Most small and mid-sized businesses running on Microsoft technology are likely to be using Microsoft SharePoint, OneDrive and Teams. These are today’s business-critical tools for remote collaboration and communication, and they come as part and parcel of the Microsoft 365 Business Standard license. The next level up, Microsoft 365 Business Premium (at the time of writing) costs just over 75% more per user. That’s a significant hike in the total cost of ownership. Is upgrading to Microsoft 365 Business Premium worth it?
Microsoft 365 Business Premium comes with a whole other level of security, accessibility and enhanced performance for virtual teams. However, upgrading to the additional features and apps included in the Business Premium plan is often less expensive than maintaining your 3rd party solutions, and it will certainly create a smoother and more integrated user and management experience than a range of apps and tools glued together.
For a start, Business Premium comes with Microsoft Defender for Business. This offers next generation threat protection against links and email attachments. You might find our review of Defender and its nearest 3rd party competitor useful. You can save yourself an additional subscription to your current 3rd party threat protection app as soon as you upgrade to Microsoft 365 Business Premium.
Business Premium comes with an added layer of protection for Office mobile applications by restricting you from copying data onto unauthorised devices. It also allows you to set and enforce rules like Do Not Forward or Do Not Copy for certain files and works hand in hand with other protection measures such as Identity Protection.
This is part of Azure Active Directory or Azure (AD) and it adds an extra layer of protection to valuable data that is stored in the cloud. It allows you to block access for unauthorised users and introduce other safeguards against theft of credentials. Using real-time machine learning, it learns to identify hackers or bad actors and prevents them from compromising passwords.
Today’s modern workforce has more endpoints than ever before when you include their pc, perhaps also a home pc, a mobile phone, or a tablet. The more endpoints you have, the greater the risk of breach or malware attack. Every business — whether 100% virtual, hybrid or with occasional remote workers — should be able to centrally manage all devices, everywhere. Most virtual businesses do this using a Remote Team Endpoint Device Management tool. In Microsoft 365 Business Premium, this is called Intune and it comes included in the package.
Intune allows you to centrally manage all the devices, including employees’ own. With Intune you can remotely install updates, lock a stolen device, block or allow access, and prevent unknown devices from accessing your data. And you can put all these policies into action remotely.
If you’re considering upgrading to Microsoft 365 Business Premium and wondering whether it’s the right route to go, get in touch and we’ll be able to audit your current set up and help you evaluate the options.
