Businesses the world over choose Microsoft 365 – or Office 365 as it used to be known – to help run their operations. 365 includes the apps we know and love – Word, Excel, PowerPoint and more – as well as collaboration tools like Teams and SharePoint.

Like many suites of productivity software, Microsoft 365 is available in different tiers or licence levels. The licences Brighton and Sussex businesses like yours need depends on:

• The number of people, or ‘seats’ that’ll be using 365
• The capabilities you need from Microsoft – e.g. desktop as well as mobile and web apps, and/or identity management and cyber security services
• Your wider IT setup, to ensure no doubling up on cyber security and other IT functions

If you’re researching licences, the first thing you’ll come across is two different packages for organisations: Business and Enterprise. The distinction between the two is simple – if you need Microsoft 365 for more than 300 people, you need Enterprise. For up to 300, it’s Business you’re after.

There are different levels of Enterprise licences, but we’re focusing on Business here as that covers the needs of our customers (small-to-medium organisations across Brighton and Sussex).

Suitable for small businesses, start-ups and freelancers that don’t need desktop versions of Microsoft apps.

Business Basic is – as the name suggests – the entry-level Microsoft 365 package. It only includes web and mobile versions of Microsoft’s headline apps (so not desktop versions). It also lacks any advanced security or device management features.

Its functionality means Business Basic can be great for start-ups, freelancers or small businesses with staff regularly ‘on the go’ looking for affordable, cloud-based tools. For our clients, however, we often find that the functionality isn’t sufficient to support their day-to-day needs effectively.

Suitable for most small-to-medium businesses. Contains all the usual functionality you’d expect from Microsoft, including desktop versions of apps, ability to record Teams meetings and other professional-grade tools, including Power Automate and Power Apps.

If you need fully installed desktop Office apps, professional secure email, Teams, SharePoint, and cloud storage, then Business Standard most likely has you covered. We often find Business Standard most suitable for organisations that have their cyber security covered by other means. It’s good for businesses that are just looking for the productivity and collaboration apps their staff are already comfortable with to work well online and offline.

Suitable for small-to-medium businesses with advanced cyber security needs that don’t have it covered elsewhere.

If you’re looking to run your business’ identity and access management across multiple devices through Microsoft, Business Premium might be the better option for you.

It also offers advanced cybersecurity protection through Microsoft Defender to guard against social engineering, phishing and ransomware. So if yours is a business that handles particularly sensitive data – for example, finance, healthcare or legal – and you don’t have other cyber security systems in place, it’s worth considering Business Premium.

Suitable for businesses that just want the productivity tools (like Word and Excel) without anything else (like Teams or SharePoint).

Literally just want the Office apps? Then that’s an option too. Microsoft 365 Apps for business does what it says on the tin – gives you access to online and desktop versions of the Office apps without any of the added bells and whistles.

Microsoft Copilot is Microsoft’s AI app that combines the power of LLMs with your business’ data. It’s designed to streamline tasks, automate workflows and enhance collaboration. It works alongside Word, Excel, Teams, and Outlook. It also works within your secure environment, rather than relying on sharing your data with a third party.

Copilot is not included in any Microsoft Business licence as standard. However, it can be added to any Business subscription. It’s worth considering the investment, as it’s proven to improve business performance. According to a Forrester study, Copilot has the power to increase net revenue by 6%, reduce operating costs by 20% and accelerate new-hire onboarding by 25%.

We’ll always happily advise which 365 for business licence is right for you, based on what you need it to do. Even if you’re not sure what you need from it, we can help you figure it out!

And that’s not all – we can also often help you save money on your licences. We partner with Microsoft to bulk-buy licences at a cheaper rate and pass those savings on to our customers. You will be able to get your licences much cheaper with us than going direct to Microsoft. You can learn more about the impact of reduced licence costs – as well as other savings – in our IT support case study.

*https://expertinsights.com/email-security/microsoft-365-usage-and-security-statistics-for-2024