Microsoft Defender for Business

Microsoft Defender for Business delivers enterprise-grade endpoint security in a package designed and priced for businesses with up to 300 employees. It provides the same core technology as Microsoft Defender for Endpoint P2 — used by Fortune 500 companies — but with a simplified management experience that does not require a dedicated security team to operate.

What’s Included

• Next-generation antivirus — Cloud-delivered antivirus with real-time protection, behavioural monitoring, machine learning-based detection, and automatic definition updates. Protects Windows, macOS, iOS, and Android devices.
• Endpoint Detection & Response (EDR) — Continuously monitors device behaviour and records all process execution, network connections, and file changes. When a threat is detected, EDR provides a full attack timeline so you can understand exactly what happened — not just that something happened.
• Threat & Vulnerability Management — Continuously scans all enrolled devices for software vulnerabilities, misconfigurations, and missing patches. Prioritises them by exploitability and business impact with a Secure Score dashboard.
• Attack Surface Reduction (ASR) — Rules that block common attack techniques: Office macros running PowerShell, credential stealing from LSASS, executable files downloaded from the internet, and 15+ other high-risk behaviours.
• Automated investigation and remediation — When an alert fires, Defender for Business automatically investigates it, determines the scope of the threat, and takes remediation actions (quarantine files, kill processes, block network connections) — without requiring manual intervention. Security analysts can review and approve actions.
• Firewall and network protection — Windows Firewall management with centralised policy deployment, plus network protection that blocks connections to malicious domains and IPs.
• Web content filtering — Block access to categories of websites (adult content, gambling, malware sites) across all managed devices via policy.
• Simplified setup wizard — Defender for Business includes a streamlined onboarding experience designed for IT generalists — not security specialists. Guided policies apply Microsoft’s recommended security baselines automatically.
• Microsoft 365 Defender portal — Centralised security management at security.microsoft.com. View incidents, alerts, device inventory, vulnerabilities, and reports in one unified portal.

Supported Platforms

• Windows 10/11 (Business, Professional, Enterprise)
• macOS (Catalina 10.15 and later)
• iOS 14 and later
• Android 6.0 and later

Ideal For

SMBs that currently rely only on Windows Defender antivirus and want to upgrade to enterprise-grade threat detection and response without hiring a dedicated security team. Particularly important for businesses that handle sensitive customer data, operate in regulated sectors, or have experienced a ransomware or phishing incident.