For the first time, SMB customers are not sitting to the side of the premium Microsoft conversation. It is right in the middle of it.
The market has shifted, and smaller customers can now access a complete Microsoft story across security, governance, and AI — without needing to lift a customer to enterprise licensing.
That is a big deal for our partners, because the SMB opportunity is no longer about good enough protection or a stripped-back AI story. It is now possible to position SMB with a serious security and governance foundation, advanced protection and compliance capability, and a full Copilot experience— all in a way that is commercially realistic and far easier to package.
The most compelling part is the value story. Based on current A/NZ pricing, complete with E5 level security and governance capabilities and the full Copilot experience lands in approx. $95 per user per month pricing range (ex GST/Tax).
That combined stack matters because it is not just more security.
The Business Premium add-on suites deliver top-tier capabilities, including Defender for Endpoint P2, Defender for Office 365 P2, Defender for Identity, Defender for Cloud Apps, Entra ID Plan 2, E5 eDiscovery & Audit, E5 Insider Risk Management, and E5 Information Protection & Governance. These offerings are designed to provide robust security, compliance, and governance for Business Premium customers—ensuring data protection, streamlined information management, and simplified AI adoption.
On the AI front, Copilot for Business is tailored for organisations with up to 300 users on Microsoft 365 business plans, providing a premium Copilot experience that fits SMB needs and budgets.
This enables partners to confidently assure SMB customers that they can access a comprehensive Microsoft solution - without compromise, changing the entire conversation.
Instead of talking to SMB customers about compromise, partners can talk about readiness, resilience, governance, and AI productivity — all in one packaged solution. This is why SMB now deserves to be treated as a first-class citizen in the Microsoft ecosystem.
The technology is there. The packaging is there. The pricing is there. And most importantly, the business case is there. Smaller customers now have access to a far more complete Microsoft journey, ready to unlock real productivity gains and business wins.
For partners, that creates a much stronger market motion. Rather than leading with separate licensing conversations, you can package the whole story around one outcome-led journey: secure the business, govern the data, and make AI productive. That is a better discussion for the customer, and it is a better commercial model for the partner because it creates more room for packaged services, advisory value, and long-term stickiness. Valuable outcomes justify solution pricing — and solution pricing drives profit.
Why this matters right now
For a number of years, SMB customers have had the same support requirements as their larger counterparts: cyber risk, governance expectations, and growing urgency around AI. What has changed is that they now have access to a Microsoft offer that lets them address all three in one conversation. That is why this is such a strong moment for partners to lean in. You are no longer asking smaller customers to buy a point solution. You are helping them adopt a secure, governed, AI-ready platform that makes sense commercially and operationally.
How Dicker Data Can Help
If you want to turn that story into a repeatable partner motion, our Modern Work, Security and AI team is ready to help. We can support you in packaging the Business Premium, Defender, Purview, and Copilot for Business story into a clear customer journey that lands as one strategic conversation — not a series of disconnected product pitches. From security and governance positioning through to Copilot readiness and adoption, we are ready to help partners take this opportunity to market and turn these opportunities it into profitable pipeline of results. Just contact us today.
Let’s win this business together!
