The Problem With "Microsoft 365 Security"
Search for "Microsoft 365 security tool" and you'll find dozens of options: compliance scanners, posture management platforms, audit automation tools, SIEM integrations. Each promises to solve your security challenges.
The reality? Most fall into one of three categories that each have fundamental limitations.
Category 1: Manual Auditing
Tools: PowerShell scripts, Excel spreadsheets, quarterly security reviews
The approach: Export configurations, compare against baselines, remediate findings, repeat.
What works: Complete control, no vendor lock-in, deep customization.
What doesn't:
- Time sink: 15-20 hours per week for a mid-market IT team
- Point-in-time only: Configuration drift between audits goes undetected
- Human error: Manual processes miss things, especially under pressure
- No automation: Every fix is manual, every issue can recur
Best for: Organizations with dedicated security teams and existing automation infrastructure.
Category 2: Microsoft Native Tools
Tools: Secure Score, Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps, Compliance Manager
The approach: Built-in dashboards that score your configuration against Microsoft's recommendations.
What works: Free with existing licenses, deep integration, constantly updated.
What doesn't:
- Recommendations, not enforcement: Secure Score tells you what's wrong but doesn't fix it
- Microsoft's priorities, not yours: Recommendations can conflict with business requirements
- Alert fatigue: Hundreds of recommendations with no prioritization for your context
- No cross-tenant visibility: Each tenant is siloed
Best for: Organizations just starting their security journey who need guidance.
Category 3: Enterprise Posture Platforms
Tools: Varonis, BeyondTrust, SailPoint, CyberArk, large GRC platforms
The approach: Comprehensive identity governance with audit workflows, access reviews, and compliance reporting.
What works: Enterprise-grade features, extensive compliance frameworks, mature platforms.
What doesn't:
- Cost: $50-150K+ annually, often priced per user
- Complexity: 6-12 month implementations, dedicated admin staff required
- Overkill: Features designed for 10,000+ employee organizations
- Slow iteration: Changes require professional services engagement
Best for: Large enterprises with dedicated identity governance teams and budget.
The Mid-Market Gap
Here's what we noticed: If you're a 200-500 person organization with 2-3 IT staff managing Microsoft 365, none of these options fit well.
- Manual auditing consumes too much time
- Native tools provide recommendations but no automation
- Enterprise platforms cost more than your entire IT budget
You end up cobbling together Secure Score checks, occasional PowerShell audits, and hoping nothing falls through the cracks.
How TrueConfig Is Different
We built TrueConfig specifically for this gap. Here's our approach:
Desired State Configuration, Not Compliance Scanning
Most tools ask "What's wrong?" and generate a report. TrueConfig asks "What should be true?" and maintains it.
You define your baseline once:
- MFA required for all users
- Legacy authentication disabled
- No more than 3 standing Global Admins
- Guest access restricted to admins
TrueConfig continuously compares your tenant against this baseline. When reality drifts from intent, you're notified immediately or it's fixed automatically.
Automatic Remediation With Safety Gates
Unlike tools that generate findings for you to fix, TrueConfig can fix routine drift automatically:
- Legacy auth gets re-enabled → Disabled within minutes
- Security Defaults turned off → Re-enabled automatically
- Risk policy disabled → Restored to desired state
Every remediation is logged with before/after state. Rate limiting and dry-run mode prevent runaway automation.
Multi-Tenant From Day One
Managed Service Providers and organizations with multiple tenants see all tenants in a single dashboard. No switching between portals, no separate configurations.
Transparent Pricing
No per-user fees that scale unpredictably. Flat monthly pricing based on tenant count. A 500-person organization pays the same as a 50-person organization.
Feature Comparison
| Feature | Manual Audit | Microsoft Native | Enterprise Platform | TrueConfig |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Continuous monitoring | No | Limited | Yes | Yes |
| Auto-remediation | No | No | Varies | Yes |
| Multi-tenant support | Manual | No | Varies | Yes |
| Implementation time | Immediate | Immediate | 3-12 months | < 1 hour |
| Annual cost (200 users) | Staff time | Free | $50K+ | $3,588 |
| Requires dedicated staff | Yes | No | Yes | No |
| Customizable baselines | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
What TrueConfig Doesn't Do
We believe in honest positioning. Here's what TrueConfig isn't:
- Not a SIEM: We don't aggregate logs or detect active threats
- Not a SOC replacement: We maintain configuration, not investigate incidents
- Not an identity governance platform: No access reviews or certification campaigns
- Not Azure-wide: We focus on Entra ID and Microsoft 365, not Azure infrastructure
If you need those capabilities, you need different tools, possibly in addition to TrueConfig.
Who Should Use TrueConfig
TrueConfig is built for:
- Mid-market IT teams (100-1000 employees) managing Microsoft 365
- MSPs managing multiple client tenants who need consistent baselines
- Security-conscious organizations who want DSC without enterprise platform complexity
- Teams drowning in manual auditing who need to reclaim their time
Who Shouldn't Use TrueConfig
Be honest with yourself if:
- You need full identity governance with access reviews → Look at SailPoint or Saviynt
- You're a 10,000+ employee enterprise with dedicated IAM team → Enterprise platforms may fit better
- You need Azure infrastructure security → Consider Microsoft Defender for Cloud
- You want a single pane of glass for all security → Consider a SIEM/SOAR platform
The Bottom Line
The Microsoft 365 security market has gaps. Enterprise tools are overkill for mid-market. Native tools lack automation. Manual processes don't scale.
TrueConfig fills the gap with Desired State Configuration that's powerful enough to maintain real security and simple enough to implement in an afternoon.
We're not trying to be everything. We're trying to be exactly what mid-market Microsoft 365 shops need: continuous configuration assurance without enterprise complexity or cost.
Ready to see the difference? Start a free trial and connect your first tenant in under 15 minutes. No credit card required, no sales calls unless you want them.