Essential Post-Setup Guide: Initial Configuration of Your Microsoft 365 Tenant

Essential Post-Setup Guide: Initial Configuration of Your Microsoft 365 Tenant

After successfully creating a Microsoft 365 tenant, the next critical step is configuring initial settings for both end-users and the entire organization. This includes ensuring proper security, access to applications, and setting organizational policies.

This guide covers the crucial first steps for setting up user access, managing applications, and configuring organization-wide security defaults in your new Microsoft 365 tenant.

1. Understanding User and Admin Portal Access

The tenant offers two distinct portals based on user permissions:

• Admin Portal (The Control Hub): Access for administrators using admin.microsoft.com. This portal is used for all organizational and service management tasks [00:12].
• User Portal (The Workspace): Access for standard users using office.com. This is where users interact with their assigned applications (Outlook, Word, Excel, OneDrive, etc.) based on their license [00:24].

2. Managing User Applications and Security

For any standard user, the office.com portal serves as their central access point for essential tasks:

Installing Office Applications

Users can easily download and install the full suite of Microsoft 365 desktop applications. They simply click the “Install apps” button in the upper right corner of the user portal [01:15].

Updating Security Information (MFA)

Users can manage their multi-factor authentication (MFA) details, including adding phone numbers or authenticator apps, by navigating to their “My account portal”. This is accessed via:

1. Clicking on their profile picture/initials.
2. Selecting “View account” or “My account portal”.
3. Going to the “Security info” section to update MFA-related settings [01:46].

3. Configuring Organizational Settings

Administrators should immediately address organization-wide settings to ensure consistency and security. These settings are accessed in the Admin Center under Settings > Org settings [05:29].

Organization-Wide Settings (Org settings)

This section allows administrators to make changes that replicate across the entire organization. Any changes here will affect all users and service configurations [05:37].

Mandatory Security Default Check

Enabling Security Defaults is crucial for immediate security protection. This feature ensures that:

• All users are required to register for Microsoft Authenticator (MFA) when they first sign in.
• Security practices are enforced across the tenant.

You can verify or manage Security Defaults under the Identity portal (Microsoft Entra ID) by navigating to Properties and scrolling down to the Security defaults section [06:06]. It is highly recommended to keep this feature enabled [06:25].

4. Customizing the Admin Navigation

To improve efficiency, Global Admins can customize the left navigation menu in the Admin Center:

1. Scroll down the left navigation pane and click on Customize navigation [06:44].
2. Select or deselect services you want to appear immediately in the left menu.
3. This is useful for regularly accessing services that may not be visible by default or for roles focused on specific tasks [06:55].

By performing these initial setup steps, you can secure your environment and provide your users with a smooth, functional experience right from day one.

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