Your team is already using AI. We block the tools they should not be using, govern the ones they should, and build the controls that make AI safe for your business.
Average number of unapproved AI tools found per organisation
Unsanctioned AI tools blocked across your organisation from day one
Ongoing governance reviews to track compliance and risk posture
Protecting Perth businesses with managed IT and security services
Here is the reality for most Australian businesses right now: your staff are using AI every day. ChatGPT for drafting emails. Copilot features they never asked for. Browser extensions that rewrite text, summarise documents, or generate images. They are pasting client data, financial records, and internal strategy into tools your business has never seen, let alone approved.
That is shadow AI. It is not a future risk. It is happening in your organisation today.
Epic IT’s AI Governance service starts with enforcement, not discovery. We deploy deny-by-default blocking across your organisation so that every unsanctioned AI tool — free ChatGPT, DeepSeek, and the dozens of others your staff have found — is blocked immediately. Staff can only access the AI tools you have explicitly approved. From there, we govern how approved tools interact with your data. When your organisation adopts ChatGPT Enterprise or Microsoft Copilot, those tools inherit your existing Microsoft 365 permissions. The permission gaps already exist — AI just makes them trivially easy to exploit. We review and tighten M365 permissions before approved AI tools go live.
AI Governance is the foundation layer of our AI Services programme. Our AI governance onboarding includes a full shadow AI discovery that maps every tool in use across your environment. Or book an AI Readiness Assessment for a deeper analysis of your AI exposure and opportunities.
AI governance is not software you install. It is an ongoing programme that gives your leadership team clear answers: what AI tools are in use, what data is being shared, who approved it, and what the plan is when something goes wrong.
We deploy deny-by-default blocking so unsanctioned AI tools are stopped immediately on managed devices and across your corporate network. Then we audit browser extensions, SaaS subscriptions, API connections, and user behaviour to identify every AI tool in your environment — including the ones that were in use before enforcement went live. This visibility combined with enforcement gives you control from day one.
Generic AI policies downloaded from the internet are not worth the PDF they are saved in. We write AI acceptable use policies that reflect your actual environment, your risk tolerance, and the regulatory requirements specific to your industry. Policies cover approved tools, prohibited activities, data handling rules, and what happens when someone breaches the policy.
AI tools without data protection controls are a compliance risk. We implement sensitivity labelling, data loss prevention policies, and conditional access rules to prevent sensitive business data from being shared with unapproved AI services. Every control aligns with your existing SMB1001 or Essential Eight security baseline.
AI governance is not a one-off project. Each quarter, we reassess your AI risk posture, review compliance with your policies, check for new shadow AI tools, and update your governance framework. You get a written report and a meeting with your account manager to discuss findings and next steps.
As your AI maturity grows, we layer on additional controls: enhanced cloud app discovery and risk scoring, data loss prevention policies that warn or block staff from pasting sensitive information into AI tools, sensitivity labelling so confidential documents cannot be uploaded to AI platforms, compliance audit trails, and browser-level controls that enforce corporate identity before any AI interaction is permitted. Each layer is independently deployable — you add what you need, when you need it.
Policies only work when your team understands them. We deliver practical AI awareness training that covers what tools are approved and why, what data is off-limits for AI processing, how to spot AI output that needs human review, and what to do when something looks wrong. Training is tailored to your organisation’s policies and the specific tools your team uses, not a generic slide deck. We update the training material as your governance programme evolves and new tools are approved.
Every unapproved AI tool is a potential data exfiltration point. If your business follows the SMB1001 framework or the Essential Eight, AI governance fills the gaps that those frameworks were not designed for.
AI Governance includes technical enforcement controls from day one. For businesses deploying Managed AI or Custom AI Development, we recommend a solid cybersecurity baseline — but governance itself provides the enforcement foundation.
Our governance framework aligns with the international standard for AI management systems, ISO 42001, positioning your business for compliance as Australian AI regulatory requirements take shape. Download our cross-platform AI governance white paper for the detailed framework.
AI Governance requires an active managed services agreement with Epic IT. Governance is the first step on our AI Services journey. You cannot skip it and go straight to automation.
AI governance is the framework of policies, technical controls, and processes that manage how your organisation uses artificial intelligence. It starts with deny-by-default blocking of unsanctioned AI tools, then layers on M365 permissions governance, acceptable use policies, data protection controls, and compliance monitoring. Perth businesses need it because staff are already using AI tools daily, often without IT awareness, creating data privacy and compliance risks that grow every month they go unmanaged.
Deny-by-default means every AI tool is blocked unless it has been explicitly approved by your organisation. This is a technical control deployed on managed devices and across your corporate network — not a policy document. Staff cannot access free ChatGPT, DeepSeek, or any other unsanctioned AI tool. Only the tools you have approved (such as ChatGPT Enterprise or Microsoft Copilot) are permitted.
Shadow AI is the use of AI tools by staff without organisational awareness, approval, or oversight. We find it by auditing browser extensions, SaaS subscriptions, API connections, and user behaviour across your environment. The average organisation has 10 to 15 AI tools in active use that management knows nothing about. Our AI Assessment gives you full visibility.
Onboarding includes deny-by-default blocking of unsanctioned AI tools, a full shadow AI discovery that maps every tool in use, an M365 permissions review, a client-branded AI acceptable use policy, a data classification framework, an AI tool vetting register, staff awareness training, and the initial technical baseline for enforcement and monitoring.
AI Governance is about enforcement and control: blocking unsanctioned tools, governing M365 permissions, setting policies, protecting data, and reviewing your AI risk posture quarterly. Managed AI takes the next step: we deploy and manage AI tools across your business, build cross-system workflows, and run ongoing platform operations. Governance is included in every Managed AI engagement because you cannot safely automate what you have not governed first.
Yes. AI Governance requires an active managed services agreement with Epic IT. This ensures we have the environment access, security baseline, and ongoing relationship needed to govern AI tools properly.
AI governance fills the gaps that SMB1001 and Essential Eight were not designed for. Those frameworks secure your endpoints, applications, and infrastructure. AI governance secures the data flows, tool usage, and compliance risks introduced by AI adoption. We align your AI policies with your existing security controls so there are no blind spots.
Cross-platform AI governance manages how AI agents access and combine data across multiple business systems — not just Microsoft 365. When an agent connects to Xero, Salesforce, and M365 simultaneously, it needs scoped permissions per system, a unified audit trail, and a deployment gate that reviews every connection before the agent goes live. Read more about why M365 governance alone is not enough.
At Epic IT, our specialists focus on long-term solutions for your business.
Our 90-day guarantee is simple: if you’re not satisfied, we’ll refund your onboarding fee and give you $5K. Contact us today!
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