Introducing new security and compliance add-ons for Microsoft 365 Business Premium
Small and medium businesses (SMBs) are under pressure like never before. Cyber threats are evolving rapidly, and regulatory requirements are becoming increasingly complex. Microsoft 365 Business Premium is our productivity and security solution designed for SMBs (1–300 users). It includes Office apps, Teams, advanced security such as Microsoft Defender for Business, and device management — all in one cost-effective package. Today, we’re taking that a step further. We’re excited to announce three new Microsoft 365 Business Premium add-ons designed to supercharge security and compliance. Tailored for medium-sized organizations, these add-ons bring enterprise-grade security, compliance, and identity protection to the Business Premium experience without the enterprise price tag. Microsoft Defender Suite for Business Premium: $10/user/month Cyberattacks are becoming more complex. Attackers are getting smarter. Microsoft Defender Suite provides end-to-end security to safeguard your businesses from identity attacks, device threats, email phishing, and risky cloud apps. It enables SMBs to reduce risks, respond faster, and maintain a strong security posture without adding complexity. It includes: Protect your business from identity threats: Microsoft Entra ID P2 offers advanced security and governance features including Microsoft Entra ID Protection and Microsoft Entra ID Governance. Microsoft Entra ID protection offers risk-based conditional access that helps block identity attacks in real time using behavioral analytics and signals from both user risk and sign-in risk. It also enables SMBs to detect, investigate, and remediate potential identity-based risks using sophisticated machine learning and anomaly detection capabilities. With detailed reports and alerts, your business is notified of suspicious user activities and sign-in attempts, including scenarios like a password-spray where attackers try to gain unauthorized access to company employee accounts by trying a small number of commonly used passwords across many different accounts. ID Governance capabilities are also included to help automate workflows and processes that give users access to resources. For example, IT admins historically manage the onboarding process manually and generate repetitive user access requests for Managers to review which is time consuming and inefficient. With ID Governance capabilities, pre-configured workflows facilitate the automation of employee onboarding, user access, and lifecycle management throughout their employment, streamlining the process and reducing onboarding time. Microsoft Defender for Identity includes dedicated sensors and connectors for common identity elements that offer visibility into your unique identity landscape and provide detailed posture recommendations, robust detections and response actions. These powerful detections are then automatically enriched and correlated with data from other domains across Defender XDR for true incident-level visibility. Keep your devices safe: Microsoft Defender for Endpoint Plan 2 offers industry-leading antimalware, cyberattack surface reduction, device-based conditional access, comprehensive endpoint detection and response (EDR), advanced hunting with support for custom detections, and attack surface reduction capabilities powered by Secure Score. Secure email and collaboration: With Microsoft Defender for Office 365 P2, you gain access to cyber-attack simulation training, which provides SMBs with a safe and controlled environment to simulate real-world cyber-attacks, helping to train employees in recognizing phishing attempts. Additionally automated response capabilities and post-breach investigations help reduce the time and resources required to identify and remediate potential security breaches. Detailed reports are also available that capture information on employees’ URL clicks, internal and external email distribution, and more. Protect your cloud apps: Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps is a comprehensive, AI-powered software-as-a-service (SaaS) security solution that enables IT teams to identify and manage shadow IT and ensure that only approved applications are used. It protects against sophisticated SaaS-based attacks, OAuth attacks, and risky interactions with generative AI apps by combining SaaS app discovery, security posture management, app-to-app protection, and integrated threat protection. IT teams can gain full visibility into their SaaS app landscape, understand the risks and set up controls to manage the apps. SaaS security posture management quickly identifies app misconfigurations and provides remediation actions to reduce the attack surface. Microsoft Purview Suite for Business Premium: $10/user/month Protect against insider threats Microsoft Purview Insider Risk Management uses behavioral analytics to detect risky activities, like an employee downloading large volumes of files before leaving the company. Privacy is built in, so you can act early without breaking employee trust. Protect sensitive data wherever it goes Microsoft Purview Information Protection classifies and labels sensitive data, so the right protections follow the data wherever it goes. Think of it as a ‘security tag’ that stays attached to a document whether it’s stored in OneDrive, shared in Teams, or emailed outside the company. Policies can be set based on the ‘tag’ to prevent data oversharing, ensuring sensitive files are only accessible to the right people. Microsoft Purview Data Loss Prevention (DLP) works in the background to stop sensitive information, like credit card numbers or health data, from being accidentally shared with unauthorized people Microsoft Purview Message Encryption adds another layer by making sure email content stays private, even when sent outside the organization. Microsoft Purview Customer Key gives organizations control of their own encryption keys, helping meet strict regulatory requirements. Ensure data privacy and compliant communications Microsoft Purview Communication Compliance monitors and flags inappropriate or risky communications to protect against policy and compliance violations. Protect AI interactions Microsoft Purview Data Security Posture Management (DSPM) for AI provides visibility into how AI interacts with sensitive data, helping detect oversharing, risky prompts, and unethical behavior. Monitors Copilot and third-party AI usage with real-time alerts, policy enforcement, and risk scoring. Manage information through its lifecycle Microsoft Purview Records and Data Lifecycle Management helps businesses meet compliance obligations by applying policies that enable automatic retention or deletion of data. Stay investigation-ready Microsoft Purview eDiscovery (Premium) makes it easier to respond to internal investigations, legal holds, or compliance reviews. Instead of juggling multiple systems, you can search, place holds, and export information in one place — ensuring legal and compliance teams work efficiently. Microsoft Purview Audit (Premium) provides deeper audit logs and analytics to trace activity like file access, email reads, or user actions. This level of detail is critical for incident response and forensic investigations, helping SMBs maintain regulatory readiness and customer trust. Simplify Compliance Management Microsoft Purview Compliance Manager helps track regulatory requirements, assess risk, and manage improvement actions, all in one dashboard tailored for SMBs. Together, these capabilities help SMBs operate with the same level of compliance and data protection as large enterprises but simplified for smaller teams and tighter budgets. Microsoft Defender and Purview Suites for Business Premium: $15/user/month The new Microsoft Defender and Purview Suites unite the full capabilities of Microsoft Defender and Purview into a single, cost-effective package. This all-in-one solution delivers comprehensive security, compliance, and data protection, while helping SMB customers unlock up to 68% savings compared to buying the products separately, making it easier than ever to safeguard your organization without compromising on features or budget. FAQ Q: When will these new add-ons be available for purchase? A: They will be available for purchase as add-ons to Business Premium in September 2025. Q: How can I purchase? A: You can purchase these as add-ons to your Business Premium subscription through Microsoft Security for SMBs website or through your Partner. Q: Are there any seat limits for the add-on offers? A: Yes. Customers can purchase a mix of add-on offers, but the total number of seats across all add-ons is limited to 300 per customer. Q: Does Microsoft 365 Business Premium plus Microsoft Defender Suite allow mixed licensing for endpoint security solutions? A: Microsoft Defender for Business does not support mixed licensing so a tenant with Defender for Business (included in Microsoft 365 Business Premium) along with Defender for Endpoint Plan 2 (included in Microsoft 365 Security) will default to Defender for Business. For example, if you have 80 users licensed for Microsoft 365 Business Premium and you’ve added Microsoft Defender Suite for 30 of those users, the experience for all users will default to Defender for Business. If you would like to change that to the Defender for Endpoint Plan 2 experience, you should license all users for Defender for Endpoint Plan 2 (either through standalone or Microsoft Defender Suite) and then contact Microsoft Support to request the switch for your tenant. You can learn more here. Q: Can customers who purchased the E5 Security Suite as an add-on to Microsoft 365 Business Premium transition to the new Defender Suite starting from the October billing cycle? A: Yes. Customers currently using the Microsoft 365 E5 Security add-on with Microsoft 365 Business Premium are eligible to transition to the new Defender Suite beginning with the October billing cycle. For detailed guidance, please refer to the guidelines here. Q: As a Partner, how do I build Managed Detection and Response (MDR) services with MDB? A: For partners or customers looking to build their own security operations center (SOC) with MDR, Defender for Business supports the streaming of device events (device file, registry, network, logon events and more) to Azure Event Hub, Azure Storage, and Microsoft Sentinel to support advanced hunting and attack detection. If you are using the streaming API for the first time, you can find step-by-step instructions in the Microsoft 365 Streaming API Guide on configuring the Microsoft 365 Streaming API to stream events to your Azure Event Hubs or to your Azure Storage Account. To learn more about Microsoft Security solutions for SMBs you can visit our website.New Microsoft Purview Deployment Blueprint | Lightweight guide to mitigate data leakage
We’re excited to share our latest Data Security deployment blueprint: “Lightweight guide to mitigate data leakage”—a practical resource designed to help organizations quickly enable core data security features across their Microsoft 365 estate with minimal setup. The blueprint follows a good / better / best model that maps protections to your licensing. “Good” highlights foundational features included in Business Premium SKUs, while “Better” and “Best” layer in advanced E5 Compliance capabilities, such as auto-labeling, Endpoint DLP, insider risk signals and much more. With the new E5 Compliance Add-On for Business Premium, this guide shows how organizations can capture quick wins today while building toward stronger, long-term security practices. This blueprint is designed for IT administrators, security teams, and compliance stakeholders tasked with protecting sensitive data – and it’s equally valuable for Microsoft partners and consultants supporting customers on their data security journey. Whether you’re enabling basic safeguards or advancing towards automated protection, this guide provides clear, actionable steps to strengthen your data security posture. Ready to get started? Visit our Purview deployment blueprint page or jump straight to the direct PPT link for a step-by-step walkthrough. Securing your data doesn’t have to be complex – this lightweight blueprint makes it achievable for organizations of any size.
Windows smb client and Zone.Identifier (WSL) authentication problem
hi together, we have an import process which import data from a csv file from a nas. I have change the nas server (from old to new server) and activate smb logging. Now i can see the following problems. We have on the nas a local user for application access and on the windows client side a other local user too (different names). Client machine is windows version 1809 build 17763.6414 (windows 10 enterprise ltsc). 1. problem - wrong Authentication Data for writing "Zone.Identifier" We configred the authentication data in the import process and the process used this data for access to the csv files. But it looks like that windows meta data process don't use this authentication data. I saw in tcpdump pcap file 4 smb sessions. First and secound smb sessions use the authentication data for the access to the 2 csv files. The third smb session use no authentication data. so that the access don't work. Whatevery windows in the third smd session will doing. The fourth smd session use a mix of source maschine name und destination user, which is not correct. I add read/write access for everbody, so that i can see, what is doing in the fourth session. Windows will writing/access to the Zone.Identifier file. 1. smb session: User: <nas>.<domain>\<nas_user> 2. smb session: User: <nas>.<domain>\<nas_user> 3. smb session: User: \ 4. smb session: User: <client machine name>\<nas_user> 2. problem - ignore "Do not preserve zone information in file attachments" setting now i activate this setting, so preventing writing of this kind of informations/files. But the windows client ignoring it. I have reboot the windows client and repeat the import process and windows tried to writing the zone information again. I change the setting about the following way. admin: gpedit.msc -> User Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Attachment Manager and than enable the policy named "Do not preserve zone information in file attachments". Is this a know issue or hae sameone any idea? I would prevent the 3. and 4. smd session, so the access for the meta data proccesses. best regards Christian VoigtJoin the Fabric Partner Community for the next Fabric Engineering Connection calls!
Are you a Microsoft partner that is interested in data and analytics? Be sure to join us for the next Fabric Engineering Connection call, now offered at two different times! 🎉 This week's Fabric Engineering Connection call will include Rick Xu and Sumiran Tandon presenting on CMK for Fabric Workspaces. The APAC Fabric Engineering Connection call will take place Thursday, June 5, from 1-2 am UTC/Wednesday, June 4, from 5-6 pm PDT. This is your opportunity to learn more, ask questions, and provide feedback. To join the call, you must be a member of the Fabric Partner Community Teams channel. To join, complete the participation form at https://lnkd.in/g_PRdfjt. We can't wait to see you Wednesday/Thursday!📢 Swiss Partner Townhall – May Edition
🗓 May 28th 🕤 9:30 – 10:30 AM (Online) 👉 Register here: https://aka.ms/swisspartnertownhall We’re back with our Monthly Swiss Partner Townhall, your go-to forum for the latest updates, strategies, and guidance to empower your business. 💡 This month’s agenda is packed with timely topics and expert speakers: 🔹 Top of Mind – Andrew Reid 🔹 New European Digital Commitments: What They Mean for Switzerland – Moritz Oberli 🔹 3-Year SKU Strategy & Promotional Roadmap – Thomas Rupp 🔹 Technical Presales & Development Services Benefits – Beat Weissenberger 🔹 Understanding Security Score Requirements: FAQs – Manuel Michaud 🔹 Events & Partner Enablement Updates – Diyor Iskandarov 🎯 Stay informed. Stay competitive. Stay connected. We look forward to seeing you there. 👉 Register here: https://aka.ms/swisspartnertownhall #SwissPartnerTownhall #MicrosoftSwitzerland #PartnerNetwork #Switzerland #Cloud #AI #Innovation #Technology #TechUpdates #DigitalSwitzerland #PartnerEnablement #CloudInnovation
CSP potential customer on MCA multitant/ shareholding
Hello, Thank you for the opportunity to write about this. We have a request where a customer would like to implement Dynamics 365 Finance and Operations on a multi-tenant basis. However, there are now the challenges that the customer wants to map several holdings of his company network in his productive environments. Is this a license violation if the customer includes company holdings from his company network, as shown in the diagram? In my opinion, it is clear from the MCA that the customer cannot license company A in his tenant under CSP in the case of minority shareholdings. Is this correct? AS employees of companies B and C provide services for company A, the customer would like a one- tenant solution Is it possible to reach an agreement with Microsoft for this company construct without concluding an EA? Thank you!AI Guide for Swiss SMEs: Mastery and Implementation
The Growing Importance of AI for Swiss SMEs Artificial Intelligence (AI) is transforming the daily operations across all industries. For small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), AI opens up new business opportunities and has the potential to significantly enhance efficiency and productivity through tools like Microsoft 365 Copilot. According to the study "New Technology: The Projected Total Economic Impact of Microsoft 365 Copilot For SMB," AI is set to revolutionize business processes profoundly. Cross-Organizational Potential of AI Utilization Over 50% of Swiss SMEs are already incorporating AI into their processes, yet only 9% are using it systematically. Studies reveal that 42% of companies anticipate noticeable efficiency and productivity gains within the next two years. AI can accelerate administrative tasks, automate data analysis, and support lead generation in sales, among other applications. The potential uses span the entire value chain and various roles within SMEs. Building Knowledge and Competence as Key Factors To remain competitive, it is crucial for SMEs to develop a fundamental understanding of AI, systematically build knowledge, and continuously expand practical applications. Establishing a solid foundation of AI knowledge and competencies enables strategic decision-making and efficient operational measures in the era of this transformative technology. About The AI Guide This guide by Innovate Switzerland is a carefully curated collection of selected content that makes the diverse field of AI accessible for different roles within SMEs. It aims to help SMEs find a productive entry point into the topic, build trust in AI technologies, and successfully implement them both strategically and operationally. Key Takeaways for Microsoft Partners AI's Growing Role: Emphasize the increasing significance of AI for Swiss SMEs and the transformative potential of tools like Microsoft 365 Copilot. Educational Resources: Highlight the availability of concise and informative resources for understanding generative AI and Microsoft 365 Copilot. Broad Applications: Showcase the wide-ranging applications of AI across various business processes and roles within SMEs. Competence Building: Stress the importance of developing AI knowledge and competencies to make informed strategic decisions and enhance operational efficiency. Supportive Guide: Promote the training guide by Innovate Switzerland as a valuable resource for SMEs to navigate the AI landscape effectively. By leveraging these insights, Microsoft Partners can better support Swiss SMEs in their AI journey, helping them unlock new opportunities and drive growth through innovative AI solutions. Discover more and access the full guide here: German: https://innovate-switzerland.ch/de/ki-verstehen-und-anwenden French: https://innovate-switzerland.ch/fr/comprendre-et-appliquer-lia/
Partner Blog | Introducing the SMB path to Azure Solutions Partner designations
We've taken your feedback and have made the process of obtaining your Azure Solutions Partner designation more aligned to our partners who specialize in working with smaller customers. For the last 50 years, we’ve been evolving and innovating our offerings to better serve our partners and customers. The Microsoft AI Cloud Partner Program is a key part of that evolution and innovation, and we’re excited to share that we have created a streamlined path for partners who primarily work with small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) to attain Azure Solutions Partner designations. SMBs are searching for experienced partners to help them achieve their business goals, and Solutions Partner designations help them identify and validate your proven cloud and AI capabilities—showing them you’re a partner they can count on. Plus, attaining a designation unlocks a suite of go-to-market, sales, new incentives, and product benefits to help expand your customer reach, sharpen your skills, and grow your business. Continue reading hereSwiss Partner Townhall – January 30th, 9:30 CET
Dear Partners, We are inviting you to our monthly Swiss Partner Townhall, happening on Tuesday, January 30th, from 9:30 to 10:30 CET. This virtual event is your go-to source for the latest updates, insights, and opportunities to maximize your success as a Microsoft Partner. 📅 Date: January 30th, 2025 ⏰ Time: 9:30 - 10:30 CET 📍 Online 👉 Register now Agenda at a Glance Time Topic Speaker 9:30–9:35 Opening Diyor Iskandarov 9:35–9:45 Key Partner Priorities Andrew Reid 9:45–10:05 Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat Announcement Stefanie Thommen 10:05–10:20 Copilot Studio & Agents Nadine Nyffenegger 10:20–10:30 Partner Benefits Updates Jana Caduff Why Attend? Join us to explore how AI-powered tools like Copilot Chat, Copilot Studio, and Agents can transform collaboration, streamline business processes, and deliver tailored customer solutions. Plus, get key updates on the MAICPP & IUR to ensure you’re maximizing your partner benefits. This Townhall is your chance to stay ahead with cutting-edge AI innovations and unlock the full potential of your Microsoft partnership. 👉 Register now to secure your spot and kickstart a successful 2025 with Microsoft. We look forward to seeing you there. #SwissPartnerTownhall #Microsoft365 #CopilotChat #MicrosoftPartners #Switzerland #Copilot #AI
