Microsoft Defender for Business is Coming to Business Premium Next Month

Microsoft unveiled a new endpoint security solution for small and medium-sized companies called “Microsoft Defender for Business” at its Ignite 2021 conference. The new service plan, which is currently available in preview for select organizations, is finally coming to enterprise customers with a Microsoft 365 Business Premium plan (via OnMSFT).

Microsoft Defender for Business is basically an enterprise-grade endpoint security solution that targets small and medium-sized businesses with up to 300 users. The new security offering helps to protect organizations against malware and ransomware attacks. It is available across all platforms, including Windows, macOS, Android, and iOS.

“With a rise in cyberattacks targeting small and medium-sized businesses, threats are becoming increasingly automated and indiscriminate, and striking at a significantly higher rate. In the last year, we’ve seen a 300% increase in ransomware attacks with over 50% reaching small businesses. To address this, Microsoft is investing in security solutions purposefully designed to help protect them,” the company explained.

Microsoft Defender for Business offers a bunch of security features and capabilities such as threat and vulnerability management, attack surface reduction, automated investigation and remediation, endpoint detection and response (EDR), APIs and integration, simplified deployment and management, as well as integration with Microsoft Lighthouse.

How to Sign up for the Microsoft Defender for Business preview program

• To get started, you will need to sign up for the public preview program on the Microsoft Defender for Business Preview registration page.
• Select the Customer or Microsoft Partner option, accept the terms of conditions, and click the Next button.
• Lastly, enter your contact information in the form and click the Submit button.

As for the pricing details, Microsoft Defender for Business is available for enterprise customers as a standalone purchase ($3/user per month) and it is also included in Microsoft 365 Business Premium ($20/user per month).

Microsoft Defender for Business will begin rolling out to Microsoft 365 Business Premium tenants in late February. This update is expected to be generally available for all organizations by early March.