Good cyber security is built in layers — and for UK SMEs, Microsoft 365 Business Premium is arguably the strongest foundation available. Here's why it sits at the heart of our Fully Managed Secure IT service.
More Than Just Office Applications
Many businesses still view Microsoft 365 as a licence for Outlook, Word, Excel and Teams. Those applications matter, but they're only a small part of what Business Premium delivers.
Business Premium combines productivity, security, device management and identity protection into a single platform — creating a strong security foundation for organisations with up to 300 users. For most SMEs, it's arguably the best value cyber security investment available today.
Identity Is the New Perimeter
A decade ago, security was focused on protecting the office network. Today your users work from home, coffee shops, customer sites, mobile phones and personal devices. The traditional network perimeter has disappeared. The new perimeter is identity.
Business Premium includes Microsoft Entra ID features that help secure user identities through multi-factor authentication, conditional access policies, risk-based authentication controls, and sign-in monitoring. At Dataplanet, we configure these controls as standard to significantly reduce the risk of account compromise.
Professional-Grade Endpoint Protection
Traditional anti-virus is no longer enough. Modern cyber attacks often involve credential theft, ransomware and living-off-the-land techniques that bypass older security products.
Business Premium includes Microsoft Defender for Business, delivering next-generation anti-malware, behavioural detection, attack surface reduction, and automated investigation and remediation. Combined with Huntress Managed EDR within our service stack, customers benefit from both Microsoft's technology and human-led threat hunting and response.
Device Management Without Enterprise Complexity
Business Premium includes Microsoft Intune, allowing us to centrally manage and secure devices wherever they are. Through Intune we can deploy new devices remotely, enforce security standards, manage Windows updates, encrypt devices with BitLocker, and secure mobile devices — delivering a consistent and secure experience whether users are in the office or working remotely.
Email Security Remains Critical
Email continues to be one of the most common attack vectors. Business Premium includes Microsoft Defender for Office 365 capabilities that add protection against phishing, malicious links, malware attachments, and business email compromise. Combined with user awareness training and our managed security controls, it creates multiple barriers between attackers and your business.
Supporting Cyber Essentials and Compliance
Many organisations face increasing pressure from customers, insurers and regulators to demonstrate good cyber security practices. Business Premium helps align with Cyber Essentials requirements through MFA enforcement, device management, security patching, encryption, access controls and endpoint protection.
The Foundation, Not the Entire Solution
It's important to be clear: Business Premium is not our managed service. It's the platform that enables our managed service. Technology on its own does not deliver security — someone still needs to configure it correctly, monitor it, respond to alerts and support users.
If you're running a business of 10 to 300 users and you're not leveraging Microsoft 365 Business Premium, there's a good chance you're either under-protected or paying for multiple products that duplicate functionality.
Our Fully Managed Secure IT service combines Business Premium with expert support, proactive management, Huntress MDR, managed backup, security monitoring and strategic guidance — a security-first IT service designed for SMEs that need enterprise-grade protection without enterprise-level complexity or cost.