Compliance, Security Drive Office 365 E5 Decision

• Compliance and security features will be the biggest factors in a choice between Office 365 Enterprise E3 and E5 suites.
• Deploying an Office 365 feature to a subset of users could require an organization to license the feature for all users.

Office 365 Enterprise suites license collections of subscription software and Microsoft-hosted services on a Per-User basis. Many large organizations will standardize on Office 365 Enterprise E3 but will want some of the capabilities that are bundled in Office 365 Enterprise E5 suite for at least some of their users. For most organizations, regulatory compliance and security features will be the most important factors driving the decision between buying E3 and E5.

This report outlines the distinctive compliance and security features of Office 365 Enterprise E5 and how they might influence an organization to choose it over E3. (For an overview of Office 365 suite contents, including components unique to the E5 suite, see the illustration “Office 365 Enterprise Suite Features and Services“.) Most Office 365 Enterprise suites are sold as part of a larger Microsoft 365 suite, which bundle the same level (that is, E3, E5) of Office 365 Enterprise suite, the Enterprise Mobility and Security suite, and Windows Enterprise subscription as a single Per User license.