Guest User Management in Microsoft 365 with BCC Affirmatic Self Services, Approval & Lifecycle Management

With Microsoft 365, companies now have an integrated option to collaborate with external business partners such as customers and/or suppliers on documents in SharePoint and Teams.

These so-called ‘guest users’ must be invited to a Microsoft 365 tenant in order to access resources such as files, teams or SharePoint. Although guest users have limited access rights compared to internal users, they can still access the resources shared with them.

The use of guest users in M365 offers the following benefits for organisations:

1. Collaboration with external business partners: Guest users enable organisations to collaborate securely and efficiently with external partners, suppliers or customers. They can view and edit documents and participate in meetings without being part of the organisation.
   
   
2. Cost efficiency: As guest users do not require full licences, organisations can save money by inviting external users instead of assigning them full user accounts.
   
   
3. Security controls: Guest users are subject to specific security policies that ensure access is limited to only what is necessary. Administrators can control which resources a guest user can see and use.
   
   
4. Easy management: Microsoft 365 provides tools to easily manage guest users, including the ability to grant or revoke access rights when they are no longer needed.
   
   
5. Integration with Microsoft Teams and SharePoint: Guest users can easily join Teams meetings, view and edit files in SharePoint and participate in discussions and projects in Microsoft Teams, making collaboration across organisational boundaries much easier.
   
   
6. Compliance and governance: The activities of guest users can be monitored and recorded, which helps to fulfil compliance requirements and ensure security.

Overall, guest users in M365 provide a flexible and secure way to integrate external users into an organisation's workflows without losing control of sensitive data.

In practice, however, managing guest users in Microsoft 365 is an immense challenge for many companies.

At first glance, the Microsoft 365 admin portal is simple and offers standard functions for quickly inviting guests and managing their accounts in the Microsoft 365 tenant. However, these standard functions do not cover the specific security and management requirements that organisations need. In addition, the administration of guest users beyond the basic functions is complex and requires a lot of manual effort for the IT department. Self-service functions are not available.

This is where BCC Affirmatic's guest user management module with automated lifecycle management, intelligent business ownership, advanced security policies and granular access control offers a solution that fulfils the security, compliance and cost-efficiency requirements of enterprise customers.

Automated user lifecycle management
One of the biggest advantages of BCC Affirmatic is the automated management of the entire lifecycle of guest users. This includes the automatic deactivation of guest accounts after certain periods have expired, which not only increases security but also minimises administrative work.

Clearly defined responsibilities
BCC Affirmatic ensures that responsibilities for guest users are clearly defined. The business ownership features define multiple owners and ensure that responsibility for the guest is shared, preventing orphaned objects and improving governance.

Advanced security policies
Security aspects are another area where Affirmatic stands out. The ability to enforce multi-factor authentication for guests and maintain detailed audit logs ensures that access is not only secure but also fully traceable.

Granular access control and ease of use
Affirmatic gives administrators the ability to control access rights for guest users much more precisely. This includes the definition of time-limited access rights and the use of approval workflows. A centralised dashboard makes administration clear and efficient. Controlled self-service empowers employees while maintaining governance.

Conclusion
BCC Affirmatic is the ideal solution for companies that need more control and security when dealing with guest users in Microsoft 365.

It extends the standard options of Microsoft 365 with important functions that not only reduce the administrative effort, but also significantly improve security and control.

BCC Affirmatic therefore offers clear added value for companies looking for a flexible yet secure solution for guest user management.

You want to learn more and discuss your specific needs with an expert?