A Microsoft 365 security concept for an engineering firm (ongoing project)
Ongoing project: since September 2026 I have been supporting a Hamburg engineering firm with around 130 staff and 160 devices on a Microsoft 365 security concept that is being rolled out step by step.
- Client
- Engineering firm
- Industry
- Engineering, Hamburg
- Period
- since September 2026, ongoing project
Starting point
Microsoft 365 has been in use at the firm for years and was extended step by step, without security ever being planned as a whole. The environment covers around 130 staff, 160 devices and six administrators. The management wants to be able to show how well the firm is protected, without making the engineers’ work more complicated.
Solution
After a review of licences and configuration I drew up a security concept that aligns administrative rights, access rules and device management: Privileged Identity Management (PIM), so administrator rights are only active for the duration of a task; PIM requires Microsoft Entra ID P2 or Entra ID Governance licences. Conditional Access, so access is tied to user, device and location. Permission groups that follow one consistent logic, and Intune policies for central device management. I am rolling this out step by step and test every change with pilot groups before it applies to more users and devices.
Outcome
Status as of October 2026: Microsoft Entra ID P2 is licensed, Conditional Access and PIM are set up, and the emergency access (break-glass) accounts are secured. The next steps from the concept are prepared and will be implemented in November 2026. The aim is an environment in which rights, access and devices follow fixed rules and the security status can be evidenced.
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