For small businesses, Microsoft 365 comes in 3 options – Basic, Standard, and Premium. Unless you only need email, most businesses opt for Microsoft 365 Business Standard, which gives you access to your favourite Office applications, as well as business-class email, SharePoint and OneDrive. The question came up the other day - “Why would I want Premium?”
The short answer is security.
Microsoft 365 Business Premium gives you access to everything that Business Standard does and in addition, enables extra security features of the Microsoft 365 platform.
Firstly, you get access to Microsoft Defender for Business. This enables additional security features and customisations in Windows Defender. It allows you to lock down common attack vectors and links you with Microsoft’s cloud-based malware response for faster detection of new threats.
Second, you get access to Microsoft Intune. Intune allows you to apply policies to your business devices (Windows, MacOS, Android and iOS) to standardise your IT environment. This can be used to enable additional security features that are off by default, or even limit the locations from which your systems can be accessed. Intune can also help to automate your application deployments to ensure all devices get the same settings.
Lastly, you get access to Microsoft Purview. Purview is a comprehensive set of solutions to help you govern, protect, and manage your data. Purview enables you to configure Data Loss Prevention policies to ensure confidential business data is not compromised. Purview also includes Compliance Manager to ensure your business is meeting your regulatory requirements. Compliance Manager allows you to compare your environment to a wide range of global regulatory frameworks and give recommendations on how to achieve those standards.
Compliance will become a hot topic as cyber-insurance (insurance against cyber-attacks) becomes more mainstream. There are already cases overseas where insurance premiums have dramatically increased due to a business not meeting certain cyber-security standards. Get ahead of the game with Microsoft 365 Business Premium!
Business Premium does come with a cost. At the time of writing this blog, a Microsoft Business Standard license in NZ will cost you $20.20 per user, per month (ex GST, 12-month subscription). By comparison, a Microsoft Business Premium license costs $35.60 per user, per month. That’s a significant jump. However, if you were to add on these features individually, you would be paying an extra $40 per user, per month! Still not convinced? To buy these features using third-party software or add-ons, you’d be paying on average an additional $80 per user, per month!
Want to know more about how Microsoft Business Premium can help you to secure your business IT systems? Contact us today.
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