Building a secure and intelligent Digital Workplace

As someone deeply involved in the Microsoft 365 and Modern Workspace, I’ve seen the struggles organisations face when it comes to balancing security, compliance, and productivity. My role isn’t just about selling solutions—it’s about advising, guiding, and helping organisations make sense of complex challenges. Recently my focus has been on three key areas that I believe are critical to a strong digital workplace: Data Loss Prevention (DLP), Content Labelling, Data Lifecycle Management, and the foundational role these play in an organisation’s AI journey

The challenges of deploying sensitivity labelling and DLP

I’ve had countless conversations with IT teams who have been handed the responsibility of implementing sensitivity labelling and DLP with little input from the actual data owners. The reality is that this isn’t just an IT problem—it’s a business-wide responsibility. Yet, time and again, IT is left to define classifications, apply labels, and enforce policies without the necessary context from Compliance and Governance teams.

This needs to change. IT should be an enabler, not the sole owner of data security. The challenge isn’t just technical—it’s cultural. Organisations need to see data protection as a collective effort, with IT playing a key facilitation role rather than simply being tasked with implementation. Finding ways to bridge these gaps and bring the right stakeholders together will be a major focus for me throughout 2025.

Data Lifecycle Management (DLM): more than just retention policies

DLM often gets reduced to retention policies, but it’s so much more than that. Businesses generate data at an unprecedented rate, and without a proper lifecycle strategy, they end up drowning in redundant, obsolete, and trivial (ROT) data. Managing this effectively isn’t just about compliance—it’s about efficiency and cost savings.

The three key aspects I emphasise when working with organisations are:

1. Storage Optimisation: Storing the right data in the right place without unnecessary sprawl.
2. Retention Management: Keeping essential data while ensuring compliance with evolving regulations.
3. Eliminating ROT: Identifying and clearing out data that no longer holds value, reducing risk and improving performance.

I find that when businesses truly understand the importance of DLM, they begin to see it as a strategic function rather than just another IT task. It’s about enabling teams to work smarter, not harder; by ensuring they have access to the right information when they need it—without being bogged down by clutter.

How DLP, DLM, and Content Labelling lay the foundation for AI

One of the most exciting shifts in technology is the integration of AI into the workplace, but AI is only as good as the data it has access to. The strength of AI models depends on clean, well-governed, and properly classified data. Without a strong foundation in DLP and DLM, AI risks amplifying bad data, introducing compliance risks, and generating content that lacks context.

When I talk to organisations about AI, I break it down into three main pillars:

1. Productivity: AI-driven tools can streamline workflows, summarise content, and improve efficiency.
2. Content Generation: AI’s ability to generate and refine content is only as good as the data it has access to. Proper data classification and governance ensure that AI can surface relevant, high-value content rather than ROT.
3. Automation: AI-powered automation has the potential to transform processes, but only if built on a secure and structured data foundation.

This isn’t just about Microsoft Copilot or any one tool—it’s about a mindset shift. Businesses need to start thinking about AI readiness now by ensuring their data is properly governed, protected, and accessible in a way that adds real value.