Insights

Get to grips with Microsoft’s products, what they each do and how they’re licensed in our online Microsoft product glossary.

Staying on top of the latest Microsoft products, name changes, licensing combinations and understanding what each product actually does can be very difficult! To help, we’ve created this Microsoft Glossary to help give you a clear and concise overview of most of Microsoft’s most popular products, a short overview of what each one does and how they are licensed.

To make it a little easier, we’ve grouped the products into their bundles/suites and the short licensing summary is at the end of each product in italics – please note the licensing is a short overview as it is difficult to explain Microsoft licensing concisely! If you would like to find out more around licensing Microsoft 365 then we recommend reading our guide “Microsoft 365 Business vs Enterprise comparison” or contacting us if you require licensing support.

EMS

Azure Active Directory

Cloud-based directory and identity management service that unifies user accounts for improved management and security – includes SSO, self-service password reset and more.

Available in P1 or P2, or as part of EMS or Microsoft 365 (P1 in E3, P2 in E5). Parts of P1 available in Microsoft 365 Business.

Microsoft Information Protection

Document labelling and classification to determine pre-configured security and compliance rules (i.e. Confidential cannot be emailed externally). Plan 2 allows automated classification.

Standalone in P1 or P2 or as part of EMS or Microsoft 365 (P1 in Business or E3, P2 in E5).

Microsoft Defender for Identities (formerly Azure Advanced Threat Protection)

Threat detection software that monitors network activity then detects and alerts any anomalies – deployed online.

EMS E5 or Microsoft E5 (or as part of the Microsoft 365 E5 Security add-on).

Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps (formerly Microsoft Cloud App Security)

Reports and analyses web browsing activity and gives visibility into your cloud apps and services.

Different levels available in Azure Active Directory P1 and P2, EMS E3/E5, Microsoft 365 E3/E5 or the Microsoft 365 E5 Security or Compliance add-on.

Conditional Access

Conditional access isn’t a product, but it allows you to create automated access control decisions based on certain conditions – for example, do not challenge MFA within the office – and is highly recommended alongside MFA to improve user experience.

Requires Azure Active Directory P1 or P2 or EMS E3/E5 or Microsoft 365 E3 /E5 (not Business).

InTune

Microsoft’s cloud-based mobile device management and mobile application management platform.

Standalone InTune or within EMS E3/E5 or Microsoft 365 Business/E3/E5.

Windows 10

Windows Hello

Biometric login for Windows 10 devices using facial recognition.

Windows 10.

Windows Defender Antivirus

Antivirus software for Windows 10 devices.

Windows 10.

AutoPilot

Allows remote Windows 10 device deployment and reset (aka ‘zero touch’) removing the need for shipping devices and allowing users to be up and running quickly.

Requires InTune and Azure AD P1, or EMS E3/E5 (and the device to be Windows 10), or Microsoft 365 E3/E5.

Device Guard

Security feature that locks down Windows 10 devices so that only trusted applications run.

Windows 10 Enterprise.

Credential Guard

Security feature that isolates user login information to reduce identity theft.

Windows 10 Enterprise.

AppLocker

Application whitelisting software for Windows 10.

Windows 10 Enterprise.

Microsoft Defender for Endpoint (formerly Microsoft Defender Advanced Threat Protection)

An advanced post-breach solution, which detects advanced attacks, automatically investigates and give simple response options. Endpoint Detection & Response (EDR).

Windows 10 E5 or Microsoft 365 E5 (or as part of the Microsoft 365 E5 Security add-on).

Office 365 - Security

Microsoft Defender for Office (formerly Office 365 Advanced Threat Protection)

Advanced email filtering protection software available in P1 and P2. Office 365 ATP was previously a standalone solution and is now P1, Office 365 ATP and Office 365 Threat Intelligence make up P2. P1 focuses on delivering additional malware and URL link protection, such as Safe Links, Safe Attachments and email detonation chambers. P2 includes this plus threat investigation tools, automated investigation and response and attack simulators for end users.

Add-on available in P1 and P2 for Office 365 Business Premium, E1 and E3 – or included with Office 365 E5 or Microsoft 365 E5 (or as part of Microsoft 365 E5 Security add-on).

Compliance Manager & Compliance Score

Tool that allows you to manage compliance activities in one place to show you scores against industry security standards, such as ISO27001.

Included with Office 365.

Secure Score

Tool to assess and measure your organisation’s technical security posture, providing an overall breakdown and recommended next steps.

Included with Office 365.

Customer Lockbox

This isn’t a product but more a Microsoft process; Customer Lockbox means that if Microsoft engineers must request permission with yourself if they ever need to access your Office 365 data to resolve an issue; giving complete data control.

Office 365 E5 or Microsoft 365 E5.

Office 365 - Apps

Office

Familiar Office suite including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote.

Most Office 365 plans.

Outlook

Business class email.

Most Office 365 plans.

SharePoint

Shared document management and intranet platform.

Most Office 365 plans or standalone.

OneDrive for Business

Personal cloud storage with varying storage limits.

Most Office 365 plans.

Teams

Central teamwork app with group chat, audio and video conferencing, file management and other integrations.

Most Office 365 plans.

Planner

Task and project management tool.

Most Office/Microsoft 365 plans.

Forms

Form, survey and quiz creation tool.

Free version with Office 365 or Pro version.

Yammer

Company social network platform.

Most Office/Microsoft 365 plans.

Shifts (formerly StaffHub)

Schedule and rota management product that integrates within Teams.

Office 365 subscriptions that include Teams.

Sway

Interactive storyboard and presentation app.

Free to anyone with a Microsoft account.

Delve

Search tool for organising and discovering information – powerful search for profiles, documents and more.

Most Microsoft 365 plans.

Stream

Video management and sharing platform (‘YouTube’ for business).

Different levels included with Microsoft 365 Business & Enterprise plans, or available as an add-on.

MyAnalytics

now part of Microsoft Viva – Tracker and analytics tool for time management.

Different levels included with Office 365 and Microsoft 365 plans.

Bookings

App for scheduling and managing appointments.

Microsoft 365 Business Standard & Premium.

Azure

We have not included Azure products and services are there are so many – but Microsoft have a good summary of Azure services and what they do here.

Business Apps

Dynamics 365

Microsoft’s business application suite combining ERP and CRM software, available in a range of versions.

Various licensing options – we recommend discussing with your CRM/ERP partner.

Power Platform

Overarching term for the three ‘Power’ products: Power BI, PowerApps and Power Automate.

Power BI

Business intelligence tool for advanced and interactive data visualisations and business analytics.

Free, Pro & Premium plans.

Power Apps

Rapid app development platform for building custom web and mobile apps.

Per app plan, per user plan or versions included with Office 365 and Dynamics 365.

Power Automate (formerly Flow)

Workflow automation tool with a ‘no code’ approach.

Per app plan, per user plan or versions included with Office 365 and Dynamics 365.

Have we missed a product you want to know more on? Let us know by emailing hello@chorus.co.uk!