| Question | Business Standard | Premium |
|---|---|---|
| Installed Office apps | Included | Included |
| Email and cloud files | Included | Included |
| Additional account and device controls | Separate services may be needed | Additional capabilities included, subject to setup |
| Separate email filtering in our guide | From £1.50 per user monthly | Not needed |
| From per user/month | From £14.00 | From £20.28 |
Start with the person's work
A licence should match the role rather than the person's job title alone. Someone who spends the day in Outlook, Word and Excel may need installed applications. Another colleague may work mainly through a browser or a phone and be better suited to Basic. Compare those needs before deciding that everyone should receive the same subscription.
Business Standard includes the desktop applications alongside the email and collaboration services described in our guide. Installed applications can support some offline work, but that does not make every shared file, mailbox or specialist application available without a connection. Work out which activities really need to continue during disruption.
What Premium changes
Premium adds security and device-management capabilities to the Standard foundation. The practical benefit depends on the settings you use, the devices enrolled and the information being protected. Buying the licence alone does not mean every account has been hardened or every device is correctly managed.
For a business holding client, financial or personal information, review Premium against the separate controls otherwise needed. Ask how sign-in rules, device access and lost-device handling will be configured. Staff should understand what happens on a personal phone before business management policies are applied.
Compare the total cost fairly
The starting difference between Standard and Premium is £6.28 per user per month at the quoted term. That difference is meaningful only when the services are compared on the same basis. A cheaper licence plus several separate security services may produce a different total from the licence price alone.
Our pricing guide says the separate email filtering service is not needed with Premium. We check the actual licences before quoting rather than charging for that duplicate. Unlimited support, independent backup and any other agreed services must still be clearly identified. Independent Microsoft 365 backup is already standard in our support agreements.
Copilot is a separate choice
Business Standard with Copilot starts from £30.96 per user per month; Premium with Copilot starts from £34.76. These are licence prices, not the cost of an automation project or consultancy. A person must review generated work before relying on it for clients, payments or sensitive decisions.
Review sharing permissions before rollout. Copilot works with the information a person is already permitted to access. If files are overshared, an assistant does not correct that underlying access problem. Start with a limited group and a clear task so you can decide whether it is useful.
Questions to ask before choosing
List who needs installed applications, who handles sensitive information and who uses personal or shared devices. Ask which security controls are actually included in the proposed configuration and who will maintain them. Confirm what happens when a colleague joins, leaves or loses a phone.
Get a written quote separating licences, setup and ongoing support. The monthly prices here are from prices, plus VAT, on a 3 year term billed monthly. Shorter terms cost a little more. Prices may change at renewal, and we confirm in writing first. A licence review is a better starting point than assuming the most expensive option is automatically right for every person.
Before you decide
Before changing subscriptions, check the renewal date, existing commitment and any overlap with other security tools. Agree which licences will change and how staff will be supported. Record the configuration work separately so the business can distinguish the licence entitlement from the controls someone still needs to implement.
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