“Zero Trust” has become the latest security buzzword — but too many companies still treat it like a concept rather than a framework they can act on. The idea is simple: never assume anything inside or outside your network is trustworthy by default. But how do you actually implement that in a mid-sized organization with a mix of on-prem systems, cloud apps, and remote employees?

I recently worked with a consulting firm facing these exact challenges. We began by auditing access control policies, identifying unmanaged devices, and flagging over-permissive roles in Azure AD. From there, we rolled out conditional access, multi-factor authentication, and endpoint compliance via Microsoft Intune. Every device and user was continuously verified before accessing sensitive resources.

The result? Not just a more secure system — but a more agile one. Staff could work securely from anywhere, audits became simpler, and response times to threats were dramatically reduced. Zero Trust isn’t just about locking things down; it’s about building security into every layer of your digital environment. As consultants, we have to guide clients through both the strategy and the real-world tooling needed to make that happen.