Most small businesses use Microsoft 365 for email and Word and stop there. But if you are on Business Premium, you are paying for a security and productivity suite that can replace several separate subscriptions. Here is what goes unused.
1. Intune device management
Enroll laptops and phones, push policies, and wipe a lost device remotely. This alone replaces a separate MDM product.
2. Defender for Office 365
Advanced phishing and malware protection built into your email. Many businesses pay a third party for what is already included.
3. Conditional access
Require MFA only from unfamiliar locations, block logins from regions you never operate in. Enterprise-grade access control, included.
4. SharePoint and Teams as an intranet
A real document hub with version control and permissions, instead of files scattered across desktops and personal drives.
5. Bookings
A self-service scheduling page that writes straight to your calendar, replacing a separate booking subscription.
6. Data loss prevention
Automatically stop sensitive data, card numbers, health information, from leaving in an email.
The license is rarely the problem. The configuration is. Turning these on is a half-day of setup that pays for the subscription many times over.
Humphrey MwangiFounder, Drive Technologies
Founder of Drive Technologies and a Director of Technology overseeing IT, fleet, and facilities for a multi-site nonprofit. He writes about managed IT, cybersecurity, healthcare technology, and running technology like a business. His work spans US and Kenya markets.
More in Security and Scams
The five phishing patterns every small business will see this quarter