Microsoft services are central to many organizations’ operations, especially when it comes to cloud services and user management. Over the years, license packages have increasingly included features ranging from device management to artificial intelligence, and interestingly, also security. The Defender product family has grown rapidly over the years and has become one of the market leaders in the security field.
What Security Products Are Already Included in My Microsoft Licenses?
Depending on the company’s size, Microsoft license levels might be Business Premium or E3, for example, where the former is designed for organizations with fewer than 300 employees and the latter for larger companies. These packages already include several security tools:
- Defender for Office 365 Plan 1 protects emails by filtering malicious attachments and links
- Defender for Endpoint Plan 1 protects endpoint devices from malicious software and network connections
- Entra ID Plan 1 enables multi-factor authentication and granular access control with Conditional Access policies
However, organizations often encounter situations where they purchase overlapping solutions from third parties. Reasons for this may include lack of awareness about the tools, or incomplete implementation due to lack of expertise or time.
Security Add-ons for Licenses – Does It Make Sense?
Microsoft’s most advanced security tools have long been available in the most expensive enterprise license level, E5. Recently, these features have also become available to customers with lower license levels through separate add-on packages. These features include:
- Defender for Office 365 Plan 2 adds capabilities for combating and removing malicious emails, as well as the “Attack Simulation Training” feature to train staff to recognize phishing messages
- Defender for Endpoint Plan 2 extends endpoint protection to vulnerability management and automated threat response
- Entra ID Plan 2 enables identity protection using a real-time risk profile calculated with each login. Additionally, on-premises AD monitoring can be implemented with the Defender for Identity tool
- Defender for Cloud Apps provides visibility into SaaS applications used in the organization and their compliance
These and other features are available to E3-licensed users through the E5 Security package, and to Business Premium-licensed users through the new Defender Suite for Business package. These add-on packages enable organizations to implement top-tier security products without a major investment in expensive E5 licenses.
Add-on package prices vary depending on the purchase channel and different agreements, but are estimated at approximately €9-12/user/month. This is a relatively small investment compared to the number of features available. Additionally, purchasing these products can help to cut down on investments in other third-party security tools that are no longer necessary.
Microsoft Tools at the Center of 2NS AllSecure Service
At 2NS, we have been following the development of Microsoft tools for a long time and believe they are a modern and cost-effective solution for building organizational security. That’s why the effective deployment and utilization of Microsoft tools is at the center of our new AllSecure service. AllSecure improves organizations’ overall security at all stages of cyberattacks. It maps the attack surface and potential weaknesses before an attack occurs, detects and prevents attacks with a monitoring system at machine speed, and provides professional support for incident coordination and recovery. We’re happy to assist customers in leveraging Microsoft tools through configuration reviews and other services as well.