Microsoft 365 Business Premium is Microsoft's top small-business plan. It includes everything in Business Standard, the familiar Office apps, Teams, Exchange email and OneDrive and SharePoint storage, and adds a set of security and device-management tools that are otherwise only available in enterprise plans or as separate purchases.
Who it is designed for
Microsoft describes Business Premium as a productivity and security solution for small and medium-sized businesses with up to 300 users. Above 300 users, Microsoft points organizations to its enterprise plans.
What Business Premium adds
According to Microsoft's documentation, Business Premium includes these security and management components on top of Business Standard:
Security Defaults versus Conditional Access
Every Microsoft 365 business plan includes Security Defaults, a free, all-or-nothing setting that requires multi-factor authentication and blocks older sign-in methods. It is a good baseline, and it is on by default for new tenants.
Business Premium adds Conditional Access, which lets you set policies instead of one blanket rule. For example: require MFA everywhere, block sign-ins from countries you never work in, require a compliant device to open company files, or apply stricter rules to admin accounts. Microsoft notes that organizations with Entra ID P1 are generally better served by Conditional Access than by Security Defaults.
Do you need it?
Business Premium is worth a serious look if any of these are true:
If your team is very small, works only on company devices and has no sensitive data, Business Standard with Security Defaults and a good endpoint protection product can be a reasonable choice. Prices change, so check Microsoft's current pricing before deciding.
How it works with NexJen
NexJen Essentials works with any Microsoft 365 business plan, and your NexJen price is the same either way. What changes is the depth of the security baseline we can apply: on Business Basic or Standard we use Security Defaults to require MFA; on Business Premium we add Conditional Access policies. In a free 30-minute review we check your email security from the outside and talk through which baseline your current plan supports, so you can decide whether an upgrade is worth it.
Common questions
What is the difference between Microsoft 365 Business Standard and Business Premium?
Business Premium includes everything in Business Standard plus Microsoft Entra ID P1 (Conditional Access), Intune Plan 1, Defender for Business, Defender for Office 365 Plan 1, and Purview information protection and data loss prevention.
How many users can Microsoft 365 Business Premium have?
Microsoft designs Business Premium for organizations with up to 300 users.
Does Business Premium include endpoint detection and response?
Yes. It includes Microsoft Defender for Business, which provides endpoint detection and response along with next-generation protection and automated investigation.
Do I need Business Premium to work with NexJen?
No. NexJen Essentials works with any Microsoft 365 business plan at the same price. Business Premium lets us apply a stronger baseline using Conditional Access.
Not sure which Microsoft 365 plan fits?
A Microsoft 365 assessment reviews your licenses, settings and security and gives you a written, prioritized roadmap.