Small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) are navigating one of the most challenging digital landscapes in history. Cyberattacks are growing more sophisticated, regulatory demands are tightening and IT resources are often stretched thin.
To help SMBs strengthen their defences without sacrificing productivity or budgets, Microsoft has announced 3 new Microsoft 365 Business Premium add-ons, available this month. For CyberOne, we believe this development signals a turning point.
“This is a game changer for small to medium business security with enterprise-grade protection and governance now within budget for every business.”
- Dominic List, CEO, CyberOne
Defender Suite for Business Premium
(£9.24/user/month)
The Microsoft Defender Suite provides end-to-end protection across identities, devices, emails and cloud applications. It is designed to help SMBs stay ahead of evolving threats while maintaining an efficient and scalable security posture.
Highlights:
- Identity Protection: Microsoft Entra ID P2 delivers conditional access, anomaly detection and automated onboarding to block identity-based attacks and streamline user management. Defender for Identity adds deep visibility into identity systems, robust threat detections and incident-level correlation.
- Device Security: Defender for Endpoint Plan 2 strengthens endpoint defence with advanced anti-malware, attack surface reduction, endpoint detection and response (EDR) and powerful threat hunting.
- Email & Collaboration Security: Defender for Office 365 P2 offers phishing simulations, automated remediation and post-breach analysis to protect communication channels and train employees against real-world threats.
- Cloud App Protection: Defender for Cloud Apps identifies shadow IT, safeguards against SaaS-based attacks (including OAuth and AI tool misuse) and ensures secure app usage with visibility, configuration checks and integrated protection.
For CyberOne, this suite also opens new opportunities to deliver Managed Detection and Response (MDR) services.
“What excites us most is the ability to combine Microsoft’s advanced security stack with our MDR capabilities. By streaming events into Azure Sentinel and applying our expertise, we can help SMBs not only detect and respond faster but also reduce long-term risk in ways they couldn’t before.”
- Luke Elston, Microsoft Practice Lead, CyberOne
Purview Suite for Business Premium
(£9.24/user/month)
The Microsoft Purview Suite addresses another growing concern for SMBs: compliance and data governance. In an era where even smaller organisations face stringent regulatory obligations, Purview brings enterprise-grade compliance tools within reach.
Highlights:
- Insider Risk Management: Detects suspicious activities, such as mass downloads, before an employee exits the company, with privacy safeguards in place.
- Data Protection: Sensitive data is classified, labelled and protected wherever it travels. Features include data loss prevention (DLP), message encryption and Customer Key for organisations that manage their own encryption keys.
- Compliance Monitoring: Monitors communications to detect inappropriate or risky exchanges, ensuring adherence to company policies and regulations.
- Lifecycle and Investigation Readiness: Built-in tools for automatic data retention or deletion, advanced auditing and eDiscovery make compliance reviews and incident investigations more efficient.
Defender & Purview Suite for Business Premium
(£13.80/user/month)
For organisations seeking comprehensive protection, the Defender and Purview Suites can be bundled at a discounted rate. This unified package offers the full range of security, compliance and data protection capabilities at up to 68% savings compared to purchasing the suites individually.
This all-in-one option ensures that SMBs can protect themselves holistically without having to piece together fragmented solutions.
What SMBs Need to Know
The new add-ons will be available starting in September 2025 and can be purchased directly through the Microsoft Security for SMBs website or via a Microsoft Partner, such as CyberOne. Each add-on can be deployed flexibly, but total licensing is limited to 25–300 seats per customer.
Organisations currently using the E5 Security Suite add-on with Business Premium can transition smoothly to the new Defender Suite from the October billing cycle. However, it’s worth noting that mixed endpoint licensing is not supported; tenants default to Defender for Business unless all users upgrade to Defender for Endpoint Plan 2.
These details matter for SMBs who want to take advantage of enterprise-grade protection without disrupting operations and CyberOne is helping customers make sense of these nuances to ensure a seamless rollout.
Why This Matters for Every SMB
Microsoft’s new Defender and Purview add-ons enhance the value of Microsoft 365 Business Premium, enabling SMBs to address today’s most challenging security and compliance requirements with enterprise-grade tools. With the guidance of cybersecurity specialists like CyberOne, SMBs can confidently adopt these solutions, ensuring they remain both secure and compliant in an increasingly hostile digital environment.