As companies continue to operate remotely because of the pandemic, business continuity remains a focal point of IT strategy. Managers and employees need to have tools that allow them to stay secure and be productive—no matter where they are.
The good news is that you can leverage technology in the cloud to accomplish these goals. Even better news?! Microsoft offers two services that work together to help businesses better control the accessibility of your company’s most valuable asset—your data.
Here is what you need to know about data security in the cloud and how Azure Active Directory (AD) and Microsoft Intune makes your IT strategy seamless.
What is Azure AD? What is Microsoft Intune?
Let’s get started with brief definitions of these services.
Azure AD is an identity and access management service. It’s a cloud-based technology that controls who can log into your systems, combining user credentials and strong authentication policies to protect your company’s data whether it’s stored on a server in the office or an app online.
Microsoft Intune is a cloud-based service that focuses on mobile device and application management (MDM and MAM). Like it sounds, it allows you to control which devices, both company- and employee-owned, can access your company’s data.
What is the key to data security in the cloud?
When it comes to data security in the cloud, you can rely on the best practices that have safeguarded your company’s data for years—by controlling access and managing users and devices centrally. Without proper authentication and authorization, there is no data security.
Most office networks are already using Microsoft’s Active Directory, running on a server in your office, to make sure that the right people have access to the right network resources from approved (and secured) devices.
However, as you introduce more cloud services and have more devices connecting to the data in the cloud, it’s important to make sure your user and device management platform can go beyond the office walls. That’s where services like Azure AD and Intune can help.
How Can Azure Active Directory Help Me Manage Access?
With Azure AD, you can give your employees secure and seamless access to your company’s resources via the internet.
Rather than creating credentials for every cloud service, Azure AD allows you to manage and secure a single identity for each employee across thousands of cloud and on-premises apps. If you’re already using Active Directory, this mobile-friendly approach also lets you sync the management of your office network to the cloud so you don’t have to manage users in both places.
With a streamlined process, you can verify who is accessing your data and have peace-of-mind that they are only authorized to access what they need to do their job.
How Can I Manage Devices with Intune?
The other part of data security is protecting your devices. Traditionally, we’ve managed devices like computers and laptops that lived in the office to limit the risk of a data breach. As more mobile devices are used and devices connect from outside of the safety of the network, that risk grows. The lack of protection on these devices requires you to manage ALL devices, even personal devices.
Microsoft Intune gives your team access to resources anywhere on almost any device while helping to keep company data secure. It simplifies how you manage computers and mobile devices as well as the applications that can be accessed on devices that don’t meet the company’s security requirements. And, it covers more than just Windows devices with one system.
Giving you more flexibility, you can choose how you manage devices with Intune.
For company-owned devices, you can have full control. With device management, you can enforce policies to protect the device.
However, employees using their own devices may not want you to have the same level of control. With Intune, you can also manage the applications in order to protect the data on these devices. For example, you can prevent people from copying data from Office apps or you can remove data from the Office apps.
Improve Data Security in the Cloud with Azure AD and Intune
In today’s modern workplace, data security remains a priority. And, Azure AD and Microsoft Intune helps you better secure your workforce at the office, at home, or on the go.
WorkSmart can help you discover more ways to leverage the cloud to boost productivity while keeping your data secure. Contact us today for a free consultation.