New Microsoft Solutions Help SMBs Navigate Collaboration and Security Needs

As pandemic restrictions, supply-chain shortages, and increasing cybersecurity threats challenge companies worldwide, SMBs have proven themselves adept at reacting to change – even without ongoing access to the critical resources and technologies that larger companies take for granted.

To help those SMBs navigate successfully through the current and post-pandemic landscape, Microsoft has launched two new solutions – Microsoft Teams Essentials and Microsoft Defender for Business. Both are ideally suited to the infrastructure, collaboration, and security demands that small businesses face in 2022.

Microsoft Teams Essentials, the first stand-alone Microsoft Teams offering conceived with SMBs in mind, unites familiar Teams capabilities such as ongoing chat, calendar integration with Outlook and Google, and easy meeting invitations with new features specifically designed for smaller companies.

• Extended meeting times: allow for video chats lasting up to 30 hours, making abruptly terminated meetings a thing of the past
• Larger meeting capacities: let meeting organizers host 300 people in the same virtual room at once
• Expanded cloud storage: gives SMBs peace of mind with 10GB of cloud storage – twice that available in the free version of Teams

At just $4 per user per month, Teams Essentials is touted by Microsoft as the most affordable all-in-one communications solution in the market today.

Meanwhile, on the security front, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security says ransomware attacks have spiked 300% in the past 24 months. Up to 75% of the victims have been small businesses, so it’s never been more critical for SMBs to invest in cybersecurity.

Microsoft Defender for Business, which began its preview rollout in January, is an intuitive and cost-effective endpoint security solution designed especially for businesses with 300 or fewer employees. Defender for Business harnesses the capabilities of Microsoft’s industry-leading Defender for Endpoint solution and optimizes them for the SMB space. Its features include:

• Threat and vulnerability management: help SMBs discover, prioritize, and remediate software vulnerabilities and misconfigurations
• Attack-surface reduction: leave fewer opportunities for threat actors by way of reduced vulnerability across devices and applications
• Automated investigation and remediation: allow SMBs to take immediate action to address attacks, scale security operations, and focus on more sophisticated threats
• APIs and integration: automate workflows and integrate security data into existing security platforms

Pairing simplified configuration and management with automated investigation and remediation, Defender for Business protects SMBs against cyberthreats across Windows, macOS, iOS, and Android. It can be activated right out of the box and requires no specialized knowledge for installation, meaning that SMBs don’t have to be cybersecurity experts to use it effectively. The solution will be available for purchase either as a stand-alone offering at $3 per user per month or as part of 365 Business Premium, Microsoft’s comprehensive security and productivity solution combining Microsoft Teams and Office 365 with essential security tools for SMBs.

For SMBs looking to up the ante in security and collaboration without necessarily making a wholesale transition to the cloud, Microsoft Teams Essentials and Defender offer powerful, yet affordable, options.

By working with trusted partners such as Ingram Micro Cloud and expert solution providers, small businesses can maximize their use of those solutions – leveraging their capabilities fully, integrating them with existing platforms, and creating a road map for evolving their IT infrastructures to suit their current and future needs and goals.

Learn more about how Ingram Micro Cloud can elevate your business today.

Welcome to the Microsoft Defender for Business preview program! (office.com)