TORONTO – “As soon as you print your document it no longer becomes intelligent.” That’s what Julia White, the general manager of product market for Office at Microsoft, told CDN at the Worldwide Partner Conference 2016 in regards to the preview release of Azure Information Protection Security offering.
White showed the more than 16,000 partners in attendance at the show how Azure Information Protection Security uses an identity-driven approach to security.
What Azure Information Protection Security does is protect data created right at the source; the document. Azure Information Protection Security works to prevent data loss, while tracking information as the document gets shared and edited.
This new offering can label documents at the time of creation or when it becomes edited or augmented. The channel can implement security policies attached to these documents for customers so as the document gets labels the security protection is added on automatically.
That document protection stays with the file no matter where it is stored. Customers who own the documents have the one-click ability to approve access or reduce rights such as printing or forwarding.
Julia White, Microsoft’s general manager of product marketing for Office 365
White added that Microsoft recommends to customers to print less.
“Sensitive documents can now be upgraded with increased security. You can click and make it secret because it’s for just finance only with a watermark that stays with the document no matter if it shared or posted,” she said.
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Even in Excel there is automatic classification for expense reports as an example. “If I put my credit card number on that file and save it. I get a notification and have it bumped up to confidential because automated protection is put in,” she said.
The Azure Information Protection Security fits into Microsoft’s overall security plan because there is build-in security right into the technology, Windows security and security intelligence in Azure and Office 365.
One of the challenges of the IT depart has is with shadow IT. Azure Information Protection Security does give back some level of control, even though White there still will be some level of shadow IT. “This helps the company lessen itself to any unnecessary risk,” she said.
For channel partners one of the single biggest spending opportunities today is in security, White said. The Azure Information Protection Security enables the channel to have another conversation with customers to build in more security for apps and connected citizens.