Microsoft 365 Business Premium costs more than Standard, and for most small businesses the upgrade pays for itself, but only if you actually turn on what you're paying for.
What you get over Standard
- Defender for Business, enterprise-grade endpoint security.
- Intune, manage and secure company devices, wipe lost ones.
- Conditional access and advanced identity protection.
- Data loss prevention and email encryption.
The catch
These features deliver value only when configured. A lot of businesses pay for Premium and never deploy Defender or Intune, so they get Standard's protection at Premium's price. The license is the easy part; the setup is what matters.
The bottom line
If you handle sensitive data or want real control over company devices, Premium is worth it, provided someone configures it properly and you right-size licenses so you're not paying for seats nobody uses.
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