This post was written by Jeff Schilling, chief security officer for Armor
As chief security officer of Armor, every day I see in practice what I have believed for years: that the cloud is more secure than traditional on-premises networking models. That’s because we use Microsoft Office 365 cloud services to ensure a productive, secure workplace where employees can deliver the exemplary managed security solutions that our customers have come to expect from us.
I retired from the military in 2012 as colonel and chief of operations for the Joint Taskforce on Global Network Operations. One of my last tasks was to help transition 15,000 hosted email servers from locations across the United States, to a single, cloud email service provided by the Defense Information System Agency. That opened my eyes to the security of the cloud, where email is aggregated in a central location and protected by a provider that’s capable of a more robust security model than small individual IT shops.
Given my commitment to cloud security, coming to work at Armor, where we offer managed security solutions, felt like a natural step—as did choosing Office 365. It gives me peace of mind to know that a large company like Microsoft is applying their high level of threat research and innovation to their cloud services; it means that my team and I can focus our efforts on protecting our customers and creating new products, which is, after all, why we are in business.
At Armor, given that we specialize in managed security solutions in the cloud, it’s not surprising that our corporate culture revolves around security. We chose Office 365 for the granular control it gives us over filtering spam, which wasn’t available with other cloud offerings. The ability to characterize and control unwanted email reduced the amount of spam that made it into our inboxes. We send encrypted emails, something we couldn’t do in the past. Today, it’s a simple step for our CEO to type “Encryption” in the subject line to enhance the security of point-to-point communications.
It’s not all about security, however. For any company, better collaboration and mobility means better productivity. For our globally dispersed workforce of 275, staying connected is one click away with Skype for Business Online video calls. Marketing teams use Microsoft OneDrive for Business to ensure sales decks are always updated and available from anywhere there’s an internet connection, on any device. Within our product management function, up to 100 stakeholders collaborate on Office files that are stored on OneDrive for Business and SharePoint Online sites. Sales reps share and coauthor PowerPoint sales decks. And from within Microsoft Teams chat-based workspaces, we coordinate customer briefings at our offices.
One of the hallmarks of our company is the way we embrace change. I was amazed and gratified at how quickly everyone saw the value of Office 365 in boosting agility, collaboration and mobility to better secure and protect our customers.
To understand how Armor is enhancing customer service and satisfaction, read the full case study.
Author: Jeff Schilling
Source: Microsoft
