachments, content and URLs. It also safegards your email in the event of Office 365 going down.