If you had asked me 5 years ago what I thought of Microsoft’s security capabilities I probably would have answered with “mediocre at best”, but since then I have seen what can only be described as a change in mindset and a massive investment in security from our friends over at Microsoft. As a matter of fact, Microsoft’s security business is growing faster than any of its main products, and now the company is adding some beef to those offerings with three new services designed to help organizations spot and respond to cybersecurity incidents.
Microsoft is among the leaders in cloud software and infrastructure, which means its services and technology are already a core portion of many businesses of all sizes. This not only puts the company in position make security software available to its client base, but borders on making it an obligation because if you are offering software, services or hardware products and you are not putting security first you are doing a disservice to your client base.
In one article I read, the believed this investment comes as organizations ramp up their security spending to manage the increased threats of ransomware attacks and network hacks, which I also believe to be true.
The reality is, security represents a $15 billion annual business for Microsoft, and in 2021 it increased faster than any other significant product or service the company sold. The big question is, will this trend continue?
In a quote I read provided to CNBC from Vasu Jakkal, a Microsoft corporate vice president focused on security, was that a big part of Microsoft’s added spending is on people. “We’re just expanding the scale because of the demands we are seeing,” Jakkal said.
So what is Microsoft actually adding? Well – among the new products being launched is Microsoft Defender Experts for Hunting. It will involve Microsoft engineers flagging issues they find in clients’ devices, Office 365 productivity software installations, cloud applications and identity programs, for $3 per user per month. The launch will align Microsoft with other organizations like CrowdStrike.
There’s also Microsoft Defender Experts for XDR, which costs $14 per user per month. This service that tasks Microsoft employees with helping companies take action on threats. That type of work is done by a variety of companies today, including the big four accounting firms.
The third new offering I wanted to bring up is Microsoft Security Services for Enterprise, which includes an even broader set of people-driven services which includes additional items like architecture and operations review, threat activity assessment and executive reports.
So, let’s summarize here – what does this mean for you? If I am being honest, it can mean a lot, or very little depending on your investment in Microsoft. If you are just dipping your toe in the water of the ecosystem, you might not be poised to take advantage of these services just yet, but if you have been in the Microsoft 365 and/or Azure ecosystem for quite some time, these may be the next items to review in your journey.
Either way, my opinion is that you should consult a partner or your Microsoft Account Executive to discuss these options because in my mind, it can never hurt to have some cyber security validation.
