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Most businesses are paying for more than they’re using, it’s a problem that we see all too often. A Microsoft 365 subscription tends to get reduced to Word, Excel, and email, while everything else sits quietly in the background, untouched and uncharged for. Fact is that you’re likely paying for something you could easily do without.
If you’re not sure what your plan actually covers, you’re not alone. Many small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) owners are in the same position, paying for small business software without a clear picture of what it includes. This post works through exactly that, so you can make a more informed decision about your setup.
If you still think of your software subscription as “Office 365,” you’re not wrong to, but the name changed in 2022. Microsoft rebranded Office 365 to Microsoft 365, and what a lot of people don’t realise is that this rebrand changed more than just the name. It represented a move beyond traditional desktop applications.
Microsoft 365 now includes cloud services, security tools, device management, and collaboration features that Office 365 either didn’t offer or offered only in limited form. When comparing Office 365 vs Microsoft 365, the core office applications remain, but the scope has expanded considerably. And if you’re planning to save money, it’s worth knowing what this means for you, so you can decide what you want to pay for and what you don’t.
Regardless of which tier you’re on, every business plan includes access to the core productivity suite:
These are the office apps most people are already familiar with. Alongside these, every plan includes Exchange for business email, meaning your email is hosted and managed through Microsoft’s infrastructure rather than a basic hosting provider. Depending on your plan, you’ll also get access to Microsoft Teams, OneDrive cloud storage, and SharePoint. The exact combination of Microsoft 365 apps for business setups varies by tier, but the foundation is consistent.
What changes as you move up the plans is how much storage you get, whether you can install apps on desktop devices, and what security and compliance tools are available.
Microsoft 365 apps for business customers are split across three main tiers for SMEs. To help you understand the differences between the three tiers better, here’s a basic overview of what each one offers.
The entry-level Microsoft 365 Business plan. It includes web and mobile versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook, business email through Exchange, Teams, SharePoint, and 1 TB of OneDrive storage per user. It does not include the installable desktop versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint or Outlook.
It is generally best suited to businesses whose staff work primarily in a browser, through mobile apps or on shared devices.
Includes everything in Business Basic, plus installable desktop versions of the Microsoft 365 applications, which can also be used offline. Each user can install the apps on up to five PCs or Macs, five tablets and five phones.
It is often suitable for office-based or hybrid teams that rely on locally installed Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook.
Includes the productivity and collaboration features of Business Standard, together with more advanced identity, security, information-protection and device-management capabilities. These include Microsoft Entra ID, Intune, Microsoft Defender and Microsoft Purview features.
It is intended for businesses that need tighter control over access, company data and connected devices, including organisations with remote or hybrid workforces and stronger security or compliance requirements.
Even businesses on the right plan often overlook a large portion of what they’re paying for. Microsoft 365 apps for business customers include several tools that go largely unused, despite offering real practical value:
Security is where the plans begin to diverge most noticeably. Business Basic and Business Standard include baseline identity and email protections, including support for multi-factor authentication (MFA) and anti-spam, anti-phishing and anti-malware controls. However, MFA must still be configured and enforced by an administrator, and these plans do not include the full set of advanced endpoint, identity and data-protection tools available in Business Premium.
Microsoft 365 Business Premium adds a more substantial set of security and management capabilities. These include Microsoft Defender for Business for advanced endpoint and threat protection, Microsoft Intune for managing and protecting company and personal devices, and Microsoft Entra ID Plan 1 (formerly Azure Active Directory Premium) for more granular identity and access controls, including Conditional Access.
Premium also includes Microsoft Purview data-protection features such as sensitivity labels and data loss prevention policies, which can detect certain sensitive information and warn about, restrict or block inappropriate sharing when correctly configured.
These capabilities may be particularly relevant to businesses in sectors such as healthcare, legal services and financial services, as well as organisations with hybrid or remote workers who access company systems from personal devices. However, Business Premium is not a complete guarantee of regulatory compliance or security: its effectiveness depends on appropriate configuration, device enrolment, access policies, data classification and staff training.
It is worth revisiting your plan if your business has grown, if your team now works remotely or across multiple sites, or if you have had any concerns about data security. Small business software should adapt to the way you work, not the other way around. A common sign that a plan is no longer the right fit is when staff are using personal tools such as consumer file-sharing apps or personal email accounts to fill gaps that Microsoft 365 could cover.
Another is when desktop-installed applications are needed but unavailable on the current tier. Working with a Microsoft partner means someone can review your current Microsoft 365 apps. For business customers, this can include identifying what you’re underusing or missing, and recommending a plan that genuinely matches your needs, without pushing you into a higher tier than necessary.
And that’s where we come in. Town and Country Communications is a family-run telecoms and IT provider supporting businesses across Dorset, Hampshire, and Wiltshire since 1991. As part of our managed IT services, we help businesses get the most from their Microsoft 365 setup, from choosing the right plan to ongoing support for Teams, OneDrive, and everything in between.
If you’re unsure whether your current plan is working as hard as it should, we’re happy to take a look. Call us on 01202 514444 or get in touch using the contact form on our website.
