An Introduction to Orchestry
What is Orchestry?
Orchestry is a platform that allows for more efficient management and streamlining of Teams groups, SharePoint sites, and OneDrive sharing.
The onboarding of the Orchestry service is still underway, so you will begin to see sensitivity label options for M365 documents. We also have a new workflow for requesting an M365 workspace.
SharePoint sites, Teams pages, and groups
Any new M365 workspace resource will go through an approval process and must be created using an available template. Having the templates ensures you don't need to start from scratch and that workspaces will be consistent and secure. Users should collaborate with supervisors to request the appropriate workspace resource.
There are currently two templates for each resource type. Internal and External.
Internal templates are used only for workspace resources used by New River employees.
External templates are used for workspace resources that must be accessed by external users (non-New River employees) or by a combination of internal (New River employees) and external users.
Active Policies
Workspace resources have policies applied to them to ensure they are secure, managed, and in use.
Archival policy
The archival policy will trigger automatically when there has been no activity on the resource for the last 90 days. The system will send you an email requesting that you either extend it or authorize its archiving. You will receive a daily email notification for three consecutive days requesting your input. If you do not respond to the request within three days, it will be sent to an IT staff member, who will decide whether to keep the resource active. This saves storage in our tenant, keeps open resources in active use, and supports future AI implementations by ensuring that only current information can be found.
The email will look like the following picture:
The Renew button will renew the site for the number of days shown under the button, and you will no longer be emailed about your site going stale until that period has passed. Then you will receive the notification again. The archive button will remove the site and back up the site contents to a central archival site we created. The files can be retrieved by a member of the IT department by emailing the helpdesk (itsupport@newriver.edu).
Guest User Auditing
Another policy that has been applied concerns guest users (non-New River employees) who have access to a site, a Teams group /chat, or a OneDrive storage location. This request is to ensure that guest users listed as members still require access; if not, they will be removed. This ensures that the data contained on the resource is secure and that no unauthorized person has access to it. This audit request is sent to owners every 3 months to ensure that only people who require access have it.
Sharing Links
A policy has been implemented to audit shared links in OneDrive. This policy checks whether any currently in-use links are not considered secure and will advise you to update them.
What are the differences among the various resources available in our New River Tenant?
OneDrive
OneDrive is better suited for backing up important files, ensuring you can access them wherever you log in, and sharing files with people who don't need to edit them simultaneously.
SharePoint
SharePoint is geared towards communication and collaborative file editing. This resource is well-suited for editing documents simultaneously, creating a repository of files frequently used by the team, maintaining a single, up-to-date master file, and creating a homepage for your team to share news or upcoming events.
Teams
Teams is geared toward more real-time communication and file sharing, keeping in real-time contact with your team members, and providing a more flexible approach to adding and removing members. If you want to keep copies of files in a central location, using SharePoint or a team site in tandem is a better option than creating a channel for files.
Team Site
A team site includes a Teams group connected to a SharePoint site, combining the best of both.
Future changes to the creation of workspaces in the New River Tenant
All workspace resources (SharePoint, Teams, and Team Sites) created by New River employees originate from within the Orchestry platform. There are two ways to access Orchestry: (1) using an add-on for Teams that provides a direct link to Orchestry, or (2) accessing Orchestry from the Orchestry Login Page - https://app.orchestry.com/auth/login.
How do you request a new Teams or SharePoint site?
Open Teams, access the Orchestry app, (add the link from the organization-provided options ‘NRCTC Teams’ and PIN it to keep), then choose the appropriate audience-based workspace template.
All workspace requests flow through Orchestry and require users to select the appropriate template. This workflow ensures that the appropriate resource type is selected, that external sharing permissions are standardized, and that naming conventions are followed, while simplifying resource setup.
The use of Sensitivity labels on these M365 resources, documents, meetings, and emails will most likely be enforced at this time and will be added as the default option in the templates.
New Requirements once introduced:
Sensitivity Label
Proper Template use
**Currently, templates and sensitivity labels are available to use but not yet enforced. We encourage you to begin exploring and applying the sensitivity labels to become familiar with them. It is expected they will eventually be enforced and required. Information on Sensitivity Labels can be found here: Understanding Sensitivity Labels
How do I..?
How to Request a Microsoft 365 Workspace with Orchestry
How to Navigate 'My OneDrive' from Microsoft Teams
How to Add the Workspace Information Panel to Team Channels
How to Add Guests to Your Workspace with Orchestry
How to Complete a Workspace Review Task