What is included in Microsoft Business Premium?

What Is Included in Microsoft 365 Business Premium?

Microsoft 365 Business Premium is one of the most complete Microsoft 365 packages available for small and medium-sized businesses.

Many companies already use Microsoft 365 for email, Word, Excel, Teams, and cloud storage. However, Business Premium goes much further than basic productivity tools. It combines Microsoft’s business apps with advanced security, device management, identity protection, and cloud services.

For businesses that want to improve security, support remote working, and manage devices properly, Microsoft 365 Business Premium can be a very powerful option.

More Than Just Email

A lot of businesses think of Microsoft 365 as “just email” or “just Office apps.”

With Business Premium, you get much more than that.

It includes the familiar Microsoft apps your team may already use every day, such as Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, Teams, OneDrive, and SharePoint.

These tools help users communicate, collaborate, store files securely, and work from almost anywhere.

But the real value of Business Premium is not just the apps. It is the extra security and management features that sit behind them.

Business Email with Exchange Online

Microsoft 365 Business Premium includes business-class email through Exchange Online.

This gives users professional email, calendars, contacts, and shared mailboxes. It also allows businesses to use their own domain name for email, such as name@yourcompany.co.uk.

Exchange Online includes built-in protection against spam, malware, and suspicious emails. This helps reduce the number of harmful messages reaching users’ inboxes.

However, email security still needs to be configured properly. Features such as SPF, DKIM, DMARC, anti-phishing policies, and external sender warnings can make a big difference to how well your email is protected.

Microsoft Teams for Communication

Business Premium includes Microsoft Teams, which allows users to chat, make video calls, hold meetings, share files, and collaborate in one place.

For hybrid and remote working, Teams can be a central part of daily communication.

It can reduce reliance on email, make internal communication faster, and help teams work together even when they are not in the same office.

OneDrive and SharePoint for File Storage

Microsoft 365 Business Premium includes OneDrive and SharePoint.

OneDrive gives each user secure personal cloud storage for their work files. SharePoint provides shared document libraries and team sites, making it easier to store company files in a structured way.

When set up correctly, this can reduce reliance on local servers, USB drives, and unmanaged file storage.

It can also help with version control, file sharing, access permissions, and business continuity.

Office Apps for Desktop, Web, and Mobile

Business Premium includes the Microsoft Office apps that many businesses use every day.

These include:

• Word
• Excel
• PowerPoint
• Outlook
• OneNote
• Access, for PC only
• Publisher, for PC only

Users can install the apps on their devices and also access web and mobile versions where available.

This means staff can work from office computers, laptops, tablets, or mobile phones while still using familiar Microsoft tools.

Advanced Security Features

One of the main reasons businesses choose Microsoft 365 Business Premium is security.

Business Premium includes Microsoft Defender for Business, which helps protect devices against threats such as malware, ransomware, and other cyber attacks.

It also includes security features to help protect identities, devices, emails, and company data.

This can include:

• Advanced antivirus protection
• Endpoint Detection and Response
• Threat and vulnerability management
• Ransomware protection
• Security recommendations
• Device protection policies
• Email protection
• Identity and access controls

These features are particularly useful for businesses that want to improve cyber security without moving to larger enterprise licences.

Microsoft Intune for Device Management

Microsoft 365 Business Premium includes Microsoft Intune Plan 1.

Intune allows businesses to manage devices such as Windows PCs, laptops, mobile phones, and tablets.

With Intune, you can apply security policies, control access to company data, configure devices, enforce encryption, manage apps, and protect business information on both company-owned and personally owned devices.

For example, you can require devices to have a password, enable BitLocker encryption, restrict access from non-compliant devices, or remove company data from a lost or stolen phone.

This is a major benefit for businesses with remote workers, hybrid teams, or staff using laptops and mobile devices.

Microsoft Entra ID Plan 1

Business Premium includes Microsoft Entra ID Plan 1, previously known as Azure Active Directory Premium P1.

This helps businesses manage user identities and access.

It supports features such as conditional access, group-based access control, and stronger sign-in security.

Conditional access is especially important because it allows businesses to apply rules around how and when users can access Microsoft 365.

For example, you may want to require multi-factor authentication when users are outside the office, block access from risky locations, or only allow access from compliant devices.

Multi-Factor Authentication

Multi-factor authentication, often called MFA, is one of the most important security protections available.

It means users need more than just a password to log in. They may also need to approve a sign-in request, enter a code, or use an authentication app.

Business Premium gives businesses the tools to configure MFA properly and use conditional access to make sign-ins more secure.

This is vital because passwords alone are no longer enough to protect business accounts.

Data Protection and Compliance Features

Business Premium also includes tools to help protect company data.

This can include information protection, sensitivity labels, data loss prevention options, retention settings, and access controls, depending on how the environment is configured.

These features help businesses reduce the risk of data being shared incorrectly, lost, or accessed by the wrong people.

For many organisations, this is useful for protecting client information, financial data, HR records, contracts, and other sensitive business documents.

Is Microsoft 365 Business Premium Right for Every Business?

Microsoft 365 Business Premium is a strong choice for many small and medium-sized businesses, especially those that want more than basic email and Office apps.

It is particularly useful for businesses that:

• Have remote or hybrid workers
• Need stronger cyber security
• Want to manage laptops and mobile devices
• Need better control over user access
• Want to reduce reliance on local servers
• Need to protect company data
• Want to improve Microsoft 365 security
• Are working towards Cyber Essentials or stronger compliance

However, like any platform, it needs to be set up correctly.

Simply buying the licence does not automatically mean your business is secure. The value comes from configuring the features properly and making sure they are actively managed.

How Hamilton Group Can Help

At Hamilton Group, we help businesses get the most out of Microsoft 365 Business Premium.

We can review your current Microsoft 365 setup, advise whether Business Premium is the right licence for your business, migrate users, configure security policies, set up MFA, deploy Intune, protect devices, and improve email security.

We can also help configure SPF, DKIM, DMARC, Microsoft Defender for Business, conditional access, device compliance policies, and security monitoring.

Microsoft 365 Business Premium can be a powerful platform, but only if it is properly configured and maintained.

If you would like to know whether your business is using Microsoft 365 in the right way, Hamilton Group can help.

Call us on 0330 0430069 or book an appointment with one of our experts.