Copilot Governance: Readiness, Adoption, & Governance Steps

For businesses using and modernizing Microsoft 365, adopting Copilot is now not an option but a necessity to stay relevant in the AI age. However, without proper governance, Copilot usage can create security and compliance concerns through inadvertent exposure of sensitive information that lives in ungoverned Microsoft 365 environments.

In this guide, we explain what Copilot governance is, why is it important, and how CloudFuze Manage enables it.

You can also watch our recent webinar on Microsoft 365 modernization that covers Copilot governance:

What is Copilot Governance and Why is it Important?

Copilot governance is the process of continuously governing content sprawl, oversharing, risky external sharing, and controlling unapproved and hidden SaaS and AI apps and integrations in Microsoft 365 to ensure Copilot does not inadvertently expose sensitive internal or client information in its natural language responses.

Without proper Copilot governance, organizations risk security and compliance violations. According to Gartner, Microsoft 365 Copilot can expose over permissioned files and lead to unintended access, unauthorized access and data leakage risks.

How Does CloudFuze Manage Solve Copilot Governance?

CloudFuze solves security and compliance concerns related to Copilot deployment and usage in Microsoft 365 with a robust set of Copilot governance capabilities built into CloudFuze Manage.

The AI evolution that has happened in the last two years got our customers asking questions about their content. What’s happening with our content? Is Copilot accessing our content properly? Are there security risks? Is Copilot accessing sensitive data? That’s when we started collaborating with a lot of our large customers and built very focused M365 governance tools along with managing all other SaaS applications. – Ravi Poli, Founder and CEO, CloudFuze.

With CloudFuze Manage, Copilot governance is not a remediation process, but a continuous optimization process that lives on your Microsoft 365 ecosystem. Because governance is only as effective when it is continuous and aligned with user lifecycle.

CloudFuze Manage helps organizations and their IT teams govern Copilot through:

• Data Sprawl Governance
• Shadow IT and Shadow AI Control
• User Lifecycle Management
• Copilot Usage Monitoring and Management

1. Data Sprawl Governance

Data or content sprawl is the most important focus area when it comes to Copilot and overall Microsoft 365 governance. Overshared files, mismanaged permissions, and stale content become active exposure points from where Copilot can inadvertently surface sensitive information and increase security and compliance risks.

To prevent this, use CloudFuze Manage to set up specific content governance policies across your company’s Microsoft 365 tenant. To do this, follow these exact steps:

Step 1: Understand Active Risks

Access CloudFuze Manage and navigate to the Data panel which shows a data health snapshot of your Microsoft 365 environment.

Key metrics like Content Health Score, Active Risks, Duplicate Files, Sensitive Content, and Risk by Content Category provide a clear picture of the risks associated with ungoverned content in your company’s Microsoft 365 environment.

Step 2: Set Governance Policies

Select the Policies option in the Data Sprawl dashboard.

As of now, you can set governance policies across three categories:

• Sensitive Content
• External Sharing
• Stale Content

Step 3: Set Sensitive Content Policies

You can set specific sensitive content governance policies, such as automatic detection of files containing PII (Personally Identifiable Information).

Step 4: Set External Sharing Policies

Switch to the External Sharing category to set up external sharing-related governance policies, such as creating alerts whenever files belonging to specific departments (e.g., HR and legal) are shared externally.

Step 5: Set Stale Content Policies

Similarly, you can set up stale content policies, such as automation revocation of stale access within 90 days.

2. Shadow IT and Shadow AI Control

Oversharing and mismanaged permissions aren’t the only concerns associated with Copilot readiness and deployment. It is equally important to focus on SaaS and AI apps and integrations that users sign up for without IT’s approval.

These live connections that users make in your organization’s Microsoft 365 environment raise serious security and compliance risks. And as AI tools proliferate, the list of Shadow IT and Shadow AI apps and integrations can grow faster than your IT team can manage.

With CloudFuze Manage, you can control Shadow IT and Shadow AI as part of continuous governance processes.

Step 1: Open Shadow IT and AI Applications

Select Applications from the left panel and click on the Shadow Applications tab. You can view all the applications and integrations that users have connected without IT oversight.

Select shadow applications and integrations with High sensitivity and view their scopes list. With these insights, you can take informed decisions to remove them before they create security or compliance issues.

3. User Lifecycle Management

Managing the entire lifecycle of users is also a critical part of continuous governance before and after Copilot deployment. By using CloudFuze Manage, you can streamline access provisioning, license reclaiming, and other user lifecycle tasks through Workflows.

Step 1: Open Workflows

Click on the Workflows option on the left panel to open the Workflows dashboard where you can create new user onboarding and offboarding workflows or choose from existing templates.

Step 2: Create a New Workflow

To create a new workflow, click on the Create Workflow button.

Step 3: Create an Onboarding Workflow

Click on the Onboarding option to create a user onboarding workflow.

You can choose between various types of triggers for the onboarding workflow.

You can set the onboarding workflow to assign specific licenses, such as Copilot licenses, when a user is onboarded to Microsoft 365. You can set more parameters and add more depth to the onboarding workflow based on your requirements. The same goes for user offboarding workflows.

4. Copilot Usage Monitoring and Management

After your organization deploys Copilot, the governance policies discussed above must continue in your IT operations. It is equally important to monitor and manage Copilot usage to ensure your organization’s Copilot enablement strategies drive results.

CloudFuze Manage’s Copilot Hub provides a complete operational picture of Copilot usage within your organization through these key metrics:

• Total Users
• Active Users
• Monthly Spend
• Average Productivity
• Tool Usage Distribution
• Adoption by Department
• Daily Usage Patten with Quality Metrics
• Usage Trends

Your IT team can regularly check these metrics and use the insights to improve Copilot governance strategies.

Streamline Copilot Governance with CloudFuze Manage

Leverage CloudFuze Manage’s Copilot governance features to accelerate your organization’s Copilot readiness, deployment, and governance journey.

Contact us today for a free Microsoft 365 and Copilot governance assessment!

Frequently Asked Questions

1. How does copilot governance differ from traditional IT governance frameworks?

Unlike traditional governance frameworks, Copilot governance focuses on controlling data sprawl, oversharing, disjointed permissions, risky external sharing, and usage of unapproved SaaS and AI apps and integrations. These governance policies keep data optimized at all times.

2. Which software solutions offer copilot governance features for enterprise use?

CloudFuze provides Copilot governance features for enterprise use in CloudFuze Manage, an advanced platform for end-to-end management and governance of SaaS and AI apps, AI assistants, and AI agents.

3. What companies provide consulting services for establishing copilot governance?

CloudFuze provides assessment, consulting, and solutions for establishing Copilot governance in Microsoft 365 environments of companies of all sizes and industries.