Is 365 Business Premium worth it for SMEs and MSMEs?

When you decide on your Microsoft 365 plan, you'll ultimately want to choose the best plan for your SME or MSME. To do that, you'll spend some time deliberating 365 Business Premium against those less expensive plans, Business Basic and Business Standard. You'll find yourself naturally asking, "Which is best?"

At IT Soho, we are here to help. In this guide, we'll walk you through the decision-making process, covering cost-effectiveness, total value, and fit for purpose.

Woman looking at her laptop, while writing in a notebook on her desk.

Understanding Microsoft 365 Business Premium

Let's start by learning more about Microsoft 365 Business Premium.

365 Business Premium is the most expensive out-of-the-box solution in its M365 range, but with that, you get a more extensive offer. Business Premium contains a comprehensive suite of applications and services designed to streamline operations. It includes many features and applications you'll be familiar with, such as advanced collaboration tools like Teams, One Note, and One Drive.

It also comes with advanced security and compliance measures and device management capabilities that are not available on the lower plans. Below is a handy comparison list to help you determine what those are.

Here's our guide to navigating Microsoft licences, which will explain more about each service.

Simple comparisons with other Microsoft 365 plans

Microsoft 365 offers several plans to meet the specific needs of different businesses. Here's a comparison list of the most popular plans and their details:

Microsoft 365 Business Basic	Microsoft 365 Business Premium	Microsoft 365 Business Premium
Provides web and mobile versions of Office apps Offers email, calendar, and contacts with Exchange Online Includes 1TB of OneDrive storage per user Supports up to 300 users No desktop versions of Office apps £4.90 per month per user, excluding VAT.	Everything on the Basic plan Options for webinars with attendee registration and reporting Video editing with Clipchamp co-creation using Loop Increased collaboration with SharePoint and Exchange Plus, additional security features like Microsoft Intune and Azure Information Protection £10.30 per month per user, excluding VAT	Everything on the Standard plan Plus, further enhanced security features like Microsoft Defender Advanced Threat Protection, InTune, Entra ID and Information Protection And Microsoft Bookings £18.10 per month per user, excluding VAT

Now that we know a bit more about each plan let's examine cost, value, and compliance, which are the keys to your final decision.

Cost-effectiveness, total value and compliance of 365 Business Premium for SMEs and MSMEs

In terms of cost-effectiveness, it's essential to consider the overall cost compared to the benefits. Business Premium offers a wide range of benefits and features that help businesses save their time and money. These benefits include expanded storage, advanced security features, and access to Microsoft's full suite of productivity tools.

What does this mean? It means you can scale your business and your people and have the software to support them. That's where you need to consider the long-term value in relation to your specific growth plans.

Compliance is another big issue that businesses don't always consider, but one that is incredibly important if your team handles data sources protected under industry regulation or data protection law. And we'll be honest here - in most cases, your business will need the extra protection that Business Premium offers.

Landing on the right Microsoft 365 subscription for you

At this point, it's clear that 365 Business Premium gets a big thumbs up from us, which is why we recommend it to all our clients. But can you get away with starting on a lower plan?

The answer really depends on compliance and the level of coverage and protection you need to work in your industry with your client group. That is why most of our clients use Business Premium - no alternative better meets those needs.

However, what you can do to keep costs lower is to evaluate who in your company needs access to the M365 framework.

So, is 365 business premium worth it?

Yes, 365 Business Premium is worth it for SMEs and MSMEs

Contact our team today if you'd like 365 Business Premium rolled out across your London-based business. We are based in Soho but can travel to most central London areas.