Microsoft Corp. is expanding the Microsoft 365 lineup, a major component of its go-to-market strategy, with two new offerings that place an emphasis on cybersecurity and regulatory compliance.

Introduced in 2017, Microsoft 365 is a set of enterprise-focused bundles that combine Office 365, Windows 10 and other solutions into a single subscription.

The idea is to simplify procurement for large companies that would otherwise have to buy the products separately. The most expensive version, Microsoft 365 E5, includes advanced security features supported by artificial intelligence.

The two offerings unveiled today will make those features accessible to a potentially much broader range of companies. The first, Identity & Threat Protection, costs $12 per user per month, less than a quarter of the price of the E5 package.

Identity & Threat Protection provides security capabilities spanning all three core pillars of Microsoft’s portfolio: Office 365, Azure and Windows 10. The feature lineup is underpinned by the ADP-branded advanced breach prevention tools included in each platform. The tools automatically detect suspicious activity, as well as generate suggestions on how administrators can improve security.

Also included in the bundle is Azure Active Directory and Cloud App Security. The latter service enables administrators to protect data that workers keep in cloud-based services. 

Information Protection & Compliance, the second new bundle, is dedicated entirely to preventing misuse of company data. It includes tools for Office 365 and Azure that enable companies to regulate the sharing of sensitive files based on their contents. A firm could, for example, set rules for automatic encryption of Word documents containing credit card numbers.

Information Protection & Compliance is the cheaper of the two bundles, coming in at $10 per user per month. Microsoft sees them complementing rather than substituting the existing E5 package, which includes additional products such as the Power BI business intelligence tool.

All the subscription tiers will now also include MyAnalytics, another service previously available only with more expensive bundles. It provides workers with detailed data on how much time they spend on different activities such as meetings. This information is intended to help teams find ways to improve productivity and cut after-hours work.

“As we continue to evolve the product, today we’re also making MyAnalytics insights more well-rounded,” wrote Natalie McCullough, general manager for the service at Microsoft. “This month, we’re adding new insights based on your Microsoft Teams calls and chats, as well as signals from documents you’re working on that are saved in OneDrive and SharePoint.”

Photo: Microsoft