We have Business Premium, does Defender suffice or do we keep our AV?
Defender for Business in Premium is a full EDR for SMBs and competes with standalone packages from CrowdStrike or SentinelOne. For many companies double-paying is no longer needed, provided you roll it out correctly.
Try this first
- 1Check in Defender admin (security.microsoft.com) that devices are onboarded and signal green, otherwise something is broken.
- 2Test that the current external AV does not conflict, two EDRs running simultaneously fight over kernel hooks and performance tanks.
- 3Plan a 30-day transition where you compare Defender alerts alongside your old AV before cancelling.
- 4Document coverage for non-Windows (macOS, Linux, mobile) because Defender for Business has limits there that are not always clear in a Premium license.
When to bring us in
If you want guided migration to Defender as the only EDR, we can run the migration and set up monitoring.
See also
- New hire has an account but cannot reach Outlook or TeamsAn M365 account without a license is an empty shell. Assigning takes a few clicks, but picking the right plan pays off long-term.
- Employee left, but their email must be retainedPulling the license straight away starts a 30-day timer on the mailbox. The right route keeps access to the mail without paying for the license.
- We pay for licenses nobody usesBetween leavers, duplicate plans, and test accounts there is often 10-20% wasted license spend. A usage report exposes it fast.
None of the above fits?
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