Reactions from our customers to the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) are varied. Some are very concerned and taking action. Some are waiting to see what happens. But everyone knows GDPR is something you must pay attention to.

Our message in all cases is simple: whatever your situation is right now, upgrading from Office 365 to Microsoft 365 will make your life a lot easier. You’ll benefit from a solution that’s

• Highly secure
• Regularly and automatically updated to keep it secure
• Has been built with GDPR compliance in mind

The time to upgrade is now

Many organisations are still running with just Office 365 licencing. In these times of increasing regulation and security threats, this is a mistake. Microsoft 365 is a step up that you need to consider because it combines Office 365 with Windows 10 Enterprise and Enterprise Mobility + Security (EMS) in one complete package. As standard, it includes features that control identity and access, manage mobile devices and safeguard sensitive data. All of these will help you handle GDPR requirements effectively.

There are also several other elements within Microsoft 365 that provide you with an even more complete solution that will simplify GDPR compliance. These include:

• Compliance Manager – a new solution that enables you to conduct a real-time risk assessment. Compliance Manager also gives you a score that helps you understand your compliance performance against all regulatory requirements.
• Microsoft Information Protection solutions – which enables you to identify, classify, protect, label and monitor your sensitive data as you create and store it.
• Advanced Data Governance  – which helps you set retention periods for data in Office 365 to comply with GDPR rules on record keeping.
• Plus Customer Lockbox  – which means you can stay in control of your data at all times, even when a Microsoft engineer may need access to your content to resolve an issue.

All these initiatives are examples of how security and compliance are built into everything that Microsoft does. They also show why Microsoft has become the first enterprise cloud services provider to earn approval for the EU Model Clauses, the first to achieve  ISO’s 27018 cloud privacy standard and the first to offer its customers  contractual commitments to the GDPR.

Do you need to find out more before GDPR comes into force on May 25th?  Contact us and we’ll explain how upgrading to Microsoft 365 will give you all the tools you need.