A long-form deep dive into Microsoft 365 Business Premium for Australian small and mid-sized businesses, covering features, security, pricing in AUD, real use cases and common pitfalls.
Microsoft 365 Business Premium: A Deep Dive for Australian SMEs
The licence most Perth small and medium businesses should be on but few actually are. We unpack what's inside, what it really costs in AUD, and where it makes sense (and where it doesn't).
The short version
Microsoft 365 Business Premium bundles the Office apps your team already uses with a serious security stack: Defender for Business (EDR & antivirus), Intune (device management) and Entra ID Plan 1 (identity, MFA, conditional access).
For most Perth SMEs between 5 and 300 staff, it's the cheapest credible path to Essential Eight Maturity Level 1, but only if the security features are actually configured and not left switched off.
Prices in this guide are indicative AUD figures current as of April 2026 and are subject to change. Always confirm with your licensing partner before purchase.
An all-in-one productivity and security licence
Microsoft 365 Business Premium is the top tier of Microsoft's small-business licensing range, sitting above Business Basic and Business Standard. It includes everything in Business Standard (Office apps, Outlook, Teams, OneDrive, SharePoint) plus a layer of advanced security and device-management tools that are normally only found in the enterprise (E3/E5) tiers.
Who it's for: Australian businesses with 5 to 300 employees who handle sensitive data, run a hybrid or remote workforce, or need to demonstrate a credible cybersecurity posture to clients, insurers or auditors.
Who it's not for: Sole traders or micro-businesses under 5 staff (Business Standard usually does the job), and organisations over 300 users (you'll be pushed onto Microsoft 365 E3 or E5).
Where it sits in the Microsoft 365 lineup
What's inside the bundle
Business Premium is really three products bundled into one licence. Here's how the pieces fit together.
Microsoft 365
Business Premium
Productivity
- Outlook & Exchange email
- Teams chat & meetings
- OneDrive & SharePoint
Security
- Defender for Business EDR
- Data loss prevention
- Information protection
Devices & Identity
- Intune device management
- Entra ID Plan 1
- MFA & conditional access
What you actually get
Stripped of the marketing language, here's what Business Premium puts in your hands.
Productivity apps
Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Teams, OneNote and OneDrive across desktop, web and mobile. 1 TB of cloud storage per user.
Email & calendar
Custom-domain Exchange Online with a 50 GB mailbox per user, shared mailboxes, and full calendar and contact sync.
Microsoft Defender for Business
Endpoint detection and response (EDR), antivirus, ransomware protection and threat hunting for up to 300 users, using the same engine as enterprise.
Identity & access management
Microsoft Entra ID Plan 1 with conditional access, multi-factor authentication and self-service password reset.
Intune device management
Mobile device and application management for Windows, macOS, iOS and Android. Push apps, enforce policies, and wipe lost devices.
Information protection
Sensitivity labels, data loss prevention (DLP), and Azure Information Protection for tagging and protecting documents and emails.
Pros and cons
No vendor is perfect. Here's what works and what doesn't.
What works well
- Bundles security tools that would cost more separately (Defender, Intune, Entra ID P1).
- Covers all six Australian Cyber Security Centre Essential Eight controls when configured properly.
- One vendor, one bill, one support contract, with no juggling antivirus, MDM and email vendors.
- Scales cleanly from 5 to 300 users without changing licences.
- Includes Windows 11 Business upgrade rights for eligible Pro devices.
Where it falls short
- More expensive on paper than Business Standard, so the security value has to be configured to be realised.
- Most security features are off by default, so you need someone to set them up.StartCloud can switch them on properly so you actually get the protection you're paying for. See our security reporting service.
- Capped at 300 users; growing past that means moving to Microsoft 365 E3 or E5.StartCloud handles the move to E3 or E5 when you outgrow Premium, get in touch.
- No phone system included (Teams Phone is a separate add-on at extra cost).
- Reporting and analytics are good, but not as deep as the enterprise tiers.
What it costs in real Perth dollars
Microsoft 365 Business Premium lists at roughly A$37.00 per user per month on an annual commitment (or ~$44/user/month month-to-month). Discounts and bundling apply through partners. Here's what that translates to at three common business sizes.
5–15 staff
≈ $185 – $555 / month
≈ $2,200 – $6,650 / year
Often the first real security upgrade after outgrowing free tools and consumer-grade antivirus.
16–50 staff
≈ $590 – $1,850 / month
≈ $7,100 – $22,200 / year
Sweet spot. Pays for itself by replacing 3–4 separate security tools and reducing IT-support tickets.
51–300 staff
≈ $1,890 – $11,100 / month
≈ $22,700 – $133,200 / year
At this size, pair with a managed Essential Eight uplift and a SOC for monitored detection and response.
Indicative figures only. Microsoft adjusts pricing periodically and partner discounts vary. Confirm exact pricing with your licensing partner before signing. Prices current as of April 2026.
Who gets the most from it
Professional services firms
Lawyers, accountants and consultants who handle client data. Sensitivity labels and DLP help meet privacy and confidentiality obligations without slowing the team down.
Hybrid and remote teams
Intune lets you manage laptops your staff work from anywhere (including BYOD) without VPNs or expensive remote-desktop tools.
Businesses chasing Essential Eight maturity
Defender for Business, Intune and Entra ID Plan 1 cover most of the Essential Eight controls when configured correctly, making it the cheapest path to Maturity Level 1 for most SMEs. StartCloud's Essential Eight calculator shows where you stand today.
Teams recovering from a breach
After an incident, Defender's EDR, conditional access and audit logging let you rebuild a security posture quickly and prove it to insurers and auditors.
What it looks like day-to-day
Once Business Premium is configured, your team won't see most of it. That's the point: security shouldn't get in the way of work. If you would rather hand the whole thing off, our Managed Security service covers monitoring and response.
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1
Staff sign in to Windows or macOS with their Microsoft 365 account, hitting MFA once a day or per device.
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2
Outlook, Teams and Office apps work the same as they always did. Security is invisible to the user.
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3
If a laptop is lost or stolen, IT remote-wipes it from the Intune portal in minutes.
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4
Defender flags suspicious emails, downloads and logins automatically; alerts go to your IT partner for triage.
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5
When a staff member leaves, one click in the admin portal disables their account, revokes device access and preserves their mailbox for handover.
How StartCloud rolls out Microsoft 365 Business Premium
Getting the licence is the easy part. Configuring the security stack so it actually does its job is where most rollouts fall down. As a Perth-based Microsoft Solutions Partner, we've delivered Business Premium across professional services, healthcare, construction and not-for-profits in WA.
Microsoft 365 health check
We audit your existing tenant (or set one up), review licences, and identify which Business Premium features you're already paying for but not using.
Migrate from where you are
Whether you're on Google Workspace, an old Exchange server, or a mix of free tools, we plan and run the cutover with no downtime for staff.
Switch on the security stack
We configure Defender, Intune, conditional access and DLP against the Essential Eight, not the marketing brochure, so the protection is real, not theoretical.
Onboard your team
We deliver a short staff training session covering the new sign-in flow, MFA, OneDrive and Teams. Most teams need under 60 minutes.
Ongoing managed service
Your tenant is monitored, patched and reviewed each quarter. We tune policies as your team grows and Microsoft releases new features.
Common pitfalls
The mistakes we see most often when businesses adopt Business Premium without expert help. An Adoption & Training plan avoids most of these on day one.
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Buying the licence and never turning the security features on. It is the most common mistake we see.
Our Essential Eight uplift fixes this in a single engagement.
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Mixing Business Premium with Business Standard or Basic users in the same tenant, which leaves gaps in security policy coverage.
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Forgetting Teams Phone is not included, so most businesses still need a separate phone solution.
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Storing critical data in personal OneDrives instead of SharePoint, making it hard to recover when staff leave.
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Skipping conditional access setup, which is what makes MFA actually effective against modern attacks.
StartCloud configures conditional access against the Essential Eight framework, not the marketing brochure.
Should your business buy it?
Yes, for most Perth SMEs between 5 and 300 staff. The combination of productivity apps, EDR-grade security, and device management at this price point is genuinely hard to beat from any other vendor or combination of point products.
The catch is that Business Premium is not a "set and forget" licence. The security features that justify the price tag don't switch themselves on. If you buy it and never configure Defender, Intune or conditional access, you're paying Business Premium prices for Business Standard features.
Pair it with an IT partner who understands the Essential Eight, and it becomes the cheapest credible cybersecurity uplift available to an Australian small business.
Where StartCloud fits in
The licence is the start. Here's where we plug in next.
Related guides
What Is Microsoft Viva? A Plain-English Guide
Viva is included with Business Premium. Here's what each module does and which ones are worth switching on for your team.
Essential Eight Maturity for Perth SMEs
Business Premium covers most of the Essential Eight controls when configured properly. See how the framework works and what compliance looks like.
Microsoft 365 Copilot for Perth SMEs
Once Business Premium is in, Copilot is the natural next step. Here's how StartCloud rolls it out without the hype.
Viva Learning for AI Upskilling
Pair Business Premium and Copilot with structured Viva Learning paths so your team actually adopts the new tools.
References
- Microsoft 365 Business Premium: Official Product Page
https://www.microsoft.com/en-au/microsoft-365/business/microsoft-365-business-premium - Microsoft Defender for Business on Microsoft Learn
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/defender-business/ - Microsoft Intune Documentation
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/mem/intune/ - Microsoft Entra ID Plan 1: Features
https://www.microsoft.com/en-au/security/business/microsoft-entra-pricing - Australian Cyber Security Centre: Essential Eight Maturity Model
https://www.cyber.gov.au/resources-business-and-government/essential-cyber-security/essential-eight - Microsoft 365 Plans Comparison (Business)
https://www.microsoft.com/en-au/microsoft-365/business/compare-all-plans
Document prepared April 2026 by StartCloud (Start Technologies Pty Ltd). Pricing and feature information is indicative only and current as of the date of preparation. Microsoft licensing changes frequently, so confirm with your licensing partner before any purchase decision.