The Most Common Governance Questions about Microsoft 365

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Microsoft 365 is a suite of productivity tools and services including applications like the Microsoft Office productivity suite (PowerPoint, Word, Excel), as well as SharePoint, Exchange, and Teams. As organizations adopt Microsoft 365, they often have governance questions to ensure proper usage, security, and compliance. I thought it would be interesting to create a list of some of the most common governance questions I’ve seen. Please let me know if I am missing any of your most burning questions:

1. Data security: How does Microsoft 365 protect our data from unauthorized access and potential breaches?
2. Compliance: How does Microsoft 365 help our organization meet industry-specific compliance requirements and regulations, such as GDPR, HIPAA, or FERPA?
3. Access control: How can we manage and monitor user access to Microsoft 365 resources, including the ability to grant, modify, or revoke permissions?
4. Data retention and archiving: What policies and features does Microsoft 365 provide to manage data retention, backup, and archiving to comply with legal or organizational requirements?
5. Audit and reporting: What kind of auditing and reporting capabilities are available in Microsoft 365 to track user activities and generate compliance reports?
6. Data classification and labeling: How can we implement data classification and labeling policies to ensure sensitive information is appropriately protected in Microsoft 365?
7. External sharing and collaboration: How can we control and manage external sharing and collaboration with partners, vendors, or customers while maintaining security and compliance?
8. Multi-factor authentication (MFA): How do we implement and enforce MFA for users accessing Microsoft 365 services to enhance security?
9. Data sovereignty and residency: How does Microsoft 365 handle data storage and processing locations to comply with data sovereignty and residency requirements?
10. Incident response and recovery: What are the processes and tools available in Microsoft 365 to handle security incidents, breaches, or data loss events?
11. Licensing and Billing: What are the different licensing options for Microsoft 365 and how do they affect access to certain features or services? How are costs allocated per user or per service?
12. Mobility and Remote Work: How does Microsoft 365 handle mobile device management and secure access for remote workers? How can we ensure the security of our data on personal or non-corporate devices?
13. Training and Adoption: What kind of training resources does Microsoft offer to ensure users understand how to use Microsoft 365 tools effectively and safely? How can we promote user adoption and proper use of these tools?
14. Interoperability: How well does Microsoft 365 integrate with our existing business applications and infrastructure? Can we streamline workflows between Microsoft 365 and other systems we use?
15. Service and Support: What levels of service and support does Microsoft offer for Microsoft 365? If issues arise, how quickly can we expect resolution, and what resources are available to help us troubleshoot problems?

Certainly, there are more questions people ask — but these touch on the major categories. Microsoft provides extensive documentation, guidance, and tools to assist organizations in achieving their governance objectives, but many of these questions highlight other important aspects of Microsoft 365 governance, beyond the core topics of security and compliance. They relate to the practical and operational considerations of using Microsoft 365 in a business environment. Addressing them can help your organization maintain a secure, compliant, and well-managed Microsoft 365 environment.