Microsoft Office 365 offers noteworthy features that will help keep your organization’s data secure. The most useful security features take a proactive stance. They use machine learning and the intelligent cloud to recognize potential security breaches. Impossible travel stands out as one of the most useful features in the Office 365 suite.

Impossible Travel Security Protection

Impossible travel keeps track of where users are located so it can identify potential security breaches. For instance, if a user signs into Office 365 in Los Angeles to check email, that person can’t possibly download a SharePoint Online document in London an hour later. The impossible travel feature works well because it takes a realistic view of the world. It knows that humans have physical restrictions that prevent them from performing tasks in two locations without taking the right amount of time to travel from one to the other. If these physical rules get broken, then the impossible travel feature will flag the interaction as a potential breach.

Office 365 Conforms to Your Security Policies

Your organization has security needs and concerns that differ from those of other groups. Microsoft understands that a one-size-fits-all approach doesn’t meet the needs of today’s businesses, government institutions and other organizations. Office 365 gives managers access to granular controls that let them adjust the software suite’s security features. More often than not, it makes the most sense for groups to follow Microsoft’s security suggestions. Experts in data security, however, can make their own decisions to improve how their organizations operate. In this way, Office 365 conforms to your security policies.

Discover Shadow IT With Office 365

Shadow IT has become a growing problem for businesses. Experts estimate that 35% of enterprise IT expenditures in 2016 went to shadow IT. Employees often use unauthorized apps because they want to solve problems quickly. Unfortunately, this strategy can open organizations to serious security issues. Office 365 lets managers discover shadow IT without installing endpoint agents. They don’t have to install security apps on every device their employees use because Office 365 can identify unauthorized software for them. This not only helps organizations protect data but gives them a chance to save time and money. As data security becomes one of the more vexing problems facing today’s organizations, groups have to use every tool possible. Microsoft Office 365 gives them several advantages that other software suites lack. Sources: http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/microsoft-office/use-new-security-features-in-microsoft-office-365-to-up-your-secure-score/ https://www.forbes.com/sites/tonybradley/2016/06/01/microsoft-unveils-office-365-advanced-security-management/#560cfea86800 http://www.itproportal.com/2015/11/20/why-shutting-down-shadow-it-stifles-innovation/