Choosing between Microsoft 365 Business Premium and Business Standard can be challenging for business owners and nonprofits. It involves weighing costs and features that, at first glance, may not seem important to your organization. Let’s discuss some key features of Business Premium that offer significant advantages, particularly in security and device management. Here’s why Business Premium is the better choice for protecting your business.
Managed BitLocker: Your Data, Protected Across Devices
In today’s mobile work environment, protecting data on laptops and desktops is crucial. Microsoft 365 Business Premium offers BitLocker management through Intune, allowing you to centrally manage encryption across all your Windows devices. If a laptop gets lost or stolen, you can rest assured knowing that sensitive data is encrypted, and your IT provider can recover BitLocker keys or monitor the encryption status in real-time.
By contrast, Business Standard doesn’t include Intune, so while users can manually enable BitLocker, it’s harder to enforce policies or manage encryption keys. In short, Business Premium provides more a more reliable and manageable BitLocker experience.
Email Encryption: Keeping Your Communications Private
Another key difference between these two plans is email encryption. With Microsoft 365 Business Premium, you get Office Message Encryption (OME), which lets you send encrypted emails internally and externally. Whether you’re sharing sensitive financials or contracts, only the intended recipients can view the content. Plus, Azure Information Protection (AIP) adds an extra layer of security by labeling and protecting your data.
With Business Standard, you miss out on these advanced encryption tools. While there’s basic security like transport layer security (TLS) for emails in transit, it doesn’t provide the same encryption capabilities and data protection as Premium.
Email Protection: Guarding Against Cyber Threats
The internet is full of threats like phishing scams and malware, and securing your business email is critical. Microsoft 365 Business Premium includes Microsoft Defender for Office 365 (Plan 1), which offers comprehensive protection from phishing attacks, malicious attachments, and dangerous links. It also provides real-time threat detection to keep your inbox safe.
Business Standard users, however, only have Exchange Online Protection (EOP), which offers basic anti-spam and anti-malware protection. For advanced threat protection, Business Premium is clearly superior.
Mobile Device Management (MDM)
With the growing number of mobile devices used for work, managing them can be a nightmare—unless you have Intune, which comes with Microsoft 365 Business Premium. Intune gives you full control over mobile device management (MDM) and mobile application management (MAM), ensuring that all devices accessing company data meet your security standards.
Without Intune, companies have limited control over devices, making it difficult to secure mobile access and manage apps effectively.
Self-Service Password Reset: Empowering Your Employees
Managing password resets is time-consuming for IT personnel and frustrating for employees. Microsoft 365 Business Premium offers self-service password reset, allowing users to securely reset their own passwords. This reduces downtime and minimizes support requests.
Entra ID: Security Beyond the Basics
Here’s where Entra ID Premium P1 (formerly Azure Active Directory Premium P1) shines in Business Premium. With features like Conditional Access and Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA), you can enforce strict security policies. For example, you can require devices to be encrypted and up-to-date before they access company apps like SharePoint or Teams.
In Business Standard, you only get Entra ID Free, which provides basic identity and access management, but lacks these advanced security features. With Entra ID Premium P1, you also benefit from automatic device enrollment into Intune, ensuring devices are compliant and secure at all times. If a device is lost or compromised, admins can remotely wipe it to protect your data.
Finally, using Entra ID ensures that users can log in to their computers using the same credentials as their email, enabling Single Sign-On (SSO). This simplifies user experience, enhances security by reducing password fatigue, and boosts productivity by minimizing the need to manage multiple logins across systems.
Final Thoughts: Why Business Premium is Worth It
While Microsoft 365 Business Standard might seem like a cost-effective option, Business Premium offers far more in terms of security, device management, and advanced threat protection. Features like BitLocker management, email encryption, Intune, and Entra ID Premium P1 make Business Premium the better option for any organization looking to stay secure and efficient in today’s digital landscape. When you weigh the risks of data breaches or device loss, the extra investment in Business Premium is a smart choice to safeguard your business.
Even if your organization is small now, Business Premium is built to scale with you, making it easier to manage resources and maintain strong security as you grow, all while helping you retain control as you expand your team and infrastructure.
In short, if you want to feel confident that your business data is safe and that your IT is streamlined, Microsoft 365 Business Premium is the better option.
