What does Microsoft 365 governance for enterprises look like?

Are governance frameworks universal? Can organizations of all sizes rely on one single governance framework? 

When it comes to Microsoft 365 governance, there’s no one-size-fits-all approach. That is not necessarily a bad situation either – in fact such an approach could potentially cause more harm than good. Because it does not consider the unique nature and challenges of larger organizations, sometimes set up across countries and regions.  
In this blog post, we look at what Microsoft 365 means for enterprise companies.

Do best practices for governance differ for enterprises compared to SMBs? 

Effective governance of M365 ensures that your organization maximizes the platform's potential while maintaining security, compliance, and efficiency. Governance best practices may differ for enterprise companies compared to Small-and-Medium-Businesses (SMBs) for many reasons.  

While we could agree on an overall governance best practice in principle, in reality, a governance framework should be tailored to individual organizations taking into account several factors.  

Complexity 

Enterprises have an extensive and diverse user base, requiring specific and robust governance frameworks. The sheer volume of organizational data calls for sophisticated data classification and protection strategies. Smaller organizations on the other hand, have less complex governance needs. 

Scope 

Large enterprises tend to be distributed across multiple countries or even regions, having to adhere to international regulations in several areas such as data & privacy, procurement and logistics, etc. Depending on the size and type of industry, the list of international regulations that come into the mix increases. For smaller and medium-sized businesses that are concentrated in one single country, the focus is primarily on local regulations. 

Resources 

Enterprises usually have dedicated teams specialized in IT and compliance that are responsible for governance matters, unlike smaller organizations where IT teams have broader responsibilities.  

The difference in resources also has a bearing on the kind of tools they use to monitor M365 governance. Larger organizations tend to rely on automation and have dedicated in-built solutions or third-party governance and automation tools such as Rencore Governance in place.  

M365 governance best practices for enterprises  

Scalability: Design governance frameworks that not only incorporate the unique needs of your organization, but also one that can scale with your organization's future growth and the requirements that arise from it.  

Eliminate shadow IT: Regularly audit and address shadow IT to ensure all applications employees use comply with your organization’s governance policies. 

Advanced security & compliance standards: Regularly update security protocols to address new threats and compliance requirements and align with industry standards. 

To build or to buy: Whether to build an in-house governance solution or tailor a third-party tool for your organization’s unique needs is a key strategic decision. Cost, integration capabilities, scalability and long-term support are important factors to consider when making this decision. 

360-degree governance: When it comes to M365 governance in larger enterprises, it is often common to see siloed approaches to governance. Instead, implement a 360-degree governance approach that covers all aspects of M365, including security, compliance and productivity, and covers the breadth of M365 services. 

Tenant segmentation: A feature that allows our enterprise customers to give control to subsidiary and country specific admins. IT admins can seamlessly switch between segments in Rencore Governance and assign admin roles to each segment for optimal collaboration governance. 

Automate governance: Larger organizations can save significantly on manpower by adopting automations. It is a way to reduce the workload for IT professionals so that they can avoid staff shortages for critical tasks and projects. With the added time on their hands due to automated processes, IT team members could also work on more important and strategic projects that advance the business objectives. 

By choosing third-party M365 governance solutions such as Rencore Governance, organizations can put their governance on autopilot. Not only can Rencore Governance detect governance issues via its very many compliance policies, but also offer automation capabilities to address and solve the issues.

Want to learn more about how Rencore Governance can help your organization up your M365 governance game? Reach out to our team for a customized demo or try out the tool for yourself.