Advantages of Microsoft Business Premium over Business Standard (draft)

Advantages of Microsoft Business Premium over Business Standard (draft)

Also see this blog post: https://geekgirlsit.com/microsoft-365-business-standard-or-business-premium/


Managed BitLocker


  1. Microsoft 365 Business Premium: Includes BitLocker management as part of the Intune service. Intune allows you to centrally manage BitLocker encryption on Windows devices, ensuring that sensitive data on devices (like laptops or desktops) is protected in case of theft or loss. Administrators can enforce encryption policies, recover BitLocker keys, and monitor the encryption status of devices across the organization.
  1. Microsoft 365 Business Standard: Does not include Intune, so while users can manually enable BitLocker on their devices (if they have a compatible version of Windows), there is no centralized management of BitLocker through Microsoft 365. This makes it harder for IT admins to enforce encryption policies or recover encryption keys for users.

Email Encryption

  1. Microsoft 365 Business Premium: Includes Office Message Encryption (OME), which allows users to send encrypted emails both internally and externally. This provides enhanced security for sensitive information by ensuring that only authorized recipients can view the content of the email. Premium also integrates Azure Information Protection (AIP) for additional data protection and labeling.

  1. Microsoft 365 Business Standard: It lacks the more advanced encryption features like OME and AIP that are included with Business Premium. Standard users have basic spam, malware filtering, and transport layer security (TLS) for encryption in transit, but not the advanced encryption options.

Email Protection and Security


  1. Microsoft 365 Business Premium: Comes with Microsoft Defender for Office 365 (Plan 1). This plan includes protection from phishing attacks, malware, and other sophisticated email-based threats. It also provides features like safe attachments, safe links, anti-spam protection, and real-time threat detection.

  1. Microsoft 365 Business Standard: Does not include Microsoft Defender for Office 365 (Plan 1). It comes with basic security features, such as Exchange Online Protection (EOP), which offers standard anti-spam and anti-malware protection but lacks the advanced threat protection features found in Premium.


Mobile Device Management


Provides access to Intune, allowing organizations to manage devices across the network, including mobile device management (MDM) and mobile application management (MAM).

Azure Information Protection


Helps classify and protect sensitive information by labeling documents and emails to ensure data security and compliance.

Self-service Password Reset


Allows users to reset their own passwords securely rather than relying on IT support. 

Entra ID

  • Business Standard includes Entra ID Free.
  • Business Premium includes Entra ID Premium P1. Entra ID Premium P1 offers much more robust management and security features. Some of these features include: 
Automatic enrollment into Intune ensures that all devices are continuously monitored for compliance, and admins can revoke access or remotely wipe data from lost or compromised devices.

Advanced security capabilities such as Conditional Access and Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) are enforced based on specific policies set by the organization. For example, a device must be compliant (e.g., encrypted, updated) and have MFA enabled to access sensitive apps like SharePoint or Teams.

IT admins can set rules or policies that govern how devices access corporate resources (such as files, apps, or networks). This control allows admins to:
  1. Decide which devices are allowed to access sensitive company data based on their compliance with security standards (e.g., encryption, up-to-date software).
  1. Enforce Conditional Access policies, such as requiring devices to have multi-factor authentication (MFA) or meet certain security baselines (like BitLocker encryption or antivirus software).
  1. Restrict access to corporate data from non-compliant or compromised devices.
  1. Ensure that only authorized users on secure devices can interact with key company resources, thus preventing data breaches or unauthorized access.

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