Guide to External Sharing: Management
We have reached the end of our three-post guide to External Sharing. In previous posts, we first explained the problem and then considered the challenge of reporting. This final post considers ways of managing the different scenarios for External Sharing.
The concept of management assumes organisations are not satisfied with the Microsoft default of “most guest sharing scenarios work without further configuration.” Whilst platforms like Microsoft Teams are designed to be user-led, for most organisations, it is not acceptable for content to be potentially shared externally in every Team. All organisations have private and confidential data that should not be shared with guests or via sharing links. However, in the modern world of hybrid working, we should be confident in this data being in the Microsoft Cloud. In fact, there are many benefits, including the risks associated with the data being stored in less secure platforms.
Therefore, IT and Compliance Teams need to have the confidence that information is appropriately secured. They can leverage Microsoft Compliance features to secure access to information, such as Data Loss Prevention and Sensitivity Labels. However, not all organisations have access to these capabilities due to license restrictions. Furthermore, the role of user education is still important, as in many scenarios they drive data classification.
Governance of External Sharing
The role of a governance solution, such as ProvisionPoint 365, is to give organisations more granular management of External Sharing. Workspace templates can be configured that limit the options for Sensitivity, Guest Access and File Sharing settings. Crucially, users are still empowered to create new Teams, but have clear choices to make about whether external parties should access the Team. Where that external access is required additional authorisation processes can be included. Finally, with policies controlling Team naming, clear visual indicators can be added to externally shared Teams.
Management of External Sharing is not just about how Teams are created. Processes can be included in ProvisionPoint 365 to manage the process to change External Sharing. Further, configurable policies monitor External Sharing throughout the lifecycle of Team and archive the data at the appropriate point.
For most organisations, External Sharing is a must for both SharePoint and Teams. It allows users to collaborate easily and securely. In fact, often external collaboration was one of the key reasons behind migration to the Microsoft Cloud. However, it is important to understand the problem, know the options for reporting, and implement a strategy for the management of External Sharing
[This post originally appeared at https://www.provisionpoint.com/blog/guide-to-external-sharing-reporting/]
