Ashwin Yadav
My path into Microsoft security came through managing hybrid infrastructure environments where identity had already replaced the network as the primary security boundary — but nobody had designed it that way.
While supporting Microsoft 365 tenants, the same pattern kept appearing: MFA partially deployed, Conditional Access copied from templates, Defender licensed but not operationalised, identity risk rarely treated as the primary attack surface. The problems weren't technical — the technology was capable. The gap was architectural. That's what I specialise in.
Microsoft Enterprise Partner background
Prior to independent consulting, security and technical consultation was delivered to enterprise organisations through a Microsoft Enterprise Partner — working directly with Microsoft's enterprise customer base on identity architecture, cloud security, and Microsoft 365 security implementations. This foundation — operating at enterprise scale within Microsoft's own partner ecosystem — shaped an architecture-first consulting approach that carries through every engagement today. Working alongside enterprise IT teams, enterprise security leaders, and Microsoft's own technical stakeholders established a depth of understanding that goes beyond certification tracks and into how organisations actually operate Microsoft security at scale.
The sequence matters more than the tools.
Identity has to be solid before Defender deployment makes sense. Defender has to be generating tuned signals before Sentinel centralisation is worth the cost. Automation compounds the value of everything underneath it. I work through this dependency chain deliberately — and document everything so your team can maintain what's been built.
Every access decision runs through Entra ID. Conditional Access architecture, MFA rollout, privileged identity management, and hybrid identity alignment are the foundation. Nothing else works properly without this layer being deliberately engineered.
Enabling a feature is not the same as designing a security system. Every control deployed needs to connect to the next — identity enforcement informing device trust, device trust informing session policy, session policy informing data access.
The goal is a tenant that your internal IT team can maintain and build on without depending on me indefinitely. Every engagement produces documentation — not a black box. Architecture decisions, configuration rationale, and operational runbooks.
The most common security gaps aren't in technology configuration — they're in the operational processes around it. Phishing reports sitting unactioned, access reviews ignored, admin roles never revoked. Automation makes the right action the automatic action.
Industries I've worked across
Each sector carries different compliance obligations, different data sensitivity patterns, and different regulator expectations. The architecture reflects that — there is no generic template for a healthcare diagnostics network and a financial advisory firm.
Global delivery. Remote-first. Architecture-led.
Mumbai-based. Remote-first. Available across US (EST/PST overlap), UK, Europe, and APAC time zones. Independent execution with structured coordination alongside your internal IT teams where required.
Ready to start a conversation?
Every engagement begins with a conversation about your environment, your team, and what's prompted you to look at security now. No sales pitch.