Best 6 Microsoft 365 Management Tools For Business (2026)
We reviewed the leading M365 management tools on the administrative workflows they simplify, monitoring depth beyond native tooling, and how well they scale across large and complex M365 tenants.
Written by
Caitlin Harris
Technical Review by
Laura Iannini
Quick Summary
Microsoft 365 generates more administrative complexity than the native M365 Admin Center is designed to manage efficiently. Third-party M365 management tools add monitoring depth, automation, and tenant optimization beyond native tooling. We reviewed the top platforms and found AvePoint Cloud Management, BetterCloud, and CoreView to be the strongest on administrative workflow automation and monitoring depth.
Managing Microsoft 365 at scale creates operational friction. Native admin portals scatter controls across multiple interfaces, security baselines lack enforcement, and content lifecycle governance becomes manual. IT teams spend hours each week navigating between services to complete tasks that should consolidate into single workflows.
Third-party M365 management platforms address this by centralizing administration, automating policy enforcement, and providing visibility across Exchange, SharePoint, Teams and OneDrive, plus Entra ID from one console. The right platform eliminates portal hopping and reduces routine admin work significantly.
We evaluated multiple M365 management platforms across deployment models, admin automation capabilities, reporting depth, compliance readiness, and practical usability at different team sizes. We reviewed customer experiences with setup complexity, ongoing operations overhead, and whether platforms actually simplify workflows or create additional administrative burden.
This guide provides the decision framework to match the right M365 management platform to your team size, automation priorities, and operational requirements.
Our Recommendations
We found that the top options here excel at different goals. Pick based on your team’s priorities.
- Best For mid-sized teams need centralized control over their: ManageEngine M365 Manager Plus. Unified dashboard manages Exchange, Entra ID, SharePoint, Teams, and OneDrive in one console Over 700 preconfigured reports map to HIPAA, SOX, and FISMA compliance requirements Entra ID sync performance degrades with object counts above 10,000.
- Best For organizations running complex Microsoft 365: AvePoint Cloud Management offers. Centralized policy enforcement across SharePoint, Teams, OneDrive, and Group sites from one console Flexible content migration and restructuring across tenants on-demand or on schedule Steep learning curve with limited built-in onboarding guidance for new users.
- Best Value Pick: BetterCloud. Automated onboarding and offboarding workflows eliminate repetitive manual license and access tasks Global searchable directory consolidates users, groups, files, and settings across M365 apps Integration options feel limited outside core connectors like Okta and NetSuite
- Best For IT teams need consolidated admin control, license: CoreView. Fast reporting engine with hundreds of pre-packaged reports across all M365 admin portals Tenant segmentation allows delegated admin control across business units with centralized oversight Workflow and playbook setup uses confusing terminology that slows initial configuration.
- Best For Managed Service Providers in the Cloud Solution: Microsoft 365 Lighthouse offers. No additional licensing cost for partners enrolled in the CSP program Centralized user management across all customer tenants with built-in audit trails Lacks PSA, documentation, and ticketing integrations that MSP workflows typically require.
AvePoint Cloud Management
AvePoint Cloud Management is a centralized administration platform for organizations running complex Microsoft 365 environments. It focuses on automating policy enforcement, content lifecycle management, and security governance at scale.
Policy Enforcement and Content Control
The platform centralizes security policy management across SharePoint Online, Teams, OneDrive, and Group sites. Admins can detect and remediate policy violations or unauthorized security settings from one place, which cuts down on the portal hopping that eats up admin time.
We found the content management capabilities stand out here. On-demand or scheduled content migration, restructuring, and sync across tenants gives your team real flexibility. Restricting access to sensitive data across workloads happens from a single control plane, and bulk operations run without scripting everything manually.
Auditing and Compliance Reporting
IT audit response gets simpler with consolidated reporting on content, users, and configurations. We saw that having reports centralized in one place reduces the scramble when audit requests land on your desk.
Security settings optimization tools round out the governance story. Admins can review and tighten configurations across the tenant without switching between native admin centers.
What Customers Are Saying
Customers highlight the migration and backup capabilities as reliable, and the governance tooling gets praise for reducing manual workload. Support responsiveness earns consistent positive marks, even during complex troubleshooting.
The learning curve comes up repeatedly. Customers say the interface feels overwhelming initially, with too many options and limited onboarding guidance. Non-technical users struggle without admin support, and some flag that advanced configurations require significant expertise to get right.
Is AvePoint the Right Fit?
If your organization runs large-scale M365 operations with complex content lifecycle and governance needs, AvePoint Cloud Management addresses that well. We think it suits teams that have dedicated M365 admins who can invest in the initial learning curve.
Strengths
- Centralized policy enforcement across SharePoint, Teams, OneDrive, and Group sites from one console
- Flexible content migration and restructuring across tenants on-demand or on schedule
- Consolidated audit reporting simplifies compliance responses for IT teams
- Responsive vendor support, especially during complex deployment and troubleshooting scenarios
Cautions
- Some customer reviews note that steep learning curve with limited built-in onboarding guidance for new users
- Some users mention that the interface overwhelms non-technical users and requires admin involvement for most tasks
BetterCloud
BetterCloud is a SaaS management and security platform that centralizes Microsoft 365 user lifecycle management, file governance, and policy enforcement. It targets IT teams looking to automate onboarding, alongside offboarding and data protection workflows across their SaaS stack.
Lifecycle Automation That Saves Real Time
The platform replaces manual onboarding and offboarding with automated workflows. License assignment, group membership, and access controls trigger automatically based on employee transitions. That removes a lot of the repetitive ticket work that bogs down service desk teams.
We found the global directory useful for consolidating user, group, file, and settings management into one searchable view. Bulk actions like adjusting file permissions, alongside managing group memberships and reclaiming unused licenses all happen without switching between native admin consoles.
SaaS Visibility and File Security
BetterCloud continuously monitors for security risks across OneDrive and SharePoint. Advanced file metadata reporting lets admins search for exposed files and take action directly, whether that means unsharing content or removing collaborators.
We saw strong SaaS discovery capabilities too. Integration with identity providers like Okta surfaces shadow IT and gives procurement teams visibility into use trends, which helps during vendor negotiations and license optimization.
What Customers Are Saying
Customers consistently praise the automation engine and the friendly, easy-to-navigate interface. The Okta integration gets specific callouts for combining real-time login data with financial data across vendors.
Some customers flag that the integration options outside core connectors feel limited. Others say the initial setup requires significant training time, and provisioning segmentation lacks the granularity needed for department-level visibility controls. Data trust and filtering capabilities have also drawn criticism.
Who Should Look at BetterCloud
If your team spends too much time on manual user lifecycle tasks and needs better SaaS visibility, BetterCloud addresses both problems well. We think it fits mid-market and enterprise IT teams that run multi-app environments and want to reduce repetitive admin work.
Strengths
- Automated onboarding and offboarding workflows eliminate repetitive manual license and access tasks
- Global searchable directory consolidates users, groups, files, and settings across M365 apps
- SaaS discovery with Okta integration surfaces shadow IT and vendor use data
- Continuous file monitoring across OneDrive and SharePoint flags exposed content for quick remediation
Cautions
- According to customer feedback, Integration options feel limited outside core connectors like Okta and NetSuite
- Some customer reviews flag that initial setup and workflow configuration require significant training investment
CoreView
CoreView is a Microsoft 365 management platform built for IT teams that need consolidated admin control, license optimization, and governance automation. It targets mid-market and enterprise organizations managing complex M365 tenants.
Reporting and Tenant Segmentation
The reporting engine is where CoreView earns its reputation. Hundreds of pre-packaged reports pull data across M365 admin portals, and the speed of report generation stands out. Security risk identification and remediation happen from the same console, which cuts response time.
We found tenant segmentation particularly relevant for larger organizations.
Governance Workflows and License Management
Best Practices Playbooks and scheduled reporting help standardize governance across your tenant. Drag-and-drop workflow automation handles license assignments, user onboarding, and compliance tasks without scripting.
The license management dashboard gives IT teams clear visibility into usage and waste. We saw that the cross-referencing and advanced query capabilities save significant time compared to manually pulling data from native M365 admin consoles. Both on-premises and cloud deployments are supported.
What Customers Are Saying
Long-term customers praise the daily usability and how the platform has kept pace with M365 changes over multiple years. The reporting speed and security remediation workflows get consistent positive feedback, along with responsive customer support.
Some customers say workflow and playbook setup feels cumbersome, with confusing wording that makes configuration harder than it should be.
Where CoreView Makes Sense
If your team manages a large or segmented M365 environment and needs fast reporting with delegated admin controls, CoreView fits that use case well. We think it works best for organizations with dedicated M365 admins who can invest in learning the workflow builder.
Strengths
- Fast reporting engine with hundreds of pre-packaged reports across all M365 admin portals
- Tenant segmentation allows delegated admin control across business units with centralized oversight
- License management dashboard provides clear visibility into usage trends and waste reduction
- Supports both on-premises and cloud deployment for flexible infrastructure requirements
Cautions
- Some users have noted that the workflow and playbook setup uses confusing terminology that slows initial configuration
- Some users have reported that menu navigation has a steep learning curve, especially for new administrators
ManageEngine M365 Manager Plus
ManageEngine M365 Manager Plus is an administration platform for mid-sized teams that need centralized control over their Microsoft 365 environment. It covers management, reporting, auditing, alerting, and backup from a single console.
One Console for the Whole M365 Stack
The unified dashboard pulls Exchange Online, Entra ID, SharePoint, Teams, and OneDrive into one place. Bulk user provisioning, password resets and MFA configuration, plus license management all happen without bouncing between admin portals.
We found the templated onboarding workflows particularly useful for keeping provisioning consistent across departments. Over 700 preconfigured report templates cover everything from mailbox access to inactive users, and they map directly to HIPAA, SOX, and FISMA compliance needs. Scheduling and exporting those reports takes minutes, not hours.
Auditing and Backup That Earn Their Keep
Granular auditing tracks creation, deletion, and permission changes across your M365 services. Content Search digs across multiple mailboxes down to attachments and message headers. Real-time alerts flag suspicious changes as they happen.
We saw solid Exchange Online backup capabilities covering emails, calendar entries, contacts, and tasks. Backups run on automated schedules with full or granular restore options, which gives your team flexibility during recovery scenarios.
What Customers Are Saying
Customers praise the interface for being straightforward, and the single-pane management approach saves admin teams real time. Support response quality gets positive marks, especially for complex troubleshooting.
Some customers say Entra ID sync slows down noticeably with object counts above 10,000.
Where M365 Manager Plus Fits
If your team manages a mid-sized M365 environment and needs reporting, auditing, and backup without stitching together multiple tools, this is worth evaluating. We think it hits the right balance of depth and usability for that audience.
Strengths
- Unified dashboard manages Exchange, Entra ID, SharePoint, Teams, and OneDrive in one console
- Over 700 preconfigured reports map to HIPAA, SOX, and FISMA compliance requirements
- Granular Exchange Online backup with automated scheduling and flexible restore options
- Bulk provisioning and onboarding templates keep user setup consistent across departments
Cautions
- According to some user reviews, Entra ID sync performance degrades with object counts above 10,000
- Some users report that client-side resource use runs higher than expected on some deployments
Microsoft 365 Lighthouse
Microsoft 365 Lighthouse is a multi-tenant management portal built specifically for Managed Service Providers in the Cloud Solution Provider program. It centralizes M365 administration across SMB customer environments at no additional licensing cost.
Multi-Tenant Admin Without the Tab Sprawl
Lighthouse consolidates user management across all customer tenants into one view. Helpdesk teams can reset passwords, block accounts, and edit group memberships without logging into each tenant individually. Staff use their own credentials throughout, which creates a built-in audit trail.
We found the security configuration baselines particularly well-designed for the MSP use case. Default SMB baselines take the guesswork out of setting minimum standards across customer tenants. Deployment journeys guide consistent security and configuration rollouts, so service engineers aren’t reinventing standards for every new client.
AI Insights and Risk Detection
AI-driven recommendations help account managers identify upsell opportunities and retention risks across the customer base. On the technical side, multi-tenant views surface device compliance gaps, risky sign-ins, and Windows 10 threat detections without digging through individual portals.
We saw that Lighthouse handles performance well compared to community alternatives like CIPP, with faster loading times and fewer errors. Being fully managed by Microsoft also means zero maintenance overhead for the MSP.
What MSPs Are Saying
MSPs praise the centralized helpdesk workflow and the fact that security baselines provide a solid starting point rather than a blank canvas. The no-cost licensing for CSP partners makes the barrier to entry low.
Some MSPs flag that Lighthouse lacks integrations with PSA, documentation, and ticketing tools that are standard in MSP operations. Others note the alerting depth trails alternatives like CIPP. The platform is still evolving, and feature gaps remain around areas like executive reporting.
Built for MSPs, Not General Admin
This is purpose-built for CSP partners managing SMB customers. If that describes your operation, Lighthouse removes real friction from multi-tenant management at no extra cost. We think it works best as a foundation layer that MSPs supplement with other tooling where integration gaps exist.
Strengths
- No additional licensing cost for partners enrolled in the CSP program
- Centralized user management across all customer tenants with built-in audit trails
- SMB security baselines provide consistent starting standards across customer environments
- Fully managed by Microsoft, which eliminates maintenance and infrastructure overhead for MSPs
Cautions
- Some customer reviews note that lacks PSA, documentation, and ticketing integrations that MSP workflows typically require
- Some customer reviews highlight that the alerting depth and event trigger customization trails open-source alternatives like CIPP
ShareGate
ShareGate is a Microsoft 365 management platform that combines content migration, permissions governance, and Teams lifecycle management. It targets IT teams and consultants who need to move data, alongside audit access and keep M365 environments clean.
Migration That Stays Out of Your Way
Content migration is where ShareGate built its reputation. Cross-tenant moves, on-prem to cloud, file shares, Google Drive: it handles all of them with strong metadata and permissions mapping. Delta copy keeps active sites in sync during migration windows, and test migrations let you catch problems before they hit production.
We found the Permissions Matrix report especially strong. It maps out permissions across large SharePoint sites in seconds, which makes migration planning and post-migration validation far more practical. PowerShell API access gives consultants full scripting control for complex jobs.
Governance and Teams Lifecycle
Beyond migration, ShareGate audits external access, flags inactive Teams, and identifies orphaned groups. Automated sharing reviews help prevent user errors around guest access and externally shared links. The end-user app lets team owners manage their own spaces without IT involvement or a separate license.
We saw that the reporting tools replace a lot of manual PowerShell work for tenant audits and permissions reviews. Tasks that used to take hours compress into minutes through the interface.
What Customers Are Saying
Customers consistently praise the intuitive interface and low training requirements. Migration reporting gets specific callouts for clear error descriptions and actionable resolution links. Regular updates ship without disrupting active use.
Some customers say the licensing model gets expensive when multiple administrators need access, with certain expected features locked to premium tiers. Others flag that the support escalation processes can be slow, requiring repeated explanations before reaching technical staff. Teams management tools were also removed and have not yet been replaced.
Should You Look at ShareGate
If migration and permissions governance are your primary M365 pain points, ShareGate addresses both exceptionally well. We think it fits IT teams and consultants running regular migrations or managing complex SharePoint permissions at scale.
Strengths
- Cross-tenant and cross-platform migration with strong metadata and permissions mapping built in
- Permissions Matrix report maps access across large SharePoint sites in seconds
- Intuitive interface requires minimal training for new administrators to start working
- End-user app helps team owners to self-manage without IT overhead or extra licenses
Cautions
- According to customer feedback, Licensing costs scale steeply when multiple administrators need access to the platform
- According to some user reviews, Support escalation requires repeated problem explanations before reaching technical staff
What To Look For: M365 Management Tools Checklist
When evaluating M365 management platforms, we’ve identified six essential criteria. Here’s the checklist of questions you should be asking:
- Console Consolidation: Does it truly consolidate Exchange, SharePoint, Teams, OneDrive, and Entra ID? Can you complete common tasks without switching between native admin portals? Does the dashboard give you a true single pane of glass?
- Reporting Depth and Compliance Mapping: How many pre-built reports does it include? Do reports map directly to your compliance standards (HIPAA, SOX, FISMA, GDPR)? Can you schedule and export reports automatically? Is audit trail granularity sufficient?
- Governance Automation: Can you automate user onboarding and offboarding? Does policy enforcement apply across services? Can you build custom workflows without scripting? Are approvals and delegations supported?
- Scalability and Performance: How many users and tenants can it handle? Where does performance degrade? Are there known scaling limitations? Will the platform grow with your organization?
- Setup Complexity and Learning Curve: Can your team get up and running quickly or does it require weeks of configuration? Is onboarding support included? Will non-technical staff struggle with the interface? How steep is the workflow automation learning curve?
Weight these criteria based on your environment. Teams managing large, segmented environments should prioritize reporting depth and tenant segmentation. Organizations with compliance requirements should focus on audit-ready reporting. MSPs should evaluate purpose-built multi-tenant capabilities. Small teams should seek straightforward setup and intuitive interfaces.
How We Compared The Best M365 Management Tools
Expert Insights is an independent editorial team that researches, tests, and reviews cybersecurity and IT solutions. No vendor can pay to influence our review of their products. Our assessments are based solely on product quality and operational value. Before testing, we identified all active providers in the M365 management category.
We evaluated seven M365 management platforms across admin consolidation capabilities, governance automation, reporting depth, scalability, and practical usability. Each platform was tested for ease of initial setup, daily operational workflows and performance under load, plus real-world integration with native M365 services. We assessed reporting quality, automation flexibility, and user experience across different team sizes.
Beyond hands-on testing, we reviewed customer feedback and deployment experiences to identify which platforms deliver genuine operational value versus adding administrative overhead. We consulted with vendor teams about product direction and roadmap priorities. Our testing and editorial teams operate independently. No vendor can pay to influence our review of their products.
This guide is updated quarterly. For complete details on our testing and evaluation process, visit our How We Test & Review Products.
The Bottom Line
Managing Microsoft 365 at scale requires consolidating administration across multiple services. The right third-party management platform eliminates portal hopping and automates routine tasks significantly.
If your team wants unified administration with strong compliance reporting, ManageEngine M365 Manager Plus delivers 700 preconfigured reports and solid backup capabilities. Verify performance at scale before deploying above 10,000 Entra ID objects.
For large enterprises needing policy enforcement and content lifecycle management, AvePoint Cloud Management provides migration, backup, and governance automation across SharePoint and Teams, plus OneDrive.
For organizations prioritizing fast reporting and tenant segmentation, CoreView delivers hundreds of pre-built reports and granular admin delegation. Long-term customers report strong daily usability despite the initial configuration effort.
For teams drowning in repetitive onboarding and offboarding, BetterCloud automates lifecycle workflows and provides SaaS visibility.
For organizations running frequent migrations and managing complex permissions, ShareGate provides the strongest migration tools and Permissions Matrix reporting. Licensing scales steeply for multiple administrators.
For MSPs managing multiple customer tenants, Microsoft 365 Lighthouse offers no-cost multi-tenant administration for CSP partners. The value-to-cost ratio is unmatched for the MSP use case.
Read the individual reviews above to compare specific features, automation capabilities, and reporting depth that match your operational requirements.
FAQs
Everything You Need To Know About Microsoft 365 Management Tools (FAQs)
Microsoft 365 productivity suite has quickly become a staple for modern businesses through its combination of email, collaboration and messaging apps, file storage, and sharing services. However, while it enables organizations to streamline business processes, improve collaboration, and increase remote productivity, Microsoft 365 adoption also introduces new governance and security challenges that, when not properly managed, can lead to increased exposure to risks such as cyber threats and compliance violations.
Thankfully, there’s a tool out there that can help organizations solve these challenges.
Microsoft 365 management tools are third-party software solutions that extend or enhance the management functionality of Microsoft 365 with capabilities that aren’t fully covered by the suite’s native admin center. These tools usually integrate with Microsoft 365 services via API, allowing them to access the organization’s entire Microsoft 365 data and settings, so that it can provide full visibility and control—from a single interface.
There are a few reasons why you might consider implementing third-party Microsoft 365 management software. Let’s take a look at them.
Optimize And Automate Workflows
A Microsoft 365 management tool should enable you to streamline many of the repetitive administrative tasks that take up a lot of your IT team’s time and resources. By automating these tasks, and integrating them with other business process to create seamless workflows, the tool can free up your IT team’s time to address more critical tasks.
Some areas that can benefit from automation include:
- Provisioning: Automate provisioning based on user groups or roles, and consistently apply naming conventions, templates, and metadata for each site and user
- Access permissions: Automatically grant or deny user access requests based on user groups or roles, and schedule success reviews for sensitive data based on pre-defined triggers, such as user changes or data alterations
- eDiscovery and auditing: Automatically log user and admin activity for auditing purposes
- Labelling: Automatically apply labels to sensitive content and content with specific retention periods
Improve Governance And Compliance
Microsoft 365 management tools often offer robust governance controls, such as enabling you to easily define and enforce security and compliance policies, Microsoft 365 settings, and privacy controls across the entire organization. They also continuously monitor policy adherence and create reports on this, so that your IT and compliance teams can quickly respond to any incidents of non-compliance.
This helps you ensure compliance with both internal and external regulations.
Increase Security
Most Microsoft 365 management tools offer in-built security capabilities that help you to protect the sensitive data of your organization and your customers. This can help prevent you from falling victim to a cyberattack, as well as help you meet federal and industry-specific data protection requirements.
These security capabilities may include:
- Preventing users from sharing sensitive or confidential data with anyone outside your organization
- Enhanced monitoring, auditing, and reporting on unusual behavior that could indicate a security threat
- Threat detection and response tools
Get The Most Out Of Your Microsoft 365 Licenses
Third-party tools tend to go beyond the analytics that are available natively in the Microsoft 365 admin center, offering more in-depth visibility into your organization’s usage of each application across all departments, divisions, and geographic locations, and highlighting areas where you could cut down on costs.
Additionally, by automating the user provisioning and de-provisioning processes, you can ensure that you’re only investing in as many licenses as you actually need and only for the amount of time that users need them.
Some also offer content lifecycle management, which can help cut down on storage costs by automatically archiving content that isn’t being used.
When comparing Microsoft 365 management software, there are a few key features that you should look out for. These include:
- User And License Management: Your solutions should offer automatic user onboarding, provisioning, and de-provisioning, and help you manage mailbox and data migrations. It should also track licenses to help ensure cost-effectiveness and maximize your ROI. Finally, it should offer user role and permission management to ensure all users have access to the resources they need, whilst minimizing the risk of identity-based cyberattacks.
- Security And Compliance: All Microsoft 365 management tools should monitor and audit user activities and offer compliance reporting and enforcement. The strongest tools also have threat detection and response capabilities, and data loss prevention (DLP) features.
- Policy Management: You should be able to create and enforce security and compliance policies and configure and enforce settings across all your Microsoft 365 apps. Plus, the solution should monitor adherence to those policies and alert you to any instances of non-compliance.
- Reporting And Analytics: Your solution should produce comprehensive reports on user activities, security incidents, and compliance status, with customizable dashboards for easy access to key metrics. It should offer both real-time insights and historical data tracking for trend analysis.
- Workflow Automation: You should be able to automate routine management activities and create custom workflows that integrate with your other business processes and systems.
- Integration And Compatibility: Your chosen Microsoft 365 management tool should be compatible with the latest Microsoft 365 updates and features and be regularly updated to ensure ongoing compatibility. It should also offer integrations (usually via API) with any other IT management and security solutions in your technology stack.
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Written By
Caitlin Harris is the Deputy Head of Content at Expert Insights. As an experienced content writer and editor, Caitlin helps cybersecurity leaders to cut through the noise in the cybersecurity space with expert analysis and insightful recommendations.
Prior to Expert Insights, Caitlin worked at QA Ltd, where she produced award-winning technical training materials, and she has also produced journalistic content over the course of her career.
Caitlin has 8 years of experience in the cybersecurity and technology space, helping technical teams, CISOs, and security professionals find clarity on complex, mission critical topics like security awareness training, backup and recovery, and endpoint protection.
Caitlin also hosts the Expert Insights Podcast and co-writes the weekly newsletter, Decrypted.
Technical Review
Laura Iannini is a Cybersecurity Analyst at Expert Insights. With deep cybersecurity knowledge and strong research skills, she leads Expert Insights’ product testing team, conducting thorough tests of product features and in-depth industry analysis to ensure that Expert Insights’ product reviews are definitive and insightful.
Laura also carries out wider analysis of vendor landscapes and industry trends to inform Expert Insights’ enterprise cybersecurity buyers’ guides, covering topics such as security awareness training, cloud backup and recovery, email security, and network monitoring. Prior to working at Expert Insights, Laura worked as a Senior Information Security Engineer at Constant Edge, where she tested cybersecurity solutions, carried out product demos, and provided high-quality ongoing technical support.
Laura holds a Bachelor’s degree in Cybersecurity from the University of West Florida.