Data^#3 Licensing Update and Microsoft 365 A5 Deep Dive

No. You can choose from a range of mini suite offerings if that will better suit your needs. There are options to buy an A5 Security suite, or A5 Compliance suite among others. Talk to your Account Manager for more details about the suites available.

Microsoft 365 provides a simplified and affordable approach to security. By switching to Microsoft 365 A5 security, you can replace up to 26 other security vendors without losing any functionality or protection. Some key categories that Microsoft 365 A5 can help protect you in are:

• Identity and access management
• Threat protection
• Information protection
• Unified endpoint management
• CASB

For example, one school may have over 1300 different applications they are using to manage security across all their devices and groups. By switching to Microsoft 365 A5, they can create a much better protected, more streamlined process for their organisation, while also saving up to 52%.

The Microsoft 365 A5 suite can provide a wide range of security offerings, including functions such as:

• Defender of Office – malware detection, safe links and safe attachments
• Defender for Identity – identity protection and conditional access for SSO applications
• Microsoft Defender EP – endpoint detection and response (EDR) and end point protection (EPP)
• Defender for Cloud Apps – extends protection and conditional access to other cloud apps

The Defender for Endpoint Plan 1 provides a light attack surface reduction and support package. This gives you next generation protection which is embedded inside Windows 10 and 11.

In comparison, Plan 2 is a premium solution package. It still includes the attack surface reduction and next generation protection, but you also get endpoint detection and response, automation and remediation tools, and access to Microsoft threat experts.

If you license A5 for all your faculty and staff, you get the following four products for your students at no additional cost:

• Microsoft Defender for Office 365 Plan 2
• Azure Active Directory Premium Plan 2
• Microsoft Cloud App Security
• Microsoft Defender for Identity

Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is not a Student Use Benefit. However, there are discounted pricing options available through Data^#3.

Veeam backup for Microsoft 365 eliminates the risk of losing access to your Microsoft 365 data, including Exchange Online, SharePoint Online, OneDrive for Business and Microsoft Teams. It allows you to protect, store, copy and recover your data. Securely backup to any location, including on premises or cost-effective cloud object storage, and:

• Protect your Microsoft 365 data from accidental deletion, security threats and retention policy gaps
• Quickly restore individual Microsoft 365 items and files with industry-leading recovery flexibility
• Meet legal and compliance requirements with efficient eDiscovery of Microsoft 365 backup data

The self-service restore portal provides users with a location to efficiently divide restore permissions and access backup data across your organisation. It provides:

• Automation and scalability
• Time savings
• Enhanced security

The golden rule of backups is the master 3 – 2 – 1 rule. This recommends that you should always have:

• Three copies of your data
• On two different media types
• With one of them kept off site

Version 6 of Veeam Backup for Microsoft 365 allows you to do just this. It saves you money by storing data in a low cost cloud object storage, while also keeping datasets divided with individual retention periods.