Microsoft announced the private preview of Microsoft 365 Lighthouse at Ignite 2020. Since the announcement, the company has been working on co-creating with its preview partners to create experiences that will help users succeed in managed security services delivery. 

According to the company, Microsoft 365 Lighthouse is available to global Managed Service Providers serving small and medium-sized businesses. However, these companies must be using Microsoft 365 Business Premium. The platform is also ideal for Managed Security Service Providers (MSSPs). The platform will easily onboard tenants since it recommends baselines for security configurations already optimized for SMBs. 

What do experts in managed services and managed security services think about this new platform? We reached out to them, and here is their feedback. 

A Better Platform for Delegation and Management 

Stuart Pretty, technical Manager at Steadfast Solutions, feels that Microsoft 365 Lighthouse has come at the right time, after a long wait. One of the good things about this is that via delegated admin, you can assign your techs roles to manage clients’ environments. The current platform allows you to do so to some extent, but Lighthouse will open up many additional sections that you currently cannot manage. 

This means that you can have auditing or accountability on changes to client tenancies without sharing global admin and not worrying about staff leaving.

Pretty says that the only worry is for RMM vendors. “If you take network device monitoring off the table, why would you pay for N-Able or Kaseya when you can roll this out and have it as your dashboard?” He asks. 

Scott Gallupe, President at 403Tech, also believes that Microsoft 365 Lighthouse will provide MSPs an opportunity to manage all of their devices. Whether they’re cloud-based or on-premises, MSPs can take control of all their devices, all from a single pane of glass. Microsoft is moving into the RMM territory that many MSPs are very familiar with.

Gallupe feels that some competition is good for the entire market and will let IT administrators better manage their assets for their clients. Many MSPs have been waiting for this solution for a while now, and it will become easier to manage multiple clients, says Ashu Singhal, President at Orion Networks. 

A Competitive Market in the Horizon 

For a long time, Microsoft has tried to make it easier for vendors to sell O365 to set themselves apart from its competitor G-Suite. The coming of Microsoft 365 Lighthouse will hugely help in that direction, adds Singhal.  

Joe Cannata, Owner at Techsperts, LLC, says that Microsoft 365 Lighthouse, at first glance, appears to be something close to an RMM dashboard for Microsoft 365 products and services. It provides management capabilities across all your customer tenants, such as enforcing MFA policies and the ability to restart devices. He looks forward to seeing how this offering develops and getting a hands-on experience. 

Ilan Sredni, CEO and President at Palindrome Consulting, also can’t wait to start using Microsoft 365 Lighthouse. He knows that the platform will make things easier for MSPs in helping them manage their clients. However, he is quick to add that only time will tell how the platform will perform under stress. 

Improved Standardization of Device Compliance

Another functionality of Lighthouse is that it will enable the monitoring and management of device compliance for all MSP customers from one point. This will help MSPs understand the policies in place, review device status, and compare across multiple customers. As such, an MSP will be better placed to work towards standardization to manage its customers more efficiently. 

Proactive Risk Management 

Lighthouse provides a platform for MSPs to proactively manage risk by enabling them to closely and frequently monitor customer tenants. Through the portal, they can get simplified views of crucial customer environment aspects. They can then review, prioritize alerts, and resolve them promptly. In so doing, they can ensure that each customer is proactive about security best practices for risk mitigation. 

The platform also incorporates service health updates, which play a role in keeping technicians informed about service events that affect tenants. Consequently, they can proactively reach out to affected clients and resolve their issues, a factor that helps an MSP maintain trust and credibility. 

Improved Security 

Microsoft 365 Lighthouse comes with several crucial capabilities to help MSPs secure their customers, including:

• Threat protection and antivirus to help them view the Microsoft Defender Antivirus status across all Windows 10 devices. They can also analyze the systems for active threats, restart devices, and execute all antivirus functions. They can better understand which devices and users are affected by security events and the additional reviews required. 
• Identity and access management, which gives them a preview of the central list of all users across their customers: they can derive insights into risky sign-ins and the policy settings for conditions access. 
• Device Compliance helps with viewing and managing device compliance access to customers from one location: MSPs can quickly identify the customer devices that require attention and those that already have compliance policies configured. 

Standardization of Configuration using Deployment and Baseline Plans 

When security policies are standardized, they help elevate the security of your customers. This, in turn, proactively reduces the risks to their business and enables an MSP to scale its managed service offerings. The currently available security baselines consist of six policies across devices and identities:

• Block legacy Authentication 
• Require MFA for Admins
• Set up device enrollment 
• Require MFA for users 
• Configure a Windows 10 device compliance policy
• Configure Microsoft Defender Antivirus for Windows 10
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Once an MSP brings customer tenants onboard into Microsoft 365 Lighthouse, it can use a deployment plan to implement baseline configurations. 

Final Thoughts 

It’s easy to tell why many MSP owners are looking forward to the release of Microsoft 365 Lighthouse. The partnership will bring with it many advantages that will extend to MSP customers for enhanced business relations. Its many functionalities are worth embracing for any MSP and MSSP that wants to succeed in service delivery. If you would like to learn more about Microsoft 365 Lighthouse and how your MSP will benefit from it, we at Ulistic are here to help. Contact us today and let us help you set up the platform and onboard your customers successfully.