Microsoft 365 offers business and enterprise plans with different levels of security to help protect company data, manage devices and support secure remote work. The right plan depends on your organisation's size, security requirements, regulatory obligations and whether you are planning to scale AI adoption.
Here is how the key plans compare.
1. Microsoft 365 Business Premium
Security for Growing Businesses - Helps protect company data across business-owned and personal devices, manage access to business applications and reduce exposure to phishing and other cyber threats.
Security Features: Microsoft Defender for Business for endpoint protection against threats such as ransomware and malware; Microsoft Defender for Office 365 Plan 1 for enhanced email and collaboration protection; Microsoft Intune for device and app management; and Microsoft Entra ID P1 for identity and access management, including Conditional Access.
Best For: Small and growing businesses that require a secure hybrid and remote work environment with integrated productivity, device management and stronger security for hybrid and remote work.
2. Microsoft 365 Enterprise E3
Security for Growing Businesses - Helps protect company data across business-owned and personal devices, manage access to business applications and reduce exposure to phishing and other cyber threats.
Security Features: Microsoft Defender for Business for endpoint protection against threats such as ransomware and malware; Microsoft Defender for Office 365 Plan 1 for enhanced email and collaboration protection; Microsoft Intune for device and app management; and Microsoft Entra ID P1 for identity and access management, including Conditional Access.
Best For: Small and growing businesses that require a secure hybrid and remote work environment with integrated productivity, device management and stronger security for hybrid and remote work.
3. Microsoft 365 Enterprise E3
Enterprise Productivity and Security - Helps larger organisations establish consistent security policies, protect business information and manage productivity across a distributed workforce.
Security Features: Enterprise identity and access controls through Microsoft Entra ID P1, core data protection and compliance capabilities through Microsoft Purview, and endpoint and email protection features. Microsoft 365 E3 also includes Defender for Office 365 Plan 1 under the licensing effective from July 2026.
Best For: Organisations that need enterprise productivity, baseline security and compliance capabilities, with additional security services where required.
4. Microsoft 365 Enterprise E5
Advanced Enterprise Security and Compliance - Strengthens threat detection and response, provides greater visibility into security incidents, and supports more demanding data protection, investigation and compliance requirements.
Security Features: Builds on E3 with more advanced capabilities, including Microsoft Defender XDR, Defender for Endpoint Plan 2, Defender for Office 365 Plan 2, Microsoft Entra ID P2 and advanced Microsoft Purview compliance features.
Best For: Large enterprises or organisations with complex IT environments, higher security risks or more demanding regulatory and compliance needs.
5. Microsoft 365 E7
Integrated AI, Security and Governance - Helps organisations bring AI into everyday work while strengthening identity and access controls, protecting business information and improving visibility over AI agents. This supports businesses looking to scale AI-powered workflows with greater oversight and control.
Security & AI Features: Combines Microsoft 365 E5, Microsoft 365 Copilot, Microsoft Entra Suite and Microsoft Agent 365. It extends enterprise security and identity capabilities to support AI adoption, including the management and governance of AI agents.
Best For: Enterprises looking to combine advanced productivity, security and compliance with organisation-wide AI adoption and AI agent governance.
6. Microsoft 365 Business Standard
Limited security and protection – Supports everyday email, file sharing and online collaboration, with baseline protections for business information.
Security Features: Includes built-in security for cloud services, such as Exchange Online Protection for email, alongside data encryption and sharing controls in Microsoft 365 services. It does not include the same integrated advanced endpoint security and device management capabilities as Business Premium.
Best For: Small businesses that need productivity and collaboration tools with essential security for remote work, and may require an upgrade for additional security controls as their needs grow.
In Summary
The best Microsoft 365 plan depends on the level of protection and control your business needs:
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For growing businesses: Business Premium provides an integrated set of productivity, endpoint security, identity and device management capabilities.
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For larger organisations: Microsoft 365 E3 provides enterprise productivity and baseline security, while E5 offers more advanced threat protection and compliance capabilities.
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For enterprises scaling AI: Microsoft 365 E7 combines the E5 foundation with Copilot, Entra Suite and Agent 365 to support AI-powered productivity and AI agent governance.
Choosing the right licence is only the starting point. Businesses should also configure security policies, manage user access, protect sensitive data and establish clear governance procedures. For AI adoption, this includes assessing how Copilot and AI agents access business information and what actions they are permitted to perform.
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