Microsoft Global Security

Microsoft Global Security Improves Data Collection to Enhance Critical-Event Response

Responsible for all aspects of physical security at every Microsoft facility worldwide, Microsoft® Global Security wanted to integrate and coordinate all its security operations around the globe. Beginning in June 2007, Microsoft launched three integrated Global Security Operation Centers in Reading, England; the main Microsoft campus in Redmond, Washington; and Hyderabad, India. To coordinate its worldwide security operations, Microsoft deployed a solution based on Microsoft Office InfoPath® 2007, Microsoft Office SharePoint® Server 2007, and other Microsoft technologies, which improved response times, enhanced security continuity, and reduced costs. By automating data collection and speeding manual processes, Microsoft has accelerated and enhanced the effectiveness of its critical-event response.

 

Situation

Microsoft® Global Security is responsible for virtually all aspects of physical security at Microsoft, managing investigations, background checks, education and awareness, executive protection, critical incident response, and security policy, operations, and technology. To establish and support a safe and secure working environment for every employee at every Microsoft facility throughout the world and to respond effectively and decisively to incidents wherever they occur, Microsoft Global Security has to maintain business and security excellence, insight, and leadership.

Office InfoPath 2007 is the backbone of our security operation. We’ve used it to change the way we collect point-of-contact data…, develop emergency response plans, and manage day-to-day operations. Brian Tuskan Senior Director, Microsoft Global Security

Originally, site security at Microsoft was the responsibility of the real estate and facilities group, which hired security labor or contracted guarding services at individual facilities and campuses. There was no strategic, regionally coordinated security operation within Microsoft. The company maintained a life safety control center at its main campus in Redmond, Washington, and established separate security operations at other domestic sites in the United States, but security at international Microsoft sites was almost entirely uncoordinated.

Security operations relied on outdated, proprietary technologies that were not effectively integrated or extensible. The life safety control center in Redmond used 60 different technologies and third-party applications that did not integrate with each other or interoperate well with other elements of the Microsoft IT environment.

Global Security found it challenging and often only marginally effective to maintain accurate site-specific data for many global locations. It also found it difficult to identify external critical events and their potential effect on Microsoft locations, personnel, and assets; this created significant risk. In the event of a critical incident, it could sometimes take hours or even days to analyze the data and present it to executive decision makers.

“If a major emergency happened, we were able to come together and address it,” says Brian Tuskan, Senior Director at Microsoft Global Security. “But from a day-to-day operational standpoint, not having a good integrated solution for communication or collecting data on an event was affecting our service delivery. It was frustrating because we didn’t have the right tools in place.”

Microsoft Global Security wanted a solution that would help security personnel stop thieves or respond to threats of violence on a Microsoft campus; ensure that employees are safe or receive aid after a natural disaster; summon fire fighters or police; and even respond to overheating data centers. The company needed a way to integrate and coordinate all its security operations around the globe, and it wanted to help keep costs down as its security portfolio grew.

Solution

Microsoft had already spent several years developing an official charter for Global Security services, a comprehensive strategy for protecting the physical property, assets, and people of Microsoft around the world. Out of this charter, the company ultimately established three Global Security Operation Centers (GSOCs).

In June 2007, Microsoft launched the Thames Valley United Kingdom Global Security Operation Center in Reading, England, which is responsible for coordinating physical security at Microsoft facilities in Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. The Redmond GSOC at the main Microsoft campus was launched in September 2007, to manage security in North and South America. And in April 2008, the Asian GSOC opened in Hyderabad, India. 

Rather than develop or deploy expensive customized or proprietary solutions, Microsoft Global Security wanted to use Microsoft solutions wherever possible to help manage security operations. Global Security decided to develop a comprehensive site-security solution based on the Microsoft Office InfoPath® 2007 information gathering program, Office SharePoint® Server 2007, Office Groove® 2007 collaboration software, Office Communicator 2007, Microsoft SQL Server® data management software, and BingTM maps for enterprise.

“Office InfoPath 2007 is the backbone of our security operation,” says Tuskan. “We’ve used it to change the way we collect point-of-contact data for sites around the world, develop emergency response plans, and manage day-to-day operations.”

Using InfoPath forms on their computer desktops, each Site Manager can distribute real-time updates on point-of-contact, facility headcount, response plans, and other important information to a centralized SharePoint Web portal (Figure 1).  When personnel at one of the GSOCs receive an event alarm or intelligence of a critical incident at any Microsoft facility, they can easily access the InfoPath form through the Web portal and combine the data with other information to develop an event advisory using another InfoPath form.

Figure 1. Site managers use InfoPath forms to distribute real-time updates on point-of-contact information to a SharePoint Web portal.

GSOC teams then convert the form to a .pdf format and quickly distribute it through the Microsoft Office Outlook® 2007 messaging and collaboration client to executive decision makers’ computers or mobile devices, usually within minutes of the event. The decision makers first get information about the event, such as which facility is affected, how many employees are involved, whether local airports, roads, or other resources have been affected, and then they can develop a response plan.

On the Web portal, security staff in a GSOC can enhance situational awareness by displaying facility locations using Bing maps for enterprise alongside geo-coded really simple syndication (RSS) feeds and site-specific data directly from Office SharePoint Server 2007. By resting the mouse pointer over a location marker, a staff member can display the facility point-of-contact information and a link to the InfoPath form for that facility.

The solution also provides operational interoperability between the regional GSOCs. If, for instance, the Redmond GSOC experiences an interruption in service, the Thames Valley GSOC can preserve security continuity by monitoring events in the Americas. It can manage responses, use voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) to respond to emergency phone calls, or even dispatch security officers, if necessary, from thousands of miles away using Radio over Internet Protocol (RoIP).

Benefits

By developing an integrated security solution using Office InfoPath 2007 and other Microsoft technologies, Microsoft Global Security has accelerated event-response times, enhanced security continuity, and reduced security costs.

Utilizing InfoPath and SharePoint Server has really helped us connect all the dots. Now we have a fluid way to get the appropriate information in one document, so we can quickly develop a single version of the truth of an event. Brian Tuskan Senior Director, Microsoft Global Security

By its very nature, emergency response can never be completely automated, but by automating data collection and speeding manual processes, Global Security can enhance its human leadership and response effectiveness.

“By having Office InfoPath technology at our fingertips, we can do our job with less labor and ultimately more effectively, because we can focus on the things we need to do instead of the mechanics,” says Tuskan. 

Integrated Security Solution

With an integrated solution based on Office InfoPath 2007 and Office SharePoint Server 2007, Microsoft Global Security now has a single, coordinated security system for all its global facilities.

“Utilizing InfoPath and SharePoint Server has really helped us connect all the dots,” says Tuskan. “Now we have a fluid way to get the appropriate information in one document, so we can quickly develop a single version of the truth of an event.”

Timely Response

From a security perspective, seconds can matter. Instead of taking hours or days to collate data from fragmented and isolated systems, now the GSOCs can in just seconds get information into the hands of people who need it. After a recent large earthquake near a Microsoft facility in South America, the Redmond GSOC produced an event advisory almost instantly.

“Using information contained in InfoPath 2007 geospatially overlaid on Bing maps, we were able to determine how far the earthquake was from our campus in just two minutes,” says Tuskan. “We distributed an advisory to executive decision makers notifying them that our facility and employees were safe, and that there were no business impacts.”

Enhanced Security Continuity

With facilities around the globe, security continuity is paramount for Microsoft. Because all three GSOCs are thoroughly integrated, if one operation center experiences problems, one or both of the others can pick up its operations temporarily. 

“Microsoft has offices in some dangerous places,” says Tuskan. “We can’t afford a security lapse because an operations center is down. But if need be, any one of the GSOCs can essentially become one of the others. By preserving security continuity we can protect life safety and help preserve Microsoft’s overall business continuity.”

Reduced Security Costs

Microsoft Global security is saving money by eliminating multiple standalone security systems and integrating the three GSOCs. Microsoft has actually improved site security at all facilities without increasing costs, while the company has nearly tripled in size.

“We’ve switched from a model where when you open a new building you need more labor to manage security, to one where we use technology to manage security with the same staff resources even as our security portfolio continues to grow,” says Tuskan. “We’re likely saving hundreds of thousands of dollars in labor costs.”

 

 

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