Overview of Microsoft 365 E5 vs E3.
Microsoft 365 E3
Benefits of Microsoft 365 E5 and E3: Microsoft 365 E3 offers a solution tailored to meet the requirements of many businesses by granting access to vital productivity and teamwork tools for streamlined team operations, while incorporating essential security measures to safeguard company data.
Users can easily access all applications, on desktop and mobile devices for an experience whether they are at work in the office or working remotely from home. Moreover, the package includes 1 terabyte of cloud storage to accommodate all your data needs. Priced at $36 per user per month, Microsoft 365 pricing for E3 benefits a budget choice that suits businesses not in need of features, like PowerBI and high-level security attributes.
Microsoft 365 E5
Microsoft 365 E5 features a top tier offering tailored for businesses with needs, beyond the basics covered in the E5 package. Expanding upon the functionalities provided in the E3 subscription E5 encompasses all the teamwork and efficiency tools across desktop and mobile devices. What distinguishes E5 is its inclusion of programs and enhanced security features that’re absent from the E3 package.
Priced at $57, per user, per month. Designed for organizations looking for the range of Microsoft tools and advanced security features is the E5 plan.
Security Capabilities of Microsoft 365 E5 vs E3
E3 and E5’s core security characteristics
These are core security features and tools that you will both plan.
- Microsoft Defender Antivirus: Microsoft Defender Antivirus provides security against types of malicious software, like viruses and spyware. A cutting edge antivirus system powers it with real time scanning and behavioral analysis to identify and remove risks to keep your system safe and protected.
- Microsoft Purview Data Loss Prevention (for email and files): Microsoft Purview Data Loss Prevention (DLP) is a tool that can automatically detect and monitor data in emails and files using sophisticated content analysis techniques. It helps in identifying and protecting confidential information to prevent unauthorized access and minimize the chances of data breaches.
- Microsoft Intune: Microsoft Intune offers a package for managing devices as known as mobile application management (MAM). It enables companies to supervise and protect the devices utilized by their staff members effectively. With Intune, in place organizations can ensure productivity levels are maintained while implementing regulations that protect information.
- BitLocker: BitLocker is a security feature that encrypts data to protect it from theft or unauthorized access, in case a device is lost or stolen.
- Microsoft Security and Compliance Center: The Microsoft Security and Compliance Center serves as a platform for overseeing an organization’s compliance requirement efficiently. It provides in depth analysis of the organization’s compliance status. Offers recommendations on how to improve compliance measures. Administrators can also tailor settings to meet complex compliance demands using this platform.
- Windows Defender Credential Guard: Windows Defender Credential Guard is designed to enhance the security of domain credentials that are derived from others by isolating and safeguard them from risks which particularly focus on weaknesses, in authentication systems based on credentials.
- Microsoft Secure Score: Microsoft Secure Score provides a tool that enables organizations to assess and bolster their security stance through a dashboard system assigning a security score according to the existing measures and offering practical suggestions, for improving protection further.
- Windows Information Protection: Windows Information Protection is a security feature that helps prevent data loss by distinguishing between work related and personal information, on devices used for business and personal purposes.
- Device Guard: Device Guard serves as a security tool that aims to protect your Windows devices by blocking the running of code effectively ensuring that approved and verified applications are permitted to operate This helps to lower the chances of malware and unauthorized software compromising the security and stability of your system
You get extra security features with the E5.
These security features are only available with the Microsoft E5 plan.
- Microsoft Defender for Endpoint: Microsoft Defender, for Endpoint serves as an endpoint security solution aimed at boosting your security measures. This software protects all your endpoint devices on operating systems such, as Windows, macOS, Linux, Android and iOS.
- Microsoft Defender for Identity: Microsoft Defender for Identity is a cloud service designed to protect your organization’s identities from cyber threats that are targeted and sophisticated, in nature. It helps in recognizing and mitigating security vulnerabilities linked to identity breaches by monitoring and analyzing user actions.
- Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps: Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps offers a way to understand the apps used in your company. It helps in identifying and dealing with cybersecurity risks. Tracking how data moves instantly. It also ensures use of cloud applications by enforcing measures.
- Microsoft Purview eDiscovery: Microsoft Purview eDiscovery helps affordably pinpoint data within your company’s databases which is especially useful, for legal and compliance purposes, by facilitating efficient data discovery and management during the eDiscovery journey.
- Microsoft Defender XDR: Microsoft Defender XDR enhances the security of your organization by providing protection against threats, like phishing and zero day malware. It includes state of the art threat prevention capabilities and proactive approaches to identify and address emerging security vulnerabilities.
- Azure Information Protection Plan 2: Azure Information Protection Plan 2 offers a set of tools that are crafted to identify documents and emails by classifying them with labels, for enhanced security measures and protection purposes for organizations to manage their private data effectively and ensure its proper handling and safeguarding.
- Information Protection and Governance: This tool helps identify risks by pinpoint the data and understanding how it is used within the organization safeguard data in place by implementing protection and retention labels to improve information protection and governance procedures.
- Microsoft Entra ID P2 (formerly Azure Active Directory or Azure AD): Microsoft Entra ID P2 provides identity and access management solutions, for environments involving a mix of multi cloud setups.
- Microsoft Purview Insider Risk Management: Microsoft Purview Insider Risk Management provides a solution to detect and respond promptly to risks originating from, within the organizations team members effectively reducing the impact of insider threats and taking a proactive stance in safeguarding operational integrity.
Concluding Remarks: Which One Should You Select?
Choosing between Microsoft 365 E3 and E5 may feel overwhelming, for newcomers to the Microsoft 365 platform. The E3 package priced at $36 per user covers all productivity and teamwork apps along with security measures to protect against common risks. Many businesses find this option for their needs, especially if they don’t deal with confidential data.
If your company deals with an amount of confidential information or is active in industries with high risks like healthcare sector, then the $57 price tag of the E5 plan can be seen as a worthwhile expense to make for security measures. The plan comes with security features like Defender for Endpoint and Purview eDiscovery along with threat hunting tools such as XDR that could be essential for certain types of businesses. Besides that, it also includes access to all productivity applications, like Power BI that are not included in the E3 plan.
If you’re unsure, about which plan suits your requirements or risk tolerance best and feel uncertain about it all don’t hesitate to reach out to the WizardCyber team for assistance and help out with making a decision that aligns with your organizations operations and industry needs.