Microsoft 365 Business Premium

What is included in Microsoft 365 Business Premium?

Desktop Office apps – Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and OneNote for Windows, Mac.
Intune and Entra – Device management plus Conditional Access through Entra ID P1.
Defender security – Defender for Business and Defender for Office 365 Plan 1.
Exchange business email – 100 GB mailbox plus archive of up to 1.5 TB.
Core Capacity – 1 TB OneDrive per user, up to 300 users.
Important – No Publisher, Access only on Windows, full Copilot extra.

What are the main benefits of Microsoft 365 Business Premium?

Microsoft 365 Business Premium is Microsoft's highest business plan for organizations with up to 300 users: it contains everything in Business Standard and adds device management, identity protection and endpoint security. Until 2020 this plan was sold as Microsoft 365 Business, while the older name Office 365 Business Premium now refers to Business Standard.

Lost laptop wipe – Remotely erase company data from stolen or lost devices.
Attachment sandboxing – Email attachments are tested in isolation before delivery.
Sign-in control – Require MFA or a compliant device before mail opens.
Data loss prevention – Sensitivity labels and DLP rules stop customer data leaking.
Remote desktop use – Office runs on shared RDS and Azure Virtual Desktop.
Copilot Chat included – Work AI chat; full Microsoft 365 Copilot costs extra.

What does Microsoft 365 Business Premium include?

Microsoft 365 Business Premium includes the desktop versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and OneNote, Access on Windows PCs, and the business services Exchange Online, Teams, SharePoint and OneDrive, the same productivity set as Business Standard. On top of that it adds Microsoft Intune Plan 1, Microsoft Entra ID P1, Microsoft Defender for Business, Microsoft Defender for Office 365 Plan 1, Purview information protection and Exchange Online Archiving. Each user gets a 100 GB mailbox, 1 TB of OneDrive storage and an auto-expanding archive that can grow to 1.5 TB, which matters for firms that must keep years of correspondence searchable. Windows Autopilot is also included, so a new laptop can be shipped straight from the retailer to an employee and configure itself with company settings at first sign-in.

Who is Microsoft 365 Business Premium best suited for?

Business Premium suits companies with up to 300 users that work with sensitive client data on laptops and phones that leave the office. A law firm, medical practice or accounting office can use Intune to enforce BitLocker encryption and a screen lock on every company notebook, and wipe company data remotely if a device is lost on a train. Conditional Access can block an Outlook sign-in from a private home PC or from a phone that has no PIN, which Business Standard cannot do. Companies that already run separate device management and endpoint security tools, and only need the Office apps and email, usually do not need Premium.

What is the difference between Microsoft 365 Business Standard and Business Premium?

Both plans contain the same desktop apps, the same 100 GB mailbox, 1 TB of OneDrive per user and the same 300-user maximum; Business Premium adds the security and management layer. That layer consists of Intune for managing Windows, Mac, iOS and Android devices, Entra ID P1 with Conditional Access, Defender for Business for endpoint protection, and Defender for Office 365 Plan 1 with Safe Attachments and Safe Links. Premium also adds Purview sensitivity labels and data loss prevention, an archive that expands up to 1.5 TB instead of 50 GB, and rights to run Office on shared Remote Desktop and Azure Virtual Desktop hosts. In daily operation, Business Standard covers documents and communication, while Business Premium also lets an administrator decide which devices may open company data at all.

Is Microsoft 365 Business Premium the same as Office 365 Business Premium?

No, the two names describe different plans: in April 2020 Microsoft renamed Office 365 Business Premium to Microsoft 365 Business Standard, and the former Microsoft 365 Business became today's Microsoft 365 Business Premium. The old Office 365 Business Premium contained only the Office apps, Exchange email, Teams and SharePoint, without Intune or Defender for Business. A company that is renewing an old plan under that name and only needs apps and email is usually looking for Business Standard. A quick way to tell the plans apart is to check the product details for Intune and Defender for Business, which only the current Business Premium includes.

Does Microsoft 365 Business Premium work with Windows 11 Home PCs?

The Office apps run on Windows 11 Home, but the device management part of Business Premium is designed for Windows 11 Pro, because Windows Home cannot join Microsoft Entra ID. Microsoft lists Windows 11 Pro and Windows 11 Pro for Workstations as the Windows editions for Business Premium deployments. In practice this means a Home PC cannot be fully enrolled, configured through Intune policies or covered by Conditional Access rules that require a company-managed device. Companies that bought laptops with Windows 11 Home should plan an upgrade to Windows 11 Pro before rolling out Business Premium, otherwise those machines stay outside central management.

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Does Microsoft 365 Business Premium replace a separate antivirus program?

Business Premium includes Microsoft Defender for Business, an endpoint security product with next-generation antivirus, attack surface reduction and endpoint detection and response for Windows, macOS, iOS and Android. Unlike consumer antivirus software, it is managed centrally, so an administrator sees alerts for all company devices in one portal and can isolate an infected laptop from the network. Email is protected separately by Defender for Office 365 Plan 1, which opens attachments in a sandbox and checks links at the moment they are clicked. Many small companies therefore no longer need a third-party endpoint suite, but security policies still have to be configured, because the protection is only as strong as its setup.

Does Microsoft 365 Business Premium include Access and Publisher?

Access is included for Windows PCs only, while Publisher is no longer part of Business Premium because Microsoft retired Publisher in October 2026. An .accdb database for orders, inventory or customer records can continue to run on Windows, but colleagues on a Mac cannot open it in Access. Existing Publisher files such as flyers, price lists or newsletters should be exported to PDF, or rebuilt in Word or PowerPoint when they must remain editable. Complex Publisher layouts can shift during conversion, so important templates are worth checking one by one.

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Does Microsoft 365 Business Premium work on Mac, iPhone and Android?

Yes, Business Premium includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and OneNote for Windows and Mac, the mobile apps for iPhone, iPad and Android, and device management and Defender protection for all of these platforms. Intune can enroll company MacBooks, and on personal phones it can protect only the company data inside Outlook and OneDrive without taking control of the whole device. This app protection is useful when staff read company email on their own smartphones, because company data can be removed without touching private photos. Access remains Windows-only, and some Excel add-ins and VBA macros behave differently on the Mac version, so complex workbooks should be tested before Mac users rely on them.

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Microsoft 365 Business Premium or Office Home & Business 2024: which one should I choose?

Choose Business Premium if the company needs hosted email, shared storage, central device management and endpoint security; choose Office Home & Business 2024 if a user only needs the core desktop apps with commercial use rights. Office Home & Business 2024 contains Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and OneNote, but no Access, no Exchange mailbox, no SharePoint, no 1 TB OneDrive and none of the Intune or Defender services. It is a one-time purchase that receives security updates but no new features, while the Business Premium apps receive new functions as Microsoft releases them. For a sole trader with an existing email provider and no managed devices, Office 2024 is often sufficient.

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What should I check before choosing Microsoft 365 Business Premium?

Check first that your company PCs run Windows 11 Pro, because Windows 11 Home devices cannot be fully managed with Intune and Entra ID. Confirm that all Business Basic, Standard and Premium seats together stay within 300 users, which is the limit for the Microsoft 365 business family. Microsoft sells Business Premium with and without Teams in some markets, so verify the variant if staff use Teams for meetings and chat. Finally, plan time for setup, since Intune policies, Conditional Access rules and Defender settings provide protection only after an administrator or IT partner has configured them.

Frequently asked questions about Microsoft 365 Business Premium

Is Microsoft 365 Copilot included in Business Premium?

Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat is available to Business Premium users signed in with their work account, with enterprise data protection for prompts and responses. The full Microsoft 365 Copilot, which works with company emails, files and meetings inside Word, Excel, Outlook and Teams, is a separate paid add-on.

Can Business Premium and Business Standard be combined in one company?

Yes, different Microsoft 365 business plans can be assigned to different users in the same organization. The security and management features only apply to users and devices covered by Business Premium, which is why Microsoft recommends assigning it to everyone who handles company data.

Can Office from Business Premium be used on a Remote Desktop server?

Yes, Business Premium supports Office on shared Remote Desktop Services hosts and on Azure Virtual Desktop, so several employees can use Word and Excel on the same terminal server. Business Standard does not include this right, which makes it unsuitable for classic terminal server setups.