So, which solution should you start with?
When embarking on your Zero Trust journey, it’s natural to ask: where do I begin? First suggestion is to review the previous articles from this blog series where we show in detail how to approach Zero-Trust. Also, building a strong foundation that gives you visibility, context, and control across your digital estate is always the best bet.
In general, we see the adoption of Zero-Trust covering Identity & Access, using Microsoft Entra ID as the initial layer of defence. While it’s crucial to have Entra, this layer without monitoring and having visibility is not a recommended approach. A comprehensive plan would include Microsoft Entra, but also Microsoft Sentinel and Microsoft Copilot for Security as your bedrock.
Microsoft Sentinel acts as your central nervous system. It collects and correlates signals from all your Microsoft and third-party security tools—identity, endpoints, cloud apps, infrastructure, and more. With built-in AI and automation, it helps you detect threats early, respond quickly, and reduce alert fatigue. Complementary, Microsoft Copilot for Security enhances this foundation by empowering your security team with generative AI. It summarizes incidents, suggests remediations, and even writes KQL queries—dramatically accelerating investigations and reducing time to resolution. Runs integrated to all Microsoft Security Solutions and speed up the troubleshooting, Incident Response and Reporting.
Considering that Security Monitoring and Governance are in place, using Sentinel and Copilot, you can confidently layer in other Zero Trust components:
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Identity & Access: Deploy Microsoft Entra ID with Conditional Access and MFA.
- Endpoint Security: Onboard devices with Microsoft Intune and Defender for Endpoint.
- Data Protection: Classify and protect sensitive data using Microsoft Purview.
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Cloud Security: Secure workloads with Defender for Cloud and Defender for Cloud Apps.
- ZTNA: Secure network access and implement micro segmentation for network and infrastructure assets.
Organisations can begin their Zero Trust journey from moment zero by activating foundational capabilities within Microsoft Entra ID—such as multi-factor authentication (MFA), Conditional Access, and identity protection policies. These features immediately reduce risk by verifying user identities and enforcing access controls based on real-time context. From there, the implementation evolves in layers, integrating endpoint protection, data governance, and threat detection tools like Microsoft Defender and Microsoft Purview. A Zero-Trust adoption program varies depending on the complexity of your IT environment, existing infrastructure, and organisational priorities. The key is to start with visibility and control, then build maturity progressively, ensuring each layer of security reinforces the next.