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Microsoft says that its enterprise-grade endpoint security for small and medium-sized businesses is now generally available as a stand-alone solution.
Known as Microsoft Defender for Business, this product is designed for SMBs with up to 300 employees who need protection against malware, phishing, and ransomware attacks on Windows, macOS, iOS, and Android devices.
“Microsoft believes in security for everyone. We’re proud to continue to deliver on that vision today,” said Vasu Jakkal, executive vice president of security, compliance and identity at Microsoft.
“With Defender for Business GA, SMBs will get greater protection with simplified security to help them better protect, detect and respond to threats.”
Microsoft Defender for Business began rolling out to Microsoft 365 Business Premium customers worldwide on March 1.
Customers can now also get Defender for Business as a stand-alone license directly from Microsoft and Microsoft Partner Cloud Solution Provider (CSP) channels at $3 per user per month.
Defender for Business has a wizard-driven setup that makes it easy for clients to set up. It will also enable all recommended security policies for organizations without a dedicated security team.
Key features included with this SMB-focused endpoint security suite include:
- Simplified deployment and administration for IT administrators who may not have the expertise to address today’s evolving threat landscape.
- Next-generation antivirus protection and endpoint detection and response to detect and respond to sophisticated attacks with behavioral monitoring.
- Automated investigation and remediation to help customers react quickly to threats.
- Threat and vulnerability management proactively alerts users to software weaknesses and misconfigurations.
- Microsoft 365 Lighthouse Integration with Microsoft Defender for business for IT service providers to view security events across all clients, with additional capabilities to come.
Microsoft said it also plans to add server support later this year with the help of an additional fix.
In November, Microsoft announced this new security solution at Microsoft Ignite 2021 after a 300% increase in ransomware attacks during 2020.
More than 50% of these attacks directly affected SMEs, as revealed by the US Secretary of Homeland Security, Alejandro Mayorkas.
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