Beyond E5—What's in GCC?

While Microsoft has continued to expand the number of premium features that require additional licensing beyond any available Microsoft 365 suite, there are four add-ons in particular that point to a new trend in how Microsoft charges for new features: 

There are four add-ons that have become generally available in the last three years that point to a new trend in how Microsoft charges for new features:

• Entra ID Governance
• Intune Plan 2 and Intune Suite
• Microsoft Defender Vulnerability Management
• Teams Premium.

Note that the Intune Suite and Intune Plan 2 are being partially added to Microsoft 365 E3, and fully to Microsoft 365 E5 ahead of Microsoft 365 and Office 365 suites increasing in price on July 1, 2026. It’s anticipated that these add-ons will likely be discontinued at some point in the future.

These add-ons share three characteristics:

• Each requires a service included in one of the Microsoft 365 enterprise suites (E3 or E5)