How to choose the right Microsoft 365 for Business plan

All data in this article is as of October 2022.

Business Basic is the most affordable model for small and medium-sized businesses. It gives you access to the onlineversions of the four components Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote via any standard web browser.

All employees can work on files from the above programs in real time at anytime from anywhere, as long as they have internet access. Files created with the online programs are compatible with the latest versions of the desktop applications, so you can send your own documents or open and edit external documents.

However, the focus of the Business Basic package is to help you and your company communicate and collaborate. To that end, the plan includes useful online services, which is where Exchange really stands out. Protected from viruses, spam and phishing attacks, the email system provides a central hosting platform for your company’s entire email traffic. Access messages at any time from any device via the Outlook Web app.

What’s more, every user gets a mailbox with 50 GB of storage space, as well as the ability to send attachments up to 150 MB in size. If you also purchase an installable Outlook version, you can retrieve your mails as usual via the client application interface. You can set up shared inboxes and calendars too.

The other services of Microsoft 365 Business Basic at a glance:

In addition to the Google Drive Alternative OneDrive, you can use the SharePoint application. Create team websites, which - simply put - represent a folder for the files of a specific project. All users involved can access the team documents and share files, info, etc. with each other.

With Sway, Microsoft offers you an application with which you can easily create a presentation of your latest products, an informative newsletter or an online training. Interactive and web-based, the created “Sways” can be easily shared and displayed on various display sizes.

Microsoft 365 Apps for Business is the right choice if you’re happy with the digital information and work structure within your company but are looking for a feature-rich and versatile office suite. This Microsoft 365 SMB plan, unlike the other Business offerings, does not include SharePoint, but OneDrive alone. The plan also assumes you already run an email server and rely on your own communications software, as Exchange is not available. In return, however, you get access to the desktop versions of the Office apps, including Premium features, as well as the handy Access and Publisher apps by signing up for a subscription.

Costs: from $8.25 per user per month.

Microsoft 365 Apps for Business also allows you to use the online applications of Word, OneNote, PowerPoint and Excel via browser or mobile app (iOS and Android). Users can install the suite on up to five Windows or macOS devices, as well as five mobile devices and five tablets, for a total maximum of fifteen devices.

Since Apps for Business has a link to the OneDrive for Business cloud, it is possible to share and collaborate on all files in real time. If you have been working offline, the cloud service will synchronize your documents as soon as you have an Internet connection again. Microsoft also provides 1 TB of OneDrive storage per person in this business package.

While the Sway presentation tool is also part of Apps for Business, Skype for Business and SharePoint team websites are not included. So, when it comes to project and corporate communications, it’s a matter of setting up alternative solutions. The Exchange mail hosting environment is also not included in Microsoft 365 Apps for Business. You therefore need your own mail server solution for archiving and providing e-mail traffic.

Microsoft’s Business Standard plan is the right choice for users who want to use the features of Apps for Business, but also need email hosting in the form of the Exchange application. Business Standard offers you the usual Office programs such as Word and Co, but also scores with practical tools such as Teams and SharePoint, which optimize collaboration.

Costs: from $12.50 per user per month.

With the Microsoft 365 Business Standard plan, you get all the functions from Business Basic, such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and OneDrive. Just as with Apps for Business, the desktop versions of the apps are available here, including premium functions.

Other applications in Business Standard are Access and Publisher, but these can only be used via PC. Access allows you to create and manage databases, while Publisher is used to design layouts for print publications, for example, and contains numerous templates.

You can promote your teamwork in Business Standard with the help of the Teams application, which enables online meetings with up to 300 people. Unlike Business Basic and Apps for Business, the Business Standard version gives you the option of holding webinars, which users can register for.

Finally, benefit from email hosting thanks to Microsoft’s cloud solution Exchange. The application gives you access to a mailbox with 50 GB of storage and a personal calendar for professional scheduling.

With the Microsoft 365 Business Premium plan, you acquire the all-in-one solution for your company’s everyday office life, which not only presents a cross-company email solution (including calendar and 50 GB of storage per person), but also offers more security as well as protection-against-ransomware and other cyber threats.

Costs: from $22.00 per user per month

Microsoft 365 Business Premium includes all the features of Business Standard. This means that the package includes both the latest Microsoft Office products (online and desktop version) and access to the powerful communication platforms Exchange and Teams.

Business Premium offers you all the tools you need as a modern small business for structuring and collaborating on projects in one place. You are not dependent on additional hardware or software to operate an e-mail server or a file server.

Unlike the other business plans, the Exchange application gives you an additional archiving option that lets you customize policies aroundcloud archiving, for example. Your email hosting mailbox includes 50 GB, as with the other plans.

Another benefit that sets Business Premium apart from the rest of the Microsoft 365 business plans is “Advanced Threat Protection”. With various protections like Defender, App Protection, and Information Rights Management, your company’s devices and data are secured.

If you are interested in one of the Microsoft 365 Business Plans we have shown you, you can also take out a corresponding subscription directly with IONOS. In addition to the standard Microsoft features, this includes an optional setup service that guides you step-by-step through the installation and configuration of the applications.

To protect your data in the best possible way, IONOS offers you spam filtering and virus protection in addition to backup in certified data centers. In case of problems or questions about software, subscription or similar issues, support is available around the clock.

A great pro of these office solutions is that they combine IONOS hosting products and powerful Microsoft applications. Nevertheless, you only need to contact one person, no matter if it is about the invoice, technical support or the login for the Control Center.