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Ashton Solutions’ IT audits protect your data, your operations, and your organization itself.

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Today, businesses and organizations rely heavily on cloud-based solutions like Microsoft 365 to streamline operations, enhance collaboration and improve operations. However, as the adoption of these platforms grows, so does the complexity of managing and securing sensitive information, data handling, sharing, access, and managing data portability between workstations and mobile devices. Small lapses or configuration deficiencies can become big problems, including introducing malicious attacks, data theft or planting of ransomware. These considerations gain added significance in organizations subject to Personal Healthcare Information (PHI) oversight and compliance such as HIPAA medical information laws in healthcare and insurance industries, or Personally Identifiable Information (PII) in organizations that risk potential exposure of sensitive customer identification data, ranging from financial institutions to retailers.

As a growing number of organizations and businesses become increasingly responsible (and liable) for the security of their client, customer and business information, conducting comprehensive audits of their IT and communications environment has evolved from what was once simply an “IT best practice”, to one of mission-critical and strategic importance.

Ashton can help.
As a matter of practice for our clients using the Microsoft 365 environment, Ashton Solutions employs numerous custom configuration, workflow optimization and security strategies, as well as conducting regular IT audits, practices and training.

Ashton also assists non-client organizations to assess and document primary provider practices, or to assist internal IT departments implementing a strong Microsoft 365 environment. That means, even if you are not a client of Ashton Solutions, you can still take advantage of our industry-leading expertise to help identify configuration, optimization and security challenges. Our comprehensive Microsoft 365 Assessments uncover potential vulnerabilities, compliance issues and inefficiencies in your workflow, and provide actionable recommendations to correct them.

Here are some of the dimensions we examine in a Microsoft 365 Audit from Ashton Solutions:

Data Handling, Compliance and Security

Addressing data handling and security concerns is perhaps the most critical aspect of conducting an audit of a Microsoft 365 environment in any organization. Implementing and auditing Data Loss Prevention (DLP) policies and configurations is essential for preventing unauthorized access, sharing, and leakage of critical or sensitive information. Auditing the configuration and effectiveness of Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) settings helps in detecting and mitigating advanced threats and cyberattacks. We also report on tools and methods to review audit logs and monitor activities in your environment that helps enable timely detection and response to suspicious activities and policy violations, enhancing your overall security posture.

Enhancing Mail Access, Authentication and Search

Auditing mailbox configurations is another critical aspect of ensuring a secure and compliant Microsoft 365 environment. By reviewing user roles, permissions and authentication practices, we help ensure that users have appropriate and secure access to their mail, vastly reduce dangers of compromise, and facilitate more efficient communication and information exchange. Optimizing mailbox search capabilities is equally important, as it enhances the ability to quickly and accurately retrieve relevant information, improving productivity and user satisfaction. We also inspect that email retention and archiving policies are in place to prevent unauthorized access, maintain network integrity and data security.

Management of Mobile Devices

Managing how data moves onto and is held by desktop and mobile devices is a critical part of controlling how and where that data leaves your organization’s control. We assess the strength and configuration of your Mobile Device Management (MDM) practices and policies. Data management tools can set minimum security requirements for company data, and report back to Microsoft 365. Conditional Access rules can be set to restrict authentication to company-owned devices – eliminating data management challenges related to sign-ins from personal devices, risk of attack via malware on an unmanaged device, and preventing sign-ins by attackers.

Improving Workflow

One of the primary objectives of auditing a Microsoft 365 environment is to identify and eliminate inefficiencies in the workflow. By evaluating the usage and configuration of collaboration tools such as Teams and SharePoint, organizations can streamline processes, enhance team collaboration, and improve productivity. Moreover, ensuring that your environment aligns with internal policies and procedures is essential for compliance with regulatory bodies. Ashton has the experience and understanding to meet these critical objectives.

Assessing the value of Ashton’s Microsoft 365 Audit

We believe that our comprehensive audit and recommendations are indispensable for organizations relying on Microsoft 365, particularly those governed by data security and personal information regulatory compliance, or environments undergoing recent migration to Microsoft 365. By identifying and helping you address potential vulnerabilities, compliance issues, and inefficiencies, Ashton Solutions can help enhance the overall security posture and operational efficiency of your organization.

Receive a sample Microsoft 365 Audit Report

Is your organization having security issues with Microsoft 365?

Are your Microsoft 365 email accounts secure and in compliance?

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Examine a comprehensive sample Microsoft 365 Assessment we performed recently, and learn about conducting an audit for your organization.