Microsoft 365 Business Premium: 7 Powerful Advantages

Microsoft 365 Business Premium: 3 Powerful Advantages

Russell Harris

*** Updated June 2024

Microsoft 365 Business Premium top 3 powerful advantages of a new modern workplace bring a complete enterprise information technology (IT) solution for small business owners and entrepreneurs.  This article articulates how to take advantage of the Microsoft 365 Business Premium platform for your small business.

#3 Changes the Game for your Business

If your business contains less than 300 employees, build your business on this platform.  Microsoft combines Office 365, Windows 11 and Enterprise Mobility all into this one solution for just $22 per user per month.

Microsoft 365 Business Premium allows you to do More with Less

If your business contains less than 9 employees and/or you built your business using a Gmail, Yahoo, or Hotmail account, listen up and tune in.  On a side note, understand your risks using a personal email address at 7 Reasons Why Personal Emails Accounts Increase Business Risk.

As of 2024, Microsoft is now providing to an additional cost a Co-pilot license to add on for $30 / user / month.  Now Generative AI can be utilized in conjunction with the Microsoft 365 platform.

 

Benefits with Microsoft 365 Business Premium

As your virtual CIO, we align your mission and vision with a technology solution to increase security, enhance productivity and create an amazing customer experience.  The following are key benefits:

Simplified Information Technology (IT)

First benefit, you control your modern workplace environment in the cloud (or known as a virtual datacenter).  No extra hardware required except for the devices that you work from.

Which means, application upgrades and end of life hardware become someone else’s problem.

Now you truly can work from anywhere at any time with the following features and business functionality.

  • Collaboration (SharePoint Online, Whiteboard, and Business Apps)
  • Communication (Outlook and Microsoft Teams)
  • File Storage (SharePoint Online and OneDrive for Business – 1 TB of Storage per User)
  • Automated Business Intelligence (Power Automate and Power BI)

Additional cloud services available with minimal costs.

A Unified Platform

Second benefit, use Microsoft 365 Business Premium as the unified platform to build your business.  A business does not truly become a business unless all assets and business processes integrate and work together to deliver a product or service.

Let me ask this question, what business will be more valuable and efficient.  Company A – who builds their processes and services across multiple applications?  or Company B – who builds their processes and services on a single integrated application?

Answer:  Company B

No surprise right, multiple applications from multiple vendors just drive up the cost and need for integration between applications.  This platform includes security and productivity functionality.

Business Scalability

For the third benefit, Microsoft 365 Business licensing allows for your business to scale up to 300 users and grow as your business grows.  Once you pass the 300-user mark then you continue to scale with enterprise licenses.  No migration required when transitioning to enterprise licenses.

I’ve seen businesses spend up to $80,000 in migration projects.  Setting up your business correctly when you are small can save a bunch of money later down the road.

The beauty of cloud services, your costs can scale up or down as employees come on board or leave the company.  Also, procure an online-only license for contractors or virtual assistants who are part-time in your organization at a cheaper price.  This keeps all business data on one platform in one environment.

Microsoft 365 Business Applications

Everyone is familiar with the Office Apps like Excel, Word, Power Point all available for download and install on your compute device.

These Microsoft 365 Business Premium Apps are not as widely known:

  • Bookings – Simplify how you schedule and manage appointments both inside and outside your organization
  • Lists – Allows users to create, share and track data
  • Planner – Create plans, organize and assign tasks, share files and progress updates

Full list of the applications that Microsoft 365 Business Premium includes:

Bookings Calendar Compliance Delve
Excel Forms Kaizala Lists
OneDrive OneNote Outlook People
Planner Power Apps Power Automate PowerPoint
Project Security SharePoint Stream
Sway Teams To Do Visio
Viva Insights Whiteboard Word Engage
Clipchamp Power Pages

Please note this list can change over time.  Microsoft changes and adds to this list on an annual basis.

Team Work
Team Work makes the Dream Work

3 Powerful Advantages of Microsoft 365 Business Premium

Teamwork with Microsoft 365 Business

The first advantage, Microsoft 365 Business enhances teamwork.  Most people know Exchange Online exists within Office 365 or now Microsoft 365 and consider email a teamwork application.  However, Microsoft 365 adds more than just email.  Let me share a little more how Microsoft enhances productivity and teamwork:

  • Microsoft Teams – a communication platform to bring the whole team together in one environment.  This application integrates collaboration for:
    • Microsoft Office Applications like OneNote, Excel, PowerPoint and Word
    • Microsoft Business Apps like Forms, Lists, Planner, SharePoint Online
    • Third Party Apps like Trello, Jira Cloud, Survey Monkey, Asana, etc.
  • SharePoint Online – the digital hub for small business intranet site.  Create sites and libraries to:
    • Harness collective knowledge in documentation libraries
    • Transform business processes with lists and flows
    • Engage and inform your business with the latest news
  • Engage– social media communication platform which allows for
    • Open and dynamic communication across your organization
    • Conversations and communities across Microsoft 365
  • Exchange Online – allows email from anywhere at any time with advanced features built in like:
    • Anti-malware and anti-spam filtering
    • Reliability guaranteed 99.9%
    • Security across devices
    • Data safeguards
    • Full control over your hosted email

Microsoft continues to innovate the platform, so your small business continues to benefit.

Integrated Security

Second advantage Microsoft 365 Business Premium contains built-in security solutions.  We’ll expand on this in the future as well.  Here are five (5) basic things Microsoft protects your small business from:

  • Ransomware Protection – built in for files stored on OneDrive for business or SharePoint Online.
  • Data Lost Protection – prevents confidential files leaving the company.
  • Ant-Phishing – protects your users from giving up their credentials
  • Anti-Malware – filters out the bad email with bad payload
  • Device Protection – encrypts and protects your devices

When you subscribe to Microsoft 365 Business Premium, you tap into the expertise and resources of Microsoft Security Center.  Using intelligence gained to detect threats before compromising your environment.

Any file stored in OneDrive for business is protected from ransomware attacks.  Not to mention, Microsoft monitors the attacks hitting their data centers which also protects your business.

Take full advantage of Microsoft 365 Business Premium Security functionality.

Business Automation and Intelligence

Last advantage but not the least, one could even argue this should be the most important.  Microsoft launched Power Apps along with Power Automate and Power BI.  For organizations that know their business processes can take advantage of these automation and reporting tools.

  • Power Automate allows business process flows to be automated.  For example, use the Form to capture data and deliver an email message or post the information to SharePoint.
  • Power BI provides a reporting dashboard of your data from anywhere and anytime.
  • Power Apps gives every business the ability to build a low code no code app that will even run on mobile.
  • Power Pages

In 2023, Microsoft invested $10 Billion in OpenAI’s ChatGPT and other artificial intelligence (AI) tools to enhance their productivity suite.  This platform continues to be a game changer for small businesses who want to grow.  They now provide that investment to you through Co-pilot.

In Summary

Over the years, Microsoft 365 keeps innovating this platform for small businesses.  Consider how your IT Strategy fits into your business plans for the long term.

Stay tuned with Cloudz Biz to get the latest insight and knowledge how this platform will help you grow your business.

This solution helps your business:

  • Increase Security
  • Enhance Productivity
  • Elevate Customer Experience