Microsoft 365 offers new bundles for cyber security and GDPR compliance

(Image credit: Microsoft)

Microsft has added two new security-centric subscription bundles to its Microsoft 365 enterprise suite to be made available from February 1 2019.

The new 'Identity & Threat Protection' and 'Information Protection & Compliance' packages are aimed at enterprise customers unable to commit to most high-end Microsoft 365 subscriptions, but who still want to benefit from the firm's security and compliance tools.

The former will include Microsoft Threat Protection, which comprises Azure Advanced Threat Protection (ATP), Windows Defender ATP and Office 365 ATP including Threat Intelligence. Priced at $12 per user per month, it will also offer Microsoft Cloud App Security, and Azure Active Directory.

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The latter package, which is more geared towards assisting customers with compliance needs such as handling requests under the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), will be priced at $10 per user per month.

This package combines Office 365 Advance Compliance and Azure Information Protection, and is designed to aid chief compliance officers with ongoing risk assessments within their organisations. The package will also automatically classify and protect sensitive data and use AI to respond to regulatory requests.

"A big driver of customer adoption of Microsoft 365 is the need for security and compliance solutions in an age of increasingly sophisticated cybersecurity threats, as well as complex information protection needs due to regulations like the GDPR," said corporate vice president for Microsoft 365 Ron Markezich.

"As we speak to customers about the future of work, we know security and compliance are some of the highest organizational priorities and we hope these new offerings will help them achieve their security and compliance goals."

These products already exist as part of the Microsoft 365 E5 suite, the most high-end subscription bundle available, but is being made available to existing and prospective customers on a standalone basis.

Microsoft confirmed that neither the price, nor composition, of its existing packages will change.

Keumars Afifi-Sabet is a writer and editor that specialises in public sector, cyber security, and cloud computing. He first joined ITPro as a staff writer in April 2018 and eventually became its Features Editor. Although a regular contributor to other tech sites in the past, these days you will find Keumars on LiveScience, where he runs its Technology section.