How to Buy Microsoft 365 Business: Package Guide

Choosing the Right Microsoft 365 Package

Before purchasing, the most important decision is which plan to buy. The three business-tier options are:

• Microsoft 365 Business Basic — £4.60/user/month: Teams, Exchange email (50GB), OneDrive (1TB), SharePoint, and Office web apps. No desktop Office installs.
• Microsoft 365 Business Standard — £9.40/user/month: Everything in Basic plus installed Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook on up to 5 devices per user, and Teams Webinars.
• Microsoft 365 Business Premium — £17.60/user/month: Everything in Standard plus Defender for Business, Intune device management, conditional access, and Microsoft Purview data protection.

The simplest question to resolve first: do your staff need Word, Excel and Outlook installed on their computers (not just in a browser)? If yes, Business Standard or Premium is required. If not, Basic may suffice.

The second question: do you handle sensitive client data, or do you have regulatory compliance requirements? If yes, Business Premium's security toolset is appropriate.

Where to Buy Microsoft 365

Directly from Microsoft

Microsoft 365 is available to buy directly at microsoft.com/en-gb/microsoft-365. You can start a free trial (usually 30 days), then activate a paid subscription. Direct purchase is simple for small businesses buying 1-10 licences and managing their own tenant. However, Microsoft's own support is platform-level only — you won't get configuration help, migration assistance or a helpdesk for user queries.

Through a Microsoft CSP Partner

A Cloud Solution Provider (CSP) is a Microsoft-authorised reseller who can provide Microsoft 365 licences alongside services. Buying through a CSP partner like AMVIA provides:

• The same licences at the same (or better) price
• Configuration and migration support during setup
• Ongoing IT support for users and administrators
• A single point of contact for Microsoft 365 queries
• Licence management — adding and removing users as you hire and onboard

For businesses with more than a handful of users, the value of having expert support alongside the licences far outweighs any price consideration. The cost of a poorly configured Microsoft 365 tenant — through security incidents, wasted licences, or lost productivity — typically exceeds the cost of proper managed support.

Annual vs Monthly Subscriptions

Microsoft 365 is available on annual commitment (paid monthly or upfront) or as a monthly rolling subscription. Annual commitment pricing is approximately 20% lower per user than monthly. For established businesses with a stable headcount, annual commitment is more cost-effective. Monthly subscriptions provide flexibility — useful for contractors, temporary staff, or businesses in a period of significant headcount change.

Many CSP partners allow mixing: annual licences for permanent staff and monthly for temporary or seasonal users.

How to Buy Through AMVIA

AMVIA provides Microsoft 365 licences alongside our managed IT support service. The process is straightforward:

1. We discuss your requirements — how many users, what roles, what devices, any current email platform you're moving from
2. We recommend the right plan mix (often a combination of plans for different roles)
3. We handle the tenant setup, domain configuration and migration
4. Licences are provided as part of your monthly AMVIA service

There's no technical reason to buy licences and support separately. Having both with one provider simplifies billing, reduces handoff friction during incidents, and means your support team understands your environment in detail.

What You Need Before You Start

Before setting up Microsoft 365 for your business, you'll need:

• Your business domain name (e.g. company.co.uk) — this becomes the email domain for all users
• Access to your domain registrar (to add DNS records) or confirmation from your IT provider that they'll handle this
• A list of users who need licences, with names and desired email addresses
• Details of the current email platform if you're migrating (provider, number of accounts, approximate data volume)

If you're purchasing through AMVIA, we'll gather these details during an initial scoping conversation and handle the technical setup end to end.