Microsoft 365 Business Standard vs Premium Comparison

At its core, Microsoft 365 Business Standard provides robust features designed to optimize productivity. With a widely known suite of applications like Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Teams, and Outlook, you can host webinars, have an auto-expanding email archive, and easily create documents, spreadsheets, and presentations.

While Business Basic offers essential cloud services, such as exchange email hosting and OneDrive storage, Business Standard takes it a step further by introducing the full suite of Office apps. Namely, the inclusion of Access and Publisher means that users can access everything within a single integrated environment with desktop, web, and mobile compatibility. The plan also provides 1TB of OneDrive storage per user, giving you ample space to store and share files securely.

Since it’s a unified platform that simplifies work processes, increases collaboration, and boosts productivity, Microsoft 365 Business Standard suits small to medium-sized businesses requiring effective productivity and cooperation tools.

Microsoft 365 Business Standard highlights

• Full suite of Office apps.
• 1TB of OneDrive storage per user.
• Emails, calendars, and webinar hosting.
• Workflow automation.
• Connection and collaboration.

Microsoft 365 Premium takes things a step further by offering advanced security and features that meet the evolving needs of modern businesses.

In addition to everything included in Business Standard, Business Premium has a host of advanced security tools like Azure Information Protection and Microsoft Defender. As a result, any threats are detected and removed, safeguarding sensitive information from malicious attacks. The plan even includes data loss prevention, helping maintain compliance and stopping accidental data leaks in their tracks.

The inclusion of device management is another plus of Business Premium. Managing and securing multiple devices can be challenging, especially in today’s mobile-centric work environment. Microsoft 365 Business Premium streamlines this management by allowing administrators to centrally implement security policies on devices and even remotely wipe data when necessary.

Of course, this leveling up of features and security comes with a significant price increase. Even though Microsoft 365 has competitive pricing, it’s still almost double the price of Business Standard. However, the investment is well worth it for organizations prioritizing robust security and enhanced productivity.

Microsoft 365 Business Premium highlights

• Robust security and compliance.
• Optimized business data protection.
• Secure remote access and identity protection.
• Endpoint security management.

The answer to this question depends on your specific needs and priorities. If your business is anywhere between small and medium size with a main focus on accessing core productivity tools alongside email hosting and cloud storage, Microsoft 365 Business Standard may be the ideal choice. It provides all the essential features for an effective and collaborative work environment at an affordable price.