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Until now, Microsoft’s Azure Information Protection (AIP) has been an enterprise level IT solution for the big brands and businesses. So, you may not have even heard of it! But, its tools are perfect for small businesses and allows you to get AUTOMATIC file and email encryption that is easy to use, and affordable.
Let’s look at why you should be looking at this solution for your small business, how you can use it and what it can do for you:
Why do I Need File Protection?
We could advocate for file protection but it’s easier just to show you, here’s how easy it is to gain access to your sensitive data if you don’t have file protection:
The solution to this? We recommend, Microsoft’s Azure Information Protection (AIP)
Update: 23/09/20 – Microsoft’s AIP has actually been upgraded to MIP, with a few extra features. This article is still relevant and if you scroll to the bottom you can see a demo of a recent project we just completed on how it looks in action.
What is Microsoft’s Azure Information Protection?
It’s an excellent cloud-based file and email encryption solution that allows you to create certain ‘rules’ to protect your files and emails automatically.
What Does This Entail?
Although it’s also an excellent option for smaller businesses because it offers unique cyber security features which make GDPR compliance easy and seamless, you can’t really “figure it out” as you go.
It’s not as simple as downloading a piece of software. There’s a little more to it than that. But, once you know how, it’s our recommendation for keeping your company, files and emails protected. The installation looks a little like this:
Different Stages of AIP Implementation
Once you’ve set up your active directory and assigned your licenses, there are 3 steps to implementing Microsoft’s Azure Information Protection:
Assessing Your Data
Although only roughly 5% of your data is sensitive, you still need to protect it and in order to do so, you need to understand what it is, where it is and how you handle it.
Installation
This is the easy part (if you know what you’re doing) and is a simple installation of the AIP client onto all of the machines/servers that you want to have automatic encryption capabilities.
Monitoring/Testing
This is all about tweaking your settings to match your usage based on what you’re using your protection for in your business.
So, How Can I Do It Myself?
We originally created an AIP course (you can still take the legacy course HERE.) However since the update to MIP (Microsoft Information Protection) there’s a lot more backend setup, licensing crossovers, and implementation that just make this a project that is really tricky.
If you get it wrong you can accidentally encrypt and lock yourself out of all of your data, and to be honest, we don’t recommend doing this.
We still want to make MIP accessible for SMEs so we offer a half hour consulting option to give you the best tailored advice on what forms of protection are best for you, and then we can help you set up MIP if it’s suitable.
Book in for your consultation CLICK HERE.
Check out the MIP Demo below to see it in action:
