Building Secure Organizational Guardrails for AI Adoption

In my most recent blog, From Prompts to Power: Essential AI Skills for the Modern Workplace, we explored the individual journey to AI-first readiness, delving into the nuances of the user experience and the vital skills of prompting and validation. We highlighted how mastering personal AI interaction is crucial for unlocking immediate value and navigating the "blank canvas" of new AI tools.  

Now, we turn our attention to the equally critical second pillar: the robust organizational guardrails necessary to securely and effectively scale AI adoption across the enterprise. Becoming "AI-first" isn't merely about adopting new tools; it's a complex, dual transformation demanding both individual mastery of AI interaction and rigorous organizational governance to unlock its true, secure potential. 

Establishing Robust Organizational Guardrails for Power Platform and Copilot Studio

While individual prompting proficiency is essential, organizational readiness demands far more. It requires robust governance frameworks that ensure AI solutions are deployed responsibly, securely, and strategically aligned with business objectives. This goes beyond personal skill; it's about creating an environment where AI can thrive without introducing unacceptable risks. 

Environment Strategy: The Foundation of Data Boundaries

A thoughtful environment strategy is akin to meticulously planning information architecture in SharePoint, where sites and metadata help establish clear data boundaries and intent driven usage. In the Power Platform, environments act as secure containers, often backed by Dataverse storage, designed to optimize the user experience while simultaneously keeping your data safe. These environments are typically created to reflect organizational structures, geo-locations, or specific application requirements, such as those related to Application Lifecycle Management (ALM), compliance, and data security.  

By having a well-defined environment strategy, your organization gains the clarity to know precisely where to store "the right thing in the right place."

Start the conversation within your IT team today. Ask questions like, “Does your organization have a defined environment strategy and robust data loss prevention (DLP) policies for Power Platform and Copilot Studio?” 

DLP Strategies: Controlling the Connectors

Overlaying our environments are data loss prevention (DLP) strategies, which are critical for controlling the use of connectors in the Power Platform. Connectors are simply a means to "connect" to the myriad of apps and services within Microsoft 365 and other cloud providers. The alarming truth is that there are over 1,300 connectors, and by default, all are "on." This default configuration poses a substantial risk.  

While a service like Google might seem innocent, do you genuinely want your sensitive business data from SharePoint or Dynamics being inadvertently shipped to someone's personal Google Drive? Probably not. And there are so many more connectors that can introduce, or support, shadow IT, leading to significant cost overruns and compliance nightmares.  

Most users are not malicious, but when an option to use Google Drive is readily available, that option will eventually be used. To prevent the unintentional mixing of business and non-business data – and to implement essential guardrails – the "safe connectors" must be defined within the DLP policies that align with the organization’s structure and the intended purpose of each environment. 

Controlled Rollouts for Copilot Studio Agents: Managing the New Workforce

The controlled rollout for Copilot Studio agents should involve deliberate decisions around several key areas. First, determining who can create agents is paramount, and this decision ties directly back to settings in the Power Platform admin center. The data consumed and exposed by the agent depends heavily on its configuration, which typically means ensuring the agent's knowledge sources undergo some form of workspace or data lifecycle, and sensitivity review.

Second, navigating the various licensing models for Copilot Studio agents is often one of the most intricate decisions for organizations. There are multiple options available including Copilot for Microsoft 365, Message Packs, and pay-as-you-go. Licensing decisions are often complicated. They can range from what is most convenient, such as leveraging a single M365 Copilot license with its agent entitlements, to choices driven by a deep understanding of the agents built and their projected usage. Message Packs, for instance, are a good choice for users without M365 Copilot licenses and with predictable agent activity, while pay-as-you-go might be ideal for a seasonal agent used only for specific, short-term activities like year-end processes.

Finally, what platforms or channels the agents will be made available on requires careful consideration. Options can include Microsoft 365 Copilot, Teams, SharePoint, public websites, Facebook, and more. Limiting agent publication to internal endpoints like Copilot, Teams, and SharePoint is generally a safer option, assuming your AI data readiness is high. Publishing to public web and other third-party channels should come under significant scrutiny to protect the organization's valuable information assets. 

Adapting Admin Platforms and Addressing Gaps: A Collaborative Imperative

Power Platform Admin Center (PPAC) are continually evolving for the better, yet they still lack some of the granular information and controls needed to fully govern and control AI agents effectively. A critical challenge in PPAC is the current lack of a comprehensive agent inventory, which complicates effective oversight and governance, though new administrative controls are being added frequently. It is crucial for organizations to create a baseline of what is needed to establish their own definition of guardrails and then compare that against what is currently available in PPAC. Gaps in administrative functionality should be noted and either addressed through robust third-party offerings, such as AvePoint's Control Suite, or by delaying the feature rollout until proper governance can be implemented. 

Action point: Assess your current Power Platform Admin settings. What gaps exist between your desired guardrails and available controls? Prioritize addressing these. 

Furthermore, AI offerings across Microsoft 365 and the Power Platform necessitate management across disparate admin platforms, including the Microsoft 365 Admin Center (MAC), PPAC, Power BI Admin Center, and Purview. This reality could mean entirely new ways of working together for administrators who may have previously been content to stay within their own product "box." A core activity of a dedicated "AI admin virtual team" should be reviewing the various Message Center notices to understand the impact not only on their own product responsibilities but also the broader implications for others as they relate to Copilot and agents. 

Action point: How will you break down silos? Consider a 'Unified AI Governance Workshop' for your cross-platform admin teams. 

Adapting to Thrive in an AI-Powered Future

AI is undeniably distributive. It is fundamentally changing how daily work is performed and is reshaping the very makeup of the workforce for many “frontier firms." It will force you and your organizations to adapt, or risk being left behind. This reality can be scary, and change is inherently hard.

However, for those who put in consistent effort to keep up and learn new ways of working, you will not only adapt but will likely thrive in a world where AI truly acts as a co-pilot. It will help you navigate the vast amounts of data at your fingertips, freeing you to move on to higher-impact, more strategic work with your personnel, team, and organizational agents at your disposal. 

Action point: Start envisioning your team of agents today. Analyze what 'repeatable tasks' in your daily work could be safely transformed by AI agents with the right foundational work.

All of this exciting potential will require you to put in the foundational work: mastering prompting, establishing robust guardrails, and thoughtfully envisioning how your repeatable tasks can be safely and securely moved to agents. You may be excited to command your team of agents, but until then, you still have to put in this foundational work.

Join the movement: Are you ready to put in the foundational work to truly thrive in an AI-powered world?

If you're facing governance gaps, explore how AvePoint can accelerate your AI-first readiness.