Microsoft Defender for Cloud — Cloud Security Posture Management implements an agreed Defender for Cloud posture and workload-protection baseline for Azure, with AWS or Google Cloud coverage available when separately scoped and supported. IT Partner onboards the approved environment, validates plans and connectors, captures a baseline, prioritizes recommendations, remediates selected findings, configures agreed standards and workload protections, and hands off an operating model. Pricing starts at $5,950 plus Microsoft consumption; optional managed monitoring is separately scoped.
Defender for Cloud identifies cloud configuration risk and can provide posture, regulatory-mapping, and workload-protection capabilities. The engagement focuses on the resources, plans, standards, and findings approved in the statement of work. Secure Score is a prioritization signal, not a guarantee of security, and regulatory mappings do not constitute certification. Endpoint protection, SIEM operations, incident response, application redesign, every remediation, and ongoing monitoring are outside the base implementation unless separately contracted.
Confirm business goals, in-scope Azure subscriptions or management groups, target workload types, compliance standards, remediation expectations, communications cadence, and change-control process. Acceptance point: scope, access approach, and success criteria are confirmed before configuration changes begin.
Validate required Azure RBAC permissions, management group or subscription access, Microsoft Defender for Cloud plan approval, Azure Policy permissions, Log Analytics or monitoring dependencies where applicable, and any change windows needed for remediation. Acceptance point: IT Partner has the required access and client approval to enable agreed plans.
Review current Defender for Cloud posture, subscription coverage, resource inventory, recommendations, Secure Score, regulatory-compliance status, and existing security-policy configuration. Acceptance point: baseline results are captured for comparison against post-remediation posture.
Enable agreed Microsoft Defender for Cloud plans for in-scope subscriptions and resource types, using management group or subscription-level configuration where appropriate. Acceptance point: agreed Defender plans are enabled and visible in Defender for Cloud.
Configure Microsoft Defender for Cloud posture-management settings, Azure Policy assignments, security recommendations, and relevant defaults for the agreed environment. Acceptance point: posture recommendations and policy compliance data are available for in-scope resources.
Assign selected regulatory-compliance standards in Defender for Cloud, map applicable controls, and identify control gaps or exceptions. Acceptance point: selected standards are visible in the regulatory compliance dashboard and included in reporting.
Configure workload-protection plans for agreed resource types such as servers, storage, databases, containers, key vaults, or other supported Azure services as applicable to the client environment. Acceptance point: agreed workload-protection settings are configured and validated in Defender for Cloud.
Triage Defender for Cloud recommendations by risk, impact, Secure Score contribution, and implementation effort. Remediate agreed high-priority misconfigurations where safe and approved, document exceptions, and assign remaining items to owners. Acceptance point: prioritized remediation items are completed, deferred, or documented with rationale.
If selected, connect agreed AWS and/or GCP environments using Defender for Cloud multicloud connectors, validate required cloud permissions, and review posture findings. Acceptance point: connected accounts or projects are visible in Defender for Cloud and included in reporting. This is subject to additional scope and pricing confirmation.
Validate configuration, capture post-remediation Secure Score and compliance status, prepare the hardening report and remediation register, and conduct a handoff session covering operational ownership and next steps. Acceptance point: final deliverables are reviewed with the client.
If the optional extra-cost monthly managed tier is selected, establish ongoing monitoring cadence, remediation workflow, reporting schedule, escalation path, maintenance responsibilities, and ownership model through IT Partner's NOC, third-party support partnerships, and a Microsoft Premier Support agreement. Acceptance point: recurring service process and reporting expectations are confirmed.
The service includes enabling Microsoft Defender for Cloud plans, establishing a Secure Score baseline, prioritizing and remediating cloud misconfigurations, applying regulatory-compliance standards, and configuring workload protections for key Azure resource types. It also delivers a remediated Secure Score, a hardening report, regulatory-compliance mapping, and workload-protection configuration outputs.
Microsoft Defender for Cloud CSPM helps identify cloud resource misconfigurations that endpoint security and SIEM tools do not typically show. It gives organizations visibility into configuration risk, Secure Score priorities, compliance alignment, hardening guidance, and workload-protection configuration across Azure, with optional extension to AWS or GCP.
Azure is the default scope. AWS or Google Cloud can be included when the required Defender for Cloud connectors, permissions, plans, and client approvals are available and explicitly listed in the statement of work.
Deliverables include the documented in-scope cloud coverage, Defender for Cloud posture baseline, prioritized remediation register, completed in-scope remediations and exceptions, selected regulatory-standard and workload-protection configuration summary, post-change validation, residual-risk report, operating runbook, and handoff. Optional managed monitoring is documented separately when selected.
No. The service remediates the findings selected in scope and records remaining items as assigned actions, accepted exceptions, or follow-on work. Application redesign, third-party changes, and every recommendation are not automatically included.
Secure Score is used as a baseline and remediation guide for cloud security posture in Microsoft Defender for Cloud. This service establishes the Secure Score baseline, prioritizes misconfigurations, and works toward a remediated Secure Score so the organization has clearer visibility and control over cloud configuration risk.
No, this service is not positioned as a replacement for endpoint protection or a SIEM. It addresses cloud security posture and workload-protection configuration because endpoint and SIEM tools do not normally show whether Azure cloud resources are misconfigured.
The exact Microsoft Defender for Cloud plans are confirmed during scoping. Depending on supported resources, licensing, client approval, and the statement of work, coverage may include servers, storage, databases, containers, key vaults, or other supported Azure services.
Selected standards can be enabled and reviewed in Defender for Cloud. Those mappings support posture assessment and evidence conversations but do not constitute legal advice, formal audit evidence by themselves, or certification.
Typical prerequisites include confirmed in-scope Azure subscriptions or management groups, appropriate Azure RBAC permissions, approval to enable Defender for Cloud plans and related Microsoft charges, access to Defender for Cloud and Azure Policy, selected compliance standards, named client stakeholders, and an agreed change-management process for remediation.
The client should provide access, approve Defender for Cloud plan enablement and any related Microsoft consumption costs, confirm scope and compliance standards, provide security/cloud/application stakeholders, approve remediation actions, supply change windows where required, and make risk-acceptance decisions for exceptions or deferred items.
IT Partner is responsible for enabling Defender for Cloud plans, baselining Secure Score, prioritizing and remediating misconfigurations, applying regulatory-compliance standards, and enabling workload protections for key resource types. IT Partner may also extend posture management to AWS or GCP if that optional scope is selected, and may provide ongoing monitoring, remediation coordination, and maintenance through IT Partner's NOC, third-party support partnerships, and a Microsoft Premier Support agreement if the optional extra-cost monthly managed tier is purchased.
The stated duration is 2–3 weeks. Actual timing depends on environment readiness, access, subscription scope, remediation complexity, change approvals, and whether optional multicloud or managed services are selected.
Posture assessment and configuration are generally low-impact, but remediation actions, agents, extensions, or workload-protection settings can affect production resources. Potentially impactful changes are reviewed with the client, tested where practical, and implemented through the agreed change-management process.
Professional-services pricing starts at $5,950. Final scope may vary with subscription count, resource complexity, remediation volume, selected workload protections, optional AWS or Google Cloud coverage, and optional managed monitoring. Microsoft licensing and consumption charges are separate unless explicitly included.
Microsoft Defender for Cloud plan charges, Azure consumption, Log Analytics ingestion, and other cloud-provider costs should be treated as separate Microsoft or cloud billing items unless explicitly included in the final order form.
After completion, the stated outputs are an enabled CSPM capability, remediated Secure Score, hardening report, regulatory-compliance mapping, and workload-protection configuration. If the optional extra-cost monthly managed tier is selected, IT Partner continues to provide posture monitoring, remediation coordination, and maintenance after the initial engagement through IT Partner's NOC, third-party support partnerships, and a Microsoft Premier Support agreement.
No. Ongoing posture monitoring and remediation, continuous monitoring, 24/7 support, and ongoing maintenance are not included by default. They are available only as an optional extra-cost monthly managed add-on delivered through IT Partner's NOC, third-party support partnerships, and a Microsoft Premier Support agreement.
The base service does not include Microsoft licensing or consumption charges, full remediation of every finding, application redesign, 24x7 SOC or SIEM operations, incident response, endpoint deployment, formal audit certification, AWS/GCP extension unless selected, or ongoing monitoring, 24/7 support, continuous monitoring, or ongoing maintenance unless the optional extra-cost monthly managed add-on is purchased.
Roman Sotnik is the service owner. The delivery lead, communications cadence, milestones, escalation path, and acceptance points are confirmed before kickoff.