Microsoft introduces OneDrive for Business Information Rights Management

Large organizations usually have a large number of documents that need protecting from malicious and prying eyes, but in this connected world that we live in, such organizations also need a way of protecting these documents on the internet and in the cloud. Such information can be crucial to the integrity of an organization and may include everything from long-term business strategies to sensitive customer information, so protecting that information is a vital top priority.

That’s why Microsoft has now built an Information Rights Management system right into OneDrive for Business, allowing organizations of all sizes to securely store files on the cloud with specific policies that define who can access the documents, and how a viewer can act on those documents.

With OneDrive for Business, an organization can save documents to a shared IRM library in the cloud, so that when documents are added to it, they are automatically assigned IRM protection. For example, recipients of the file would then be allowed to view and print the file, but not edit or forward it to external third-parties. Best of all that protection remains where the file is stored locally on a PC, or on a USB keys.

IRM protection allows organizations to assign policies to email, SharePoint Online libraries, Office documents or other file types. The automatic IRM service in OneDrive for Business is now available for some selected organizations, but will expand worldwide within the next 4-6 weeks according to Microsoft. Watch the video above to see how it works.

The feature will come as part of an update ot the Microsoft Azure Rights Management package that is currently available in Office 365 premium plans, but is also available as a standalone package. It includes the latest Microsoft encryption and rights management technology and only costs $2.00 per month, a worthy investment in our opinion.