70 FEATURE For example, end-to-end security provider Difenda works with Microsoft to provide specialised expertise on Sentinel and other security products from the Microsoft 365 E5 licensing model. Difenda worked with the City of Brampton in Ontario, Canada, to deploy Sentinel as the central solution for its overall infrastructure in conjunction with its own solution, Difenda Shield. As a result, the municipality was able to reduce its cyberthreat alerts by 70 per cent with the joint deployment. Meanwhile, MISA member Ontinue is helping organisations to maximise their Microsoft Security investments. For example, it helped supply chain company AmerCareRoyal improve its security posture and capitalise on the Microsoft tools that it already had access to. It also deployed its managed extended detection and response platform Ontinue ION to increase protection. The MISA ecosystem is constantly evolving to reflect the changes in the security landscape and how Microsoft and its partners respond to them. “We want to make sure we’re continually engaged with MISA members so that they can utilise everything available to them,” says Thomson. “Sometimes our strategy or messaging changes so we must ensure that members are kept updated and that our partnerships are still strategically aligned. We hold monthly office hours with members to provide an overview of what’s happening at Microsoft, and we provide technical road map sessions for them twice a year under nondisclosure agreements so that they can create their own solutions to match the evolving security landscape.” Microsoft also introduces partners within MISA to one another, encouraging collaboration. For example, cloud security solution provider CWSI and Cognni, an artificial intelligence platform provider that provides data classification to enhance the power of Purview Information Protection, are working together with Microsoft to combat information security connected to compliance. “It is well acknowledged within the cyber community that there is no one solution that can do it all,” said Clifford Corney, vice president of strategic business development at Cognni. “Security is a team game and MISA has provided Cognni with the opportunity to engage with likeminded people and organisations to learn from each other. We work together to provide a better customer experience for organisations that are dealing with cyberthreats.” IBM’s Cost of Data Breach Report 2023 found that the average cost of a data breach reached an all-time high in 2023 of $4.5 million. Some of these threats are attributed to the transition to hybrid work. People are working on corporate networks and home networks, and moving fluidly between business and personal activity online thanks to technologies “ Security and safety are the defining challenges of our times and protecting organisations from cybercrime has only become more challenging” Ontinue had helped AmerCareRoyal to make the most of its Microsoft investments Photo: AmerCareRoyal
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NzQ1NTk=