Ivan Square

Ivan Galea

Mar 13, 2023

Ivan Square

Ivan Galea

Mar 13, 2023

Make the switch from M365 Business Standard to Premium

Microsoft 365 Business Standard gives every business the standard productivity tool set to collaborate online with access to both web and offline applications for mobile, and desktop from anywhere. The suite of cloud services includes OneDrive, SharePoint, Teams, and Exchange Online. Exchange Online provides your business with an email and calendar service and the basic security features that come with it (malware detection). However, the Business Standard plan misses out on two key areas in modern workplace: security, and enterprise management.

Threats targeting your users to gain access to business data or to disrupt your business are increasing year after year. That is why security should not be shrugged off by a business - no matter the size - specifically SMBs. Having an anti-virus solution does not make the cut in today’s modern cyberthreat landscape; you need more intelligent solutions to defend your business.

Ask yourself: Does your business have the necessary safeguards to protect your users and data?

User and device management is another key area for businesses need to have control – protecting data by setting policies and conditions for who and how data can be used / accessed.

Ask yourself: does your business have control on business / user devices where business data is accessed?

Don’t worry if you don’t! Microsoft 365 Business Premium is built to give every SMB all the tools and features to be more productive and secure with a cost-effective plan.

  • Microsoft Endpoint Manager is a cloud-based service that focuses on mobile device management (MDM) and mobile application management (MAM). You control how your organization’s devices are used, including mobile phones, tablets, and laptops.
  • Information Protection. The information protection capabilities of Microsoft 365 Business Premium help safeguard confidential data against breaches or accidental loss by encrypting email and protecting against unauthorized access.
  • Azure Active Directory P1 enables Single-Sign-On (SSO) for Windows 10/11 and Conditional Access policies to help ensure only authorized people have access to company data . It also allows hybrid identity users access to Self-Service Password Reset with password protection to eliminate the use of bad and weak passwords.

But why can’t I just add Enterprise Mobility & Security (EMS E3) to my Business Standard plan to get these features?

You can but you will be paying approximately the same price of Business Premium if not more when nearly all EMS features are included, and you will be missing out on other benefits included with Business Premium, such as:

  • Microsoft Purview Data Loss Prevention: Get intelligent detection and control of business sensitive information across devices, Office 365, OneDrive, SharePoint, Microsoft Teams simply by defining and configuring DLP policies.
  • Defender for Office365 P1 helps protect you against threats such as Phishing and spoofing with advanced threat protection capabilities. These capabilities include Safe Attachments which provides an additional layer of protection for email attachments; this uses a virtual environment to check attachments in email messages before they're delivered to recipients. And Safe Links which provides URL scanning and rewriting of inbound email messages in mail flow, and time-of-click verification of URLs and links in email messages and other locations.
  • Defender for Business. Enterprise-grade security. Defender for Business brings powerful endpoint security capabilities from the industry-leading Microsoft Defender for Endpoint solution and optimizes those capabilities for IT administrators to support small and medium-sized businesses. Here are some benefits of Defender for Business:
    • Simplified Client Configuration
    • Threat and vulnerability management
    • Attack surface reduction
    • Next-generation protection
    • Endpoint detection and response
    • Auto-investigation and remediation

How can BMIT help SMBs?

Microsoft 365 Business Premium is the best choice for Small, Medium Businesses (SMB) up to 300 users, to reap the productivity, management, and security benefits under one plan. BMIT can help you understand your business goals and requirements. We will then guide, enable and support you in your drive to improve your IT posture. Reach out to us.

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