Microsoft 365 Business standard and Business Premium are different service tiers with a variety of functionality depending on the many factors that characterize your business.
As the IT landscape changes, your business is forced to adjust. Working toward digital transformation or any big company system switch requires a lot of decision-making. But no business partner needs to figure it out alone. With the right tools and knowledge the choice becomes easy and the investments in the future of your business will speak for themselves. Let’s get started!
Microsoft wants to be as accommodating as possible, but sometimes the available options can seem intimidating. Especially when the services being provided look similar enough on the surface. Curious which tier is best for you? Look no further for a thorough explanation on the differences between Business Standard and Business Premium and which service is best for your business.
What is Microsoft 365 for Business
If there is one thing you should take away from all of this it is that Microsoft 365 is so much more than a bundle of Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and Outlook. And we want to help business leaders like you learn about everything Microsoft 365 has to offer.
Not every company needs the same features or levels of support. Microsoft recognizes this reality. To meet the needs of the most businesses, the company offers four levels of business service within Microsoft 365. This article will focus on Business Standard and Business Premium because these tiers have the most value-added services to offer. In order to pick the correct Office package for your business, it is important that you understand your businesses needs, scale and budget.
What is Business Standard?
When comparing Business Premium and Business Standard, there are a lot of commonalities. Of the two full-featured business plans the main difference, and the one that will have the most impact on your business is that Business Standard lacks some advanced features in favor of a significantly lower price.
If you’re looking to transform external and internal communication Business Standard customers enjoy access to web, mobile and desktop Office applications, plus the standard suite of cloud services (Teams, Exchange, OneDrive and SharePoint, etc. as well as access to three additional apps: Microsoft Forms, Lists, and Bookings). Collaboration tools including syncing across devices, and the latest in Microsoft’s security and compliance offerings are a cornerstone of Business Standard.
For many of these reasons, including the price point Microsoft 365 Business Standard plan is a potential choice for many businesses. However, the few things that the plan leaves out have the capacity to be truly transformative.
What is Business Premium?
The Microsoft 365 Business Premium Plan contains everything that’s included in Business Standard, plus Premium security features and functions. There are comprehensive tools for both PC and mobile device management, so if your business can transition from only on-premises to work from anywhere, while maintaining consistency across your entire network.
As your business grows, it becomes crucial to control your employees’ devices, both for employee experience and security purposes. Cloud services is an essential feature with Business Premium. Users enjoy Intune and Azure Information Protection (AIP). You can set organization-wide IT policies and then enforce them on company-owned devices so that a lost laptop doesn’t turn into a security nightmare.
It is worth noting that all packages of Microsoft 365 Business offer limited access control, such as guest links to files and permissions-managed sharing within OneDrive. But only Business Premium gives you additional AIP and information access control. So, if full control of conditional access is an vital feature you need Business Premium.
The clear winner is …
Although, business needs vary due to size, potential growth and budget in most cases Microsoft 365 Business Premium is the better option as a long term investment in your business.
There is a lot of good Business Standard can do for you and your business, but the standard part speaks for itself. It’s great if you’re looking for the most complete version of Microsoft at the right price. But Business Premium is the best choice overall. Especially if your focus is on some of the biggest value-adds and how those features can improve your IT operations.
Microsoft 365 Business Premium is packed with powerful tools that have the power to transform how you get work done. If you have questions about Microsoft 365 or aren’t sure about how to roll out certain components of Microsoft 365 Business Premium join Sherweb’s partner program for tailored guidance through the Microsoft partner ecosystem.
