Trustwave has engaged with hundreds of enterprise customers across Australia and worldwide, and one overarching theme continues to emerge. Cybersecurity is no longer an IT problem; it is a core business concern.
Executives, board members, procurement teams, and even marketing departments are beginning to realize that security is not just about preventing breaches but about establishing trust, enabling business, and gaining competitive advantage.
At the heart of this shift is the Microsoft Security Score, a metric that quantifies an organization’s adherence to security best practices within Microsoft’s ecosystem.
While once only considered a useful internal benchmark, this score is now on the cusp of becoming the most influential security health indicator for businesses globally. As we move further into 2025, it is set to redefine how companies interact, how supply chains are secured, and how procurement decisions are made—potentially mirroring the role of personal credit scores in financial transactions.
Traditionally, an organization’s cybersecurity posture has been measured through frameworks, audits, and certifications—ISO 27001 compliance, Essential Eight maturity, SOC 2 reporting, and various regulatory attestations. While these remain important, they often lack real-time insight and are burdened by manual audits and self-assessment biases.
The Microsoft Security Score, however, offers something uniquely valuable:
By leveraging Microsoft’s deep integration across business environments—from Azure to Microsoft 365, Defender XDR, Sentinel, and Entra ID (formerly Azure AD)—this score reflects an organization’s actual security posture in real-time rather than an outdated compliance snapshot.
At Trustwave, we’ve worked with clients who have seen direct benefits from optimizing their scores, including reduced cyber insurance premiums and improved standing in procurement evaluations.
One of the most significant shifts we will see is the Microsoft Security Score becoming a minimum requirement for procurement and supply chain inclusion. Large enterprises and government agencies are already demanding stronger security guarantees from their vendors, and we can expect this to evolve into a formal scoring threshold.
Trustwave has worked with organizations that struggled to win contracts due to low-security scores. After implementing stronger security controls and optimizing their Microsoft Security Score, they not only met compliance requirements but also improved their marketability in competitive tenders.
As businesses seek differentiation in crowded markets, cybersecurity will become a bragging point rather than just a compliance requirement.
Security due diligence is a critical factor in mergers and acquisitions (M&A), and a poor security posture can devalue an otherwise attractive business. Buyers will prioritize companies with high scores, knowing they pose lower security risks. M&A deals may require a minimum-security score before closing, ensuring security uplift before integration.
Trustwave has seen this play out firsthand—one of our clients undergoing an acquisition had to rapidly improve its security posture to meet the acquirer’s security expectations. By enhancing their Microsoft Security Score, they not only secured the deal but also strengthened their long-term resilience.
As cyber risk becomes a top concern for insurers, security scores will play a crucial role in determining cyber insurance premiums and coverage eligibility.
A recent Microsoft Security Intelligence Report found that organizations with a Microsoft Security Score above 80% experience 67% fewer security incidents (Microsoft Security Intelligence Report). Additionally, Gartner predicts that by 2026, 50% of organizations will include real-time security scoring as a key procurement requirement (Gartner 2023 Security & Risk Management Report).
As we move further into a digital-first economy, trust will be the defining currency of business relationships. The Microsoft Security Score is uniquely positioned to become the standard metric for security health, influencing:
By 2025, businesses will proudly showcase their security scores on their websites, enterprise procurement platforms will filter vendors by minimum security thresholds, and M&A deals will hinge on security scores as a critical due diligence factor.
The question for every business leader today is simple: Is your security score helping or hindering your business?
Those who act now to elevate their Microsoft Security Score will lead the market tomorrow.
Trustwave has a long history of working with Microsoft, including being a Microsoft Solutions Partner – Security, Microsoft FastTrack Partner, and a Microsoft Intelligent Security Association member, among many others.
These connections give Trustwave a deep understanding of Microsoft’s tools, allowing us to help companies improve their Microsoft Security Score by providing continuous, real-time measurement of security controls, offering actionable insights, and ensuring broad coverage across key security areas.
By leveraging Microsoft’s deep integration across business environments, Trustwave enables organizations to enhance their security posture, reduce cyber insurance premiums, and improve their standing in procurement evaluations.
This holistic approach not only strengthens security but also establishes trust, enables business, and provides a competitive advantage.