Ashley Every year, in October, the IT industry celebrates Cybersecurity Awareness Month. However, no matter what month it is, it’s always a good time to discuss cybersecurity if you are a small business. There are lots of options regarding cybersecurity solutions for organisations. Today, we are shining a light on Microsoft Defender for Business.
We reached out to a few different companies that have experience either using or licensing Microsoft Defender for Business. One of the companies that spoke with us, TechQuarters, which is based in London, has extensive experience in both. The managed IT services London based small businesses access from TechQuarters usually include efforts to improve their overall security.
Why is Cybersecurity Important for Small Businesses?
Thanks to how integrated modern business is with the internet, and digital services in general, it is imperative that every organisation has sufficient cybersecurity. Large and medium-sized businesses understand this, but oftentimes small businesses feel less inclined to spend their money on cybersecurity, because they think (or rather, hope) that they will never be a target for cyberattack.
Perhaps this is because it is only ever the cyberattacks on big businesses that make it into the news, but attacks on small businesses happen every day. In fact, according to TechQuarters (who keep an eye on these figures as part of their job), a new cyberattack is launched every 40 seconds on average. So, for all businesses, the question is not if they will be targeted, but when they will be targeted. This is why small businesses need to be prepared for cyberattacks with a strong security strategy.
What is Microsoft Defender for Business?
There are lots of different security solutions for businesses out there; so how does one pick the right one? For TechQuarters, and their clients, the answer is Microsoft Defender for Business. Microsoft is well-known for providing excellent business-oriented products and services that help small businesses optimize business processes and save money with unified solutions.
Microsoft Defender for Business is a security solution that is suitable for organisations with up to 300 employees. It offers good data protection and security guarantees. It is so good, in fact, that TechQuarters recommend it when providing IT support Financial Services companies rely on – such companies rely on having top-notch data security to remain compliant with industry regulations.
With Defender for Business, a small business can protect the whole of its organisation. But how exactly can it achieve this?
What is Included in Microsoft Defender?
Microsoft Defender comes with a range of functionalities that help protect an organisation in different ways. The solution for small businesses is categorised into five different products bundled into one package. Below is a brief breakdown of these products:
- Microsoft Defender for Endpoint – Endpoint protection is very important for the modern, mobile business. Most organisations use a mix of PCs, laptops, tablets, and smartphones. Thus, using unified endpoint management is the most efficient way of keeping data protected across all devices.
- Microsoft Defender Vulnerability Management – An important part of any strong cybersecurity strategy is risk assessment. This product in Microsoft Defender gives businesses intelligent digital tools to assess potential vulnerabilities in their infrastructure.
- Microsoft Defender for Office – If an organisation uses Microsoft 365 – including the Office applications – then this product will help them keep data and accounts within the Office apps secured. This includes a range of policies that ensure unsafe practices are restricted from all apps and services.
- Microsoft Defender for Identity – This product focuses on monitoring the security of identities in the organisation. For businesses that use Active Directory, this is a very useful product. It can even detect potentially malicious insider behaviour.
- Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps – This solution is what is known as a Cloud Access Security Broker, which is a type of solution that ensures that the exchange of data between users and cloud services remains secure at all times.
