Small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) are one of the main targets for cyberattacks and face mounting challenges in today’s digital landscape — from increasingly sophisticated cyberthreats to evolving regulatory demands. Weak security, false confidence in flying under the radar and resistance to investing in protection make them easy prey. The cost of inaction can and has left many SMBs unable to recover, with the global average cost of a data breach now at 4.4M USD. Microsoft 365 Business Premium has long been a trusted solution for SMBs, offering productivity tools, collaboration via Teams and built-in security features like Microsoft Defender for Business. Now, Pax8 and Microsoft are raising the bar.
We’re thrilled to introduce three new security add-ons for Microsoft 365 Business Premium available in the Pax8 Marketplace — Microsoft Defender Suite, Microsoft Purview Suite and a combined Defender + Purview bundle. These add-ons bring powerful, enterprise-grade security and compliance capabilities to SMBs, helping organizations protect data, manage risk and stay ahead of threats. All without the complexity or cost of traditional enterprise solutions.
What is Microsoft Purview?
Microsoft Purview is a unified data governance, risk and compliance solution designed to help organizations manage, discover and secure their data across hybrid and multi-cloud environments. With data estates becoming increasingly complex and stringent compliance requirements, Purview provides the tools necessary to gain visibility, automate data classification and ensure regulatory compliance.
Core Capabilities of Microsoft Purview
Data Discovery and Cataloging
Purview enables organizations to automatically scan, catalog and classify data assets across on-premises, as well as Azure and other cloud platforms. This helps create a holistic map of data sources, making it easier to locate, understand and manage critical information.
Automated Data Classification
With automated data classification, Purview uses both built-in and customizable classifiers to identify sensitive data types—such as personally identifiable information (PII) or financial records—supporting your privacy, security and compliance efforts.
Data Governance and Lineage Tracking
Purview also clarifies data movement with lineage tracking and governance tools that visualize how data flows and transforms over time. This transparency is essential for auditing, troubleshooting and maintaining data quality.
Risk and Compliance Management
When it comes to risk and compliance, Purview supports compliance with global regulations like GDPR, HIPAA and CCPA by enabling policy creation, monitoring and reporting. Its reporting tools highlight risk areas and demonstrate regulatory adherence.
Access Control and Data Security
Access control and data security allow organizations to define and enforce who can access specific data assets, keeping sensitive information restricted to the right people.
Integration with Microsoft 365 and Azure
Finally, Purview integrates seamlessly with Microsoft 365, Azure Synapse Analytics, Power BI and other services, delivering a unified governance experience across the Microsoft ecosystem.
Why Microsoft Purview Matters
In today’s data-driven business environment, organizations face challenges in managing vast amounts of information while staying compliant with evolving regulations. Microsoft Purview addresses these challenges by automating data discovery, classification and governance, reducing manual workload and improving data security. By centralizing control and visibility, Purview empowers data stewards, compliance officers and IT teams to make informed decisions and maintain trust with customers and stakeholders.
Microsoft Defender Suite for Business Premium: $10.50/user/month
Understanding Microsoft Defender: Capabilities and Overview
What Is Microsoft Defender?
Microsoft Defender is a comprehensive security ecosystem that unifies multiple specialized products under one umbrella to protect every layer of a business’s digital environment—from endpoints and user identities to email, cloud applications and infrastructure. Each product within the Defender Suite serves a specific purpose while feeding telemetry into Microsoft’s unified XDR (Extended Detection and Response) platform, enabling correlated threat analysis and automated incident response across the enterprise.
Core Capabilities of Microsoft Defender
Defender for Endpoint
This is Microsoft’s advanced endpoint protection platform designed to prevent, detect and respond to threats targeting workstations, servers and mobile devices. It uses behavioral sensors, machine learning and cloud-based analytics to continuously monitor endpoint activity. Defender for Endpoint supports attack surface reduction, endpoint detection and response (EDR) and threat and vulnerability management.
Microsoft Entra ID P2
Microsoft Entra ID P2 is an advanced identity and access management solution that enables organizations to implement granular access controls, automate identity governance and strengthen security through features like risk-based conditional access and privileged identity management. It helps protect sensitive resources by ensuring the right users have the right access at the right time — with full visibility and control.
Defender for Identity
Defender for Identity helps protect Active Directory and hybrid identity environments from credential theft, lateral movement and privilege escalation. It monitors domain controllers and network traffic to detect suspicious activity and integrates with Microsoft Entra ID to unify on-premises and cloud identity signals for stronger, real-time threat detection.
Defender for Office 365
This layer protects against email-based threats such as phishing, malware attachments and business email compromise. It employs safe links, safe attachments and real-time detonation of suspicious content in a virtual sandbox before it reaches users. Defender for Office 365 also provides advanced reporting, attack simulation training for end users and integration with other Microsoft tools to automate incident response to malicious emails.
Defender for Cloud Apps
This is a cloud access security broker (CASB) that gives organizations deep visibility into cloud application usage, data flow and compliance posture. It identifies shadow IT activity, applies data loss prevention (DLP) policies and enforces conditional access controls. Defender for Cloud Apps integrates with thousands of SaaS platforms and uses continuous risk assessment to block risky apps or user behaviors before data exposure occurs.
Why Microsoft Defender Matters
The strength of Microsoft Defender lies in its native integration across the Microsoft ecosystem and its ability to consolidate what used to require multiple third-party tools. Instead of fragmented point solutions, Defender provides a single pane of glass for security monitoring, compliance and automation. It enables proactive defense through real-time telemetry, behavioral analytics and AI-driven threat intelligence.
For businesses, Defender not only reduces the likelihood and impact of cyber incidents but also cuts operational costs by streamlining management, reducing alert fatigue and automating routine tasks. It helps organizations meet compliance mandates, protect intellectual property and maintain business continuity in an era where cyberthreats evolve faster than human response times.
Microsoft Defender and Purview Suite for Business Premium: $15/user/month
The new Microsoft Defender and Purview Suite bring together the full power of Microsoft’s security and compliance platforms into one streamlined, budget-friendly offering. This integrated solution equips SMBs with robust threat protection, data governance and regulatory compliance tools — all in a single package. By bundling these capabilities, organizations can achieve up to 68% cost savings compared to purchasing Defender and Purview separately. It’s a smarter, simpler way to protect your business without sacrificing functionality or stretching your budget. After all, what costs more — $15/user/month or a $4.4M data breach?
Take Your Security and Compliance to the Next Level
Provision the new Microsoft 365 Business Premium Security add-ons today and give your clients the tools they need to stay secure, compliant and resilient. Whether you choose Defender, Purview or the combined bundle, you’re investing in peace of mind and future-ready protection — tailored for SMBs, built by Microsoft.
