Microsoft 365 Business Premium: 6 benefits of upgrading to this plan

Microsoft 365 Business Premium is a cost-effective alternative to secure on-premises solutions. Being a cloud-based solution, it allows customers to purchase the service level that makes more sense for their organization. In addition, customers can scale their subscriptions up or down at the end of each term (at the end of each month if your subscriptions are under no commitment or at the end of each year if you have an annual commitment). 

1. It is one of the most powerful productivity platforms 

Microsoft 365 Business Premium includes all of the productivity apps that come in the Business Standard plan, this includes: 

• The Office apps such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Exchange 
• Collaboration tools like Microsoft Teams and SharePoint 

2. Advanced security features 

What sets the difference between Microsoft 365 Business Premium, and the rest of the Business Plans are its advanced security features for managing data, users, and devices. This subscription plan includes: 

• Powerful mobile device management tools 
• Multifactor authentication 
• Security tools to protect against malware and other cyber threats 

The combination of the productivity and security tools this plan offers makes it one of the most powerful productivity platforms on the market. 

3. Intune for device management 

According to Microsoft, mobile devices make up approximately 60% of an organization’s endpoints. In the past, these devices were often left unsecure. However, that is not a risk we can afford to take nowadays, since the number of organizations that use a ‘’Bring Your Own Device’’ (BYOD) policy increases more and more. 

The addition of a powerful Mobile Device Management (MDM) and endpoint device manager is enough by itself to make the upgrade worth it.  

Microsoft Intune allows you to: 

• Keep all endpoints updated with security patches 
• Remotely grant/revoke access to business apps 
• Use ‘’Find My Device’’ or ‘’Wipe My Device’’ for lost/stolen devices 
• Deploy and authenticate apps on devices 
• Protect company data by managing how users can share and make use of it 
• Ensure devices and apps’ compliance with your organization’s policies 

Learn more about our sister brand Microsoft Intune consulting and deployment services.

4. Simple email encryption with Azure Information Protection 

Azure Information Protection allows employees to use email encryption in the Outlook desktop app and Outlook Online, in order to secure emails containing sensitive information. 

Users can select this option when they are creating an email. This will encrypt the message and any document attached, making them exclusively readable for the recipient. 

5. Safe Links and Safe Attachments to prevent phishing attacks 

The additional security protection in Microsoft 365 Business Premium gives organizations the opportunity to deploy Safe Links and Safe Attachments. 

Safe Links provides URL scanning and rewriting for inbound email messages. This protects users from malicious links. This URL protection keeps users from receiving and/or clicking links to phishing sites. 

Safe Attachments provides additional scanning and protection against dangerous file attachments. It uses a virtual environment ‘’sandbox’’ to check the files before your users open them. Admins can set their organization’s Safe Attachments policies to meet their compliance and security needs. 

6. Persistent classification and protection of files 

When data travels across Office PCs and servers to numerous apps and devices, it is complex to keep protective policies in place. Business Premium includes additional capabilities for classifying files and applying security policies to them. 

For example, for a document classified as ‘’highly confidential’’ the system will automatically apply a ‘’do not copy’’ protocol and watermark, and so on with all the files classified in this category.  

Are you considering upgrading to Microsoft 365 Business Premium? Book a meeting with one of our Microsoft experts to help you start this transition. 

Are you not sure of which plan to get yet? Don’t worry, we offer expert guidance to choose the plan that best suits your organization’s needs.