Microsoft 365 E3 vs. E5: eDiscovery and Audit

• E-mail audit features could trigger purchases of Microsoft 365 E5 add-ons or suites.
• Organizations buying E5 might offset its cost by retiring third-party eDiscovery and log audit software.

eDiscovery and IT log audit processes are critical to organizations that must comply with formal security, privacy, and data retention regulations or standards. With Microsoft 365 E5 licenses organizations can more effectively collect and review data for security, legal, and human resources investigations than they can with Microsoft 365 E3 alone. Consequently, eDiscovery and audit can be important factors in the decision whether to purchase E5 licenses.

This report reviews the Microsoft 365 E5 eDiscovery and Audit add-on license and related E5 licenses with its capabilities. (See the illustration “eDiscovery and Audit Packaging“.) The report compares the corresponding capabilities that come with Microsoft 365 E3, the baseline Microsoft 365 license for most organizations. This analysis should help customers decide whether to get by with Microsoft 365 E3 alone or with third-party solutions, add Microsoft 365 E5 eDiscovery and Audit, or buy one of the larger E5 suites. Although the report compares the add-on and other E5 licenses with Microsoft 365 E3, similar considerations apply to Microsoft 365 F1 and F3.