At roughly £7 a month, more expensive than Business Standard and £12 more than Business Basic, what is Microsoft 365 Business Premium, and why should you upgrade?
In our latest Westway IT blog, we are going to show you exactly why we think there’s a benefit to going all in on premium.
Microsoft 365 Business Premium gives you all the familiar apps you would expect from a Microsoft subscription, from Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, to Teams, Exchange, and SharePoint. What it offers you on top are extra features to help protect your business data and support a modern, mobile team. Which is perfect for growing businesses like yours, because enterprise-grade protection makes managing sensitive data or working in regulated industries much smoother.
In the premium subscription tier, you’ll get:
If you were starting a business tomorrow, we’d recommend Microsoft 365 Business Premium. In our opinion, it gives you everything you need to run a more resilient business. But we realise that most of you reading this will already have a business and are running a lower-tier subscription plan. In this case, we strongly advise upgrading today.
If you are still asking, “Should I upgrade?” Then the best place to start is by looking at what your business is telling you. The tell-tale signs. Are employees working remotely on devices you can’t fully control? Are compliance requirements harder to meet with the plan you're currently running? Are your security worries increasing as cyber threats become more sophisticated and regular? If you are running several patches to fix these issues, you are probably facing increased costs that still leave you vulnerable. If so, it’s time to make the switch.
Microsoft 365 Business Premium costs more than Business Standard or Basic; it’s true, but the extra security, management, and collaboration features deliver real value in upgrading.
Let’s look at security. Considering that a single security incident can cost a business hundreds of thousands or even millions of pounds, preventing just one breach could easily offset years of subscription fees. Equally, you could save by avoiding potential compliance fines and improve annual turnover by strengthening customer trust.
There are also cost savings from reduced manual workload. The upgrade streamlines IT management and boosts employee productivity by providing seamless access to collaboration tools and centralised device management. These efficiency gains can translate into lower overhead and allowing your team to focus on higher-value projects.
Switching to Business Premium from another Microsoft 365 plan is easy. You can make the switch through the M365 admin centre. If you outsource your IT and your package includes subscription management services, they can handle this for you.
Our best advice: Before you make the switch, let your team know about the changes, review your device management policies, and use Microsoft’s migration resources to make the transition as smooth as possible. A good plan means almost zero downtime and encourages team members to ask questions.
If you are looking for a Gloucestershire-based IT provider, book a free 15-minute consultation to see how Westway IT can help.
Managing Director, Westway IT
John is the founder of Westway IT and works directly with small businesses across Gloucestershire to keep their IT secure, productive and stress-free.
With a BSc in Computer Science and hands-on experience supporting businesses from 1 to 40 users, he specialises in cyber security, Microsoft 365 and business automation.
An award-winning MSP owner and active member of the global IT community (including GTIA), John focuses on solving real business problems, not just technical ones.
Published: 23 June 2026 | Last Updated: 23 June 2026
Microsoft’s fixing the biggest issues in Windows 11
Ever feel like Windows 11 is getting in the way? Or not as smooth as it should be? Small frustrations eat up more time than you might think. But Microsoft’s bringing in a shift that focuses less on new features and more on fixing those everyday frustrations…
Video
