Most of our clients that use Microsoft 365 Business Premium already have Microsoft Defender for Business deployed and protecting their endpoints as part of a full XDR (Extended Detection and Response) security system.

Before we talk about why that matters, it’s worth addressing the cost.

Microsoft 365 licensing can be complex, so the numbers below use simple round list prices just to give you a general idea of how the pricing works.

If you simply want to add an EDR solution to your existing environment — whether you’re using Microsoft 365 Business Standard, Microsoft 365 E3, Office 365 E3, or even E5 — you can add Microsoft Defender for Business for about $36 per user per year, which comes out to roughly $3 per user per month.

But here’s the real question.

Why stop there when you’re already so close to doing this the right way?

Moving From EDR to a Full XDR Security Platform

Instead of just adding an endpoint detection and response tool, organizations can move to a full XDR security architecture.

XDR combines multiple security layers together into one integrated system that protects:

  • Endpoint devices
  • User identities
  • Email and files
  • Network activity
  • Company data

This is the type of security architecture Microsoft uses internally to protect its own 180,000+ employee global organization.

For companies with fewer than 300 users, the easiest way to implement this architecture is usually by upgrading to Microsoft 365 Business Premium.

The Cost of Upgrading to Microsoft 365 Business Premium

If you’re currently using Microsoft 365 Business Standard, upgrading to Business Premium typically increases licensing costs by about $11 per user per month.

At first glance that may seem like a simple license upgrade.

But when you break down what you receive, the picture becomes much more interesting.

You effectively get:

  • Endpoint detection and response (Defender for Business) for about $3 per user per month
  • A large collection of additional security and device management capabilities for roughly $8 more per user per month

For that total $11 increase, organizations gain a much broader cloud IT infrastructure that supports:

  • Endpoint security
  • Device management
  • Identity protection
  • Email security
  • Application management
  • Cloud data protection

In many cases, these capabilities replace multiple third-party tools.

In Some Cases, It’s Actually Cheaper

Depending on the licenses already in use, the upgrade can even reduce costs.

For example:

  • Upgrading from Office 365 E3 to Microsoft 365 Business Premium can result in roughly $1 per user per month in savings.
  • Moving from Microsoft 365 E3 to Business Premium can reduce costs by around $17 per user per month.

If your organization already uses Microsoft 365 E5, you’re already operating on Microsoft’s most advanced security platform.

In that case, the licensing is already correct.

The Real Issue With Many E5 Environments

When we encounter companies running Microsoft 365 E5, the issue usually isn’t licensing.

The issue is that most of the security capabilities inside the license are not actually deployed.

Many organizations purchased E5 because they knew it was Microsoft’s most advanced offering. But the platform includes a large number of security services that require configuration and operational experience.

In many environments we see:

  • Microsoft Intune not fully deployed
  • Azure AD–joined devices only partially implemented
  • Very basic conditional access policies
  • Insider threat management not configured
  • Microsoft Defender for Identity not deployed
  • Microsoft Purview compliance tools unused

The platform is extremely powerful, but those capabilities often remain unused simply because organizations don’t have the time or experience to deploy them properly.

Security Capabilities Many Companies Already Own

For many organizations, the surprising reality is that the security platform they need is already included in the Microsoft 365 licenses they’re paying for.

The challenge isn’t necessarily purchasing the technology.

It’s understanding how the pieces of the Microsoft 365 security stack fit together and deploying them correctly so they operate as a single system.

When properly implemented, Microsoft 365 Business Premium can provide a modern, integrated cloud security platform for organizations with up to 300 users.

And in many cases, that platform is already much closer than most IT teams realize.

Learn More

If you're evaluating how Microsoft Defender, Intune, and Entra ID work together to secure company devices and data, you may want to review our overview of Microsoft 365 security architecture: https://www.xerillion.com/microsoft-365-it-security-modernization/?