According to a study, Microsoft Office 365 covers nearly 50 percent of the office productivity software market, and around 876,851 US companies use it for their official work. In some cases, the features already available in Microsoft Office 365 may not fulfill businesses' needs, making them look for add-ons. However, many organizations find it challenging to select the add-on licenses appropriate for all end-users.

It's because so many add-on services are available within Microsoft 365, which makes the decision phase pretty complex. The documentation for each existing license is available, but it takes time to understand what you are missing and want to add on. So, to help you decide on what Microsoft Office 365 add-on licenses you need and their specialty, we have compiled a detailed guide. Let's discuss this further!

Different Licences of Microsoft 365

Typically, add-ons are attachments that you can purchase from your Microsoft core office. These allow you to do more than just create documents and send emails. Although different add-ons are available for Microsoft 365, we have narrowed down the most commonly used ones. Such add-ons help small to large enterprises or businesses communicate with customers. Let's discuss these different Microsoft add-on licenses that can enhance the overall productivity of your department.

Microsoft Business Voice

The standard Microsoft 365 plan doesn't include the voice feature. This means your organization can't make any calls or hold voice conferences with it. So, to make the whole enterprise working experience more mobile and effective, the addition of Microsoft Business Voice is recommended. This add-on was first introduced in 2019 and is cloud-based—the demand for this add-on skyrocketed during COVID times when most offices worked remotely.

It replaced an all-in-one business phone system and provided Microsoft Office 365 users a chance to enjoy the same feature that Microsoft Enterprise users had for years. Some most common uses of Microsoft 365 Business Voice:

• Full Phone System: It's a complete phone system in which the team can utilize caller ID, voice mail, call menus, shared phone lines, and many other features.

• Audio Conferencing: You can arrange and host conference calls with team members and those without an internet connection.

Power BI Pro

The data team always looks for powerful charts and graphs to better represent their ideas. Power BI is a Microsoft 365 add-on license that converts simple data into an acceptable format. Power BI Pro is a cloud-based business service that allows users to visualize and represent data with higher speed and efficiency. With it, the user can create interactive reports and easy-to-understand dashboards.

These things make the researched data more visually compelling and allow you to present it better. Here are the most prominent elements of the Microsoft 365 Power BI Pro that work today to bring users a more robust representation:

• Power BI mobile app for Windows, Android, and iOS devices.

• Online Power BI Pro Saas Service.

• Windows desktop application called Power BI Pro desktop.

The business uses Power BI Pro differently, and it primarily depends on their role in the team. On one hand, you may use this license to view dashboard and reports, while your coworker may be burning midnight fuel to create impressive visuals for data. On the other hand, the sales team uses this Power BI Pro add-on license to monitor overall business sales and growth.

Microsoft Defender for Endpoint

Microsoft Endpoint Defender isn't part of Microsoft Office 365. Instead, it's a license from the Microsoft Enterprise section. This can be a great addition to your Microsoft Office 365 if additional security is your primary demand. It resembles the standard windows defender but is more powerful and detects all threats in advance. Microsoft Defender for Endpoint uses Windows 10 and Microsoft's Cloud-based Intelligence system to perform its tasks.

The behavioral sensors embedded in Windows 10 detect any possible change and threats to your devices. Threats are seen when the Windows operating system sends signals to your private cloud-based Microsoft Defender for Endpoint. These are then dealt with long before they can cause any harm to your devices or system. Moreover, Endpoint Defender also prevents large companies and enterprises from malicious attacks.

Lastly, the threat intelligence feature of this add-on, generated by the security team and later augmented by threat intelligence, keeps a close eye on attackers' tools and techniques, so next time the attacker uses a similar technique, it gets caught before causing any harm.

Microsoft Intune

Companies working with highly sensitive data need additional security that's not provided in a typical Microsoft Office 365 setup. Microsoft Intune is handy in such situations as it allows you to manage your users' devices and set specific standards to protect customers' and client' information. It's a cloud-based add-on license focusing on Mobile Application Management and Device Management.

With a Microsoft Intune licence, you can monitor all your office worker's official devices. You can select which worker can use a particular document or what data is shared within and outside the organization. This add-on license also enables you to wipe devices if data is stolen or any worker leaves the business.

In simple words, Microsoft Intune allows you to set specific rules and monitor personal and office-owned devices to access everyone's data. It's required in companies dealing with severely sensitive data and has shifted to remote work. However, to get the maximum out of this add-on, you need to know how to start with Microsoft Intune. Here's what you can do with a Microsoft Intune licence:

• Monitor what apps workers are installing and using.

• Control the way workers or system users share data.

• Ensure all devices are compatible with your security requirements, such as HIPAA and GDPR.

Microsoft Defender for Office 365

A secure email system is mandatory for every business, and it's possible with Microsoft Defender for Office 365. This add-on license protects all users against harmful and spam emails affecting your business image and efficiency. These email risks are often posed by irrelevant emails with malicious URLs and fake collaboration tools.

This add-on license aims to prevent your company from emails that compromise data safety and protect users against fake websites that scam them into giving in their credentials, known as phishing attempts. In addition, Microsoft Defender for Office 365 helps you eliminate irrelevant messages from making their way to users' inboxes and verify all the links sent to you.

In case of unusual activity, the signal is sent to the main management team to take adequate measures. Microsoft offers two different plans for this licence; Plan1 and Plan2.

Other Most In-Demand Microsoft 365 Add-On Licences

Microsoft 365 add-ons are for those enterprises or businesses that want to enhance their productivity but don't want to spend much. It's because upgrading to Microsoft Enterprise from Microsoft 365 is costly compared to adding the required licenses. Almost all organizations find the add-ons list extensive and confusing due to the availability of vast options. Here's the list of a few most important Microsoft Office 365 add-ons:

• Exchange Online Archiving

• Microsoft 365 E5 Information Protection and Governance

• Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps

• Compliance Manager Premium Assessments

• Common Area Phone

• Microsoft Stream

• Phone System

• Power Platform

• Microsoft Teams Premium

• Microsoft 365 Apps

• Audio Conferencing

• Microsoft 365 E5 eDiscovery and Audit

• Exchange Online Protection

This add-ons list looks vast, but all the options listed are handy and have an affordable cost. Moreover, the list doesn't vary for government and education departments. Instead, the name changed from Microsoft Office 365 E5 to Microsoft Office 365 G5 for government and Microsoft Office 365 A5 for educational departments.

How to Select the Best Microsoft Office 365 Add-On Licences?

The licence selection varies from customer to customer as some want more customization while others need few services. So, it's essential to consider the needs of your users and your budget before purchasing any Microsoft Office 365 add-on. The most confusing part in add-on selection is knowing what comes with each additional service and how it can help your enterprise or business.

Fortunately, the official Microsoft site has proper documentation for each license that gives you a breakdown of the features in this add-on. Take your time to study, investigate, and go with the best add-on that caters to the needs of your business.

Conclusion

Microsoft Office 365 is widely used in offices, government departments, and educational institutes for official work. Although it has all the necessary features, the special needs of organizations may require add-ons for the efficient execution of their business operations.

Connect Microsoft tools with necessary add-ons to achieve the desired level of productivity without upgrading the plans!