See how you can position Microsoft 365 to your clients.
As a telecommunications agent, you provide the network and communications solutions that help keep your clients connected both internally and externally. But as the technology landscape continues to shift, you may be wondering if there are additional ways to help your clients grow and streamline their businesses. As a trusted tech advisor, you can start providing some of the most important tools that organizations rely on every day.
But where to start? Afterall, most companies utilize many different solutions, with most companies averaging 129 apps in their IT systems.
It can be difficult to gain expertise across the many different tools, but you may be surprised to know that you can start offering a wide range of applications for productivity, security, device management, and more simply by selling one product – Microsoft 365 Business Premium.
In this article, we’ll cover what’s included with M365 Business Premium, how your medium-enterprise clients can utilize it, and some of the best practices for positioning this solution to them.
What is M365 Business Premium?
To understand the impact M365 can have on an organization, it’s important to understand what it includes and how those features can be leveraged. In one integrated solution, M365 Business Premium provides Office productivity apps, advanced security features, and device management capabilities. More specifically, the breakdown of features is as follows:
Productivity Apps
• Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and more
• Microsoft Teams
• Online services including Exchange, OneDrive (1 TB), and more
• Exchange Online Archiving
Advanced Security
• Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)
• Windows Defender
• BitLocker
• Data Loss Prevention (DLP)
• Azure Information Protection (AIP)
• Windows Exploit Guard Enforcement
Device Management
• Microsoft Intune
• Windows 10 Credential Guard
• Single Sign-On (SSO) >10 Apps
• Conditional Access
• Shared Computer Activation
• Windows Autopilot
• Azure Information Protection
• Auto-installation of Office Apps
• Azure Active Directory Auto-Enroll
What does M365 Business Premium do?
So, what do all those features mean for your clients? Well, with all these tools enabled, organizations can communicate and collaborate easily and efficiently with the productivity apps they love — all while keeping their data protected.
It’s no secret that apps like Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook are workhorses for the typical workplace. But when combined with the collaboration power of Teams, organizations can take their productivity to a new level, seamlessly sharing documents and communicating through text, video, and audio chat.
The advanced security features help secure endpoints in a number of ways. Windows Defender provides cloud-based email protection against malicious links, phishing, and spoofing. Enabling multi-factor authentication (MFA) helps prevent unauthorized access to apps and data by requiring an additional layer of authentication.
Data loss protection (DLP) identifies, monitors, and automatically protects sensitive information across multiple locations, while Windows Exploit Guard Enforcement protects devices from malicious websites and ransomware.
For data protection and compliance, Azure Information Protection (AIP) controls and manages how sensitive content is accessed by providing classification labels on documents and email.
Exchange Online Archiving provides 100GB of archiving with preservation policies that can help recover data and ensure compliance with regulations, such as HIPAA and PCI. With BitLocker, clients can also encrypt device data to keep it secure in case of a lost or stolen device.
The device management features make controlling devices and endpoints simple and secure. Intune provides management for devices and apps from the cloud while protecting company information on employee devices.
Single sign-on (SSO) allows users to access multiple applications and resources by logging in only once, with one account. Active Directory manages permissions and access to shared network resources such as servers, printers, and user accounts. Finally, Autopilot simplifies the new device configuration and deployment processes for IT and end users.
How do I sell M365 Business Premium to my clients?
Now that you’re familiar with the features and capabilities of M365, it’s time to learn the best ways to position the solution to your client base. Luckily for you, Pax8 has quite a bit of experience here, and we can share some of our tried-and-true tips for selling.
Client Targeting
Given the wide array of features we talked about, it’s important not to barrage your client with all of them, all at once. Rather, you should figure out the unique needs, requirements, and experiences of your client first so that you can emphasize the functionalities that will help them the most.
For example, clients in a more heavily regulated industry such as healthcare or law will likely be most interested in the features that enable compliance. Likewise, a client with high employee turnover will probably see value in device management capabilities that allow them to remote wipe the devices of outgoing employees.
Check out the complete Agent’s Guide to Selling M365 to see more potential value-selling scenarios.
Using Market Moments
Another way to identify specific features that may be relevant to your client is to keep an eye on current events in the tech industry. News stories or product updates can help underscore the need to adopt new functionalities.
Data breaches and ransomware attacks are constantly in the headlines, and for good reason. With those threats lurking, security should be top-of-mind for businesses of any size. The advanced security features of M365 can play an important role in fortifying an organization’s defenses against cyberattacks.
Similarly, the news of Windows 7 reaching End-of-Support can be a good opportunity to talk about how M365 Business premium includes an upgrade to Windows 10 OS.
Using an Email Template
Sometimes, starting the conversation can be the hardest part. That’s why we’ve put together an email template that can help you open a dialogue with targeted clients that are currently using Microsoft Office and may be a good fit for M365 Business Premium.
Check out the complete Agent’s Guide to Selling M365 to get the template.
How Pax8 Can Help Agents Sell M365
If you’re thinking about offering M365, your Cloud Wingman is here to help! In addition to offering a co-managed Microsoft model that can help make selling and managing Microsoft even easier, Pax8 has a wealth of resources to help guide you on your Microsoft journey.
To get started, you can read The Agent’s Guide to Selling M365, a comprehensive guide for positioning M365 as the ideal productivity and security solution for the modern workplace.
