Ep. 2 Can Microsoft Help Federal Agencies Transition to Zero Trust?

March 29, 2022

AvePoint is a well-respected Microsoft partner. In the studio, John Peluso, their Chief Product Officer, provides his thoughts on how a Microsoft platform can be a viable option for accomplishing the federal agency journey to Zero Trust. The transition to Zero Trust is increasingly becoming a federal mandate and John offers his thoughts on how a platform like Microsoft can help in this challenge.

In January of 2022, The Office of Management and Budget set out nineteen requirements that agencies must follow by 2024.

In March of 2022, funding was approved for the DHS Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Agency to make it mandatory that federal agencies notify CISA of a breach within 72 hours.

The question a federal information technology professional may have is . . . how can any of these initiatives be accomplished on time in today’s world of remote connections, the hybrid cloud, and multiple dependencies?

"this idea of moving from digital transformation to digital realization"

John Peluso Tweet

During the interview, John Peluso suggests an approach that includes the Microsoft Platform to be able to reach this aggressive deadline in time. An analogy is drawn between an older car with manual locks and a new car with automatic locks. Human beings can forget to lock doors, which can decrease security; however, an automated system will ensure that the distracted driver has locked doors once a specific speed is reached.

One would think that Microsoft would be touting its products as the only solution to Zero Trust, but this is not true. In February, Microsoft released a Zero Trust Guidance Center which gives practical advice for any platform. This new world of Microsoft matches new requirements in federal technology.

If you liked this podcast, you may want to listen to episode #1 Enterprise Transformation in Challenging Times.