Microsoft 365 Business Premium is a solution for small and medium-sized businesses that builds AI-ready productivity and foundational security into the tools teams use every day. It combines best-in-class Microsoft 365 apps with identity, device, email, and data protection in one license. It includes Microsoft Defender for Business, Microsoft Defender for Office 365 Plan 1, Microsoft Entra ID Plan 1, Microsoft Intune Plan 1, and Microsoft Purview, along with Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Teams, SharePoint, Clipchamp, and Copilot.

Five security services are built into the Microsoft 365 Business Premium subscription, not sold as add-ons:

- Microsoft Defender for Business: AI-powered device protection against ransomware and other cyberthreats
- Microsoft Defender for Office 365 Plan 1: phishing protection across email and collaboration tools
- Microsoft Entra ID Plan 1: identity and access management, including multifactor authentication and conditional access
- Microsoft Intune Plan 1: device and app management for company-owned and personal (BYOD) devices
- Microsoft Purview: data classification, message encryption, and data loss prevention

Yes. Microsoft Defender for Business is included, with AI-powered device protection that helps protect against ransomware and other cyberthreats. It also adds endpoint detection, response, and automated investigation, so protection goes beyond basic antivirus.

With Microsoft 365 Business Premium your business gets:

- AI-ready productivity: best-in-class Microsoft 365 apps help employees create, analyze, meet, chat, and share from anywhere.
- Layered protection: built-in security helps protect identities, devices, email, and business data.
- Secure work from anywhere: access and device management help employees use work resources safely on company-owned and personal devices.
- One connected solution: productivity apps, security, and device management work together in the tools your team already uses.

Microsoft 365 Business Standard gives your team Microsoft 365 apps, business email, collaboration tools, and baseline security features such as multifactor authentication through security defaults and Exchange Online Protection for email.

Microsoft 365 Business Premium goes further, adding foundational, enterprise-grade protection across devices, identities, email, and data—including Microsoft Defender for Business, Microsoft Intune Plan 1, Microsoft Defender for Office 365 Plan 1, Microsoft Entra ID Plan 1, and select Microsoft Purview features. It helps you move from productivity and collaboration to a more secure, AI-ready foundation for work, growth, and customer trust.

For more advanced needs, Microsoft Defender and Purview Suites for Microsoft 365 Business Premium extend that foundation with deeper threat protection, response, data governance, and compliance capabilities.

Microsoft 365 Business Premium is the foundation for secure productivity: it helps protect identities, Microsoft 365 apps, endpoints, and data. The Defender and Purview Suites for Microsoft 365 Business Premium build on that foundation when your security needs grow.

Defender Suite for Microsoft 365 Business Premium helps protect against more complex attacks that can move across accounts, SaaS apps, and SharePoint.

Purview Suite for Microsoft 365 Business Premium helps when you are rolling out AI more broadly, need more visibility into which AI apps employees use, or need stronger evidence for customers, insurers, and regulators.

Zero Trust is a security approach that assumes no user or device is safe by default. Every sign-in, device, and access request is verified instead of being trusted just because it is inside the network. Microsoft 365 Business Premium supports Zero Trust with Microsoft Entra ID Plan 1 for identity and multifactor authentication, Microsoft Intune Plan 1 for device management, Microsoft Defender for Business for endpoint protection, and Microsoft Purview for data protection. MFA blocks over 99% of unauthorized access attempts.³

Microsoft 365 Business Premium helps protect against ransomware by working at every stage. Microsoft Defender for Office 365 Plan 1 blocks the phishing email most ransomware arrives in. Microsoft Entra ID Plan 1 stops attackers using stolen passwords. Microsoft Defender for Business detects the attack on the device and automatically investigates and isolates it before it spreads. Microsoft Intune Plan 1 lets you remotely wipe a compromised device, and your files stay in the cloud so work can be restored.

Small businesses can prepare for cyber insurance and security incdients by starting with controls that insurers and incident-response plans often depend on: multifactor authentication, managed and updated devices, email protection, data classification, data loss prevention, audit logs, backups, and a clear ransomware response plan.

Microsoft 365 Business Premium helps build that foundation with identity, device, email, device management, and data protection, including Microsoft Purview capabilities for classifying sensitive information, applying protection policies, reducing data leakage, and supporting audit and compliance reporting. For businesses with more advanced needs, Microsoft Defender and Purview Suites for Microsoft 365 Business Premium add deeper threat protection, response, data governance, and compliance capabilities.

Yes, Microsoft 365 Business Premium is the small and medium-sized business solution and it is what people usually mean when they search for “Microsoft 365 Premium” or “Microsoft Premium license.”