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Resources for Microsoft partners working with small and medium-sized businesses

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Read all about exciting, new capabilities releasing in July 2023 in the Tech Community blog: New SMB security innovations from Microsoft Inspire 2023.

Small and medium-sized businesses recognize that security is important, but they often don't have the capacity or expertise to have a dedicated security operations team. These customers often need help with setup and configuration, managing security for their devices and network, and addressing alerts or detected threats. Microsoft partners can help!

If you're a Microsoft partner, and you're working with customers who have or need Microsoft Defender for Business, Microsoft 365 Business Premium, Microsoft Defender for Endpoint, or Microsoft 365 E3, this article is for you!

Download our security guide and checklist (NEW!)

The practical guide to security using Microsoft 365 Business (Basic, Standard, and Premium) guide is intended to start discussion around your customers' security and compliance options with Microsoft 365 for business. One of the first and most important things that IT leaders and business leaders can do is talk through the possibilities. This guide can help facilitate those discussions. You can also download a summary checklist to use as a companion to the guide.

Use this guidance to:

  • Adopt a formal, vendor-agnostic cybersecurity framework.
  • Create a plan that includes identity management, admin accounts, device management, licensing, and more.
  • Set up, configure, use, and maintain Microsoft 365 Business Premium, step by step.
  • Implement and use data protection capabilities, such as sensitivity labels and DLP policies.
  • Work with advanced capabilities, such as increased security, identity protection, and email & apps protection.

Use the links in the following table to access the guide and summary checklist:

Resource Description
Practical guide to security using Microsoft 365 Business (Basic, Standard, and Premium) This Word document summarizes Microsoft's recommendations for enabling employees at small and medium-sized businesses to securely work from anywhere- whether from home, in the office or on the go, using the features included in Microsoft 365 Business Premium.
Checklist for security with Microsoft 365 Business Premium This checklist includes all the planning and configuration steps covered in the guide, from getting started to configuring security and compliance capabilities, and provides general recommendations for each step.

Integrate Microsoft endpoint security with your RMM tools and PSA software

If you're a Microsoft Managed Service Provider (MSP), you can integrate Microsoft endpoint security with your remote monitoring and management (RMM) tools and your professional service automation (PSA) software so that you can:

Integration can be done by using the Defender for Endpoint APIs. Use the following resources to learn more:

Resource Description
Overview of management and APIs Defender for Business is built on Microsoft Defender for Endpoint, and is an integration-ready platform. This article describes how to automate workflows and innovate using the Defender for Endpoint APIs.
Configure managed security service provider integration Provides an overview of steps to take to successfully integrate a customer's tenant with your MSP solution.

Use Microsoft 365 Lighthouse to secure and manage your customers' devices and data

If you're a Microsoft Cloud Solution Provider (CSP) or MSP, you can use Microsoft 365 Lighthouse to help your customers manage their security settings and capabilities, and protect their data and devices. You can use Microsoft 365 Lighthouse to:

  • Manage your customers' security settings and capabilities.
  • View and manage detected threats across your customers' tenants.
  • Initiate antivirus scans on customers' devices to keep them up to date and protected.
Resource Description
Microsoft 365 Lighthouse Provides an overview of Microsoft 365 Lighthouse, an admin portal that helps MSPs and CSPs secure and manage devices, data, and users for small and medium-sized businesses.
Microsoft 365 Lighthouse and Microsoft Defender for Business Describes how Defender for Business integrates with Microsoft 365 Lighthouse and includes links to additional information.

Learn more about Defender for Business and Microsoft 365 Business Premium

Resource Description
Microsoft Partner Network Visit the Microsoft Partner Network to learn how to become a Microsoft partner and join the Microsoft Partner Network.
Microsoft 365 Business Premium and Defender for Business partner webinar series This webinar series provides:
- Practical guidance about how to have conversations with your customers about security and drive upsell to Microsoft 365 Business Premium.
- Demos and deep dive walkthroughs for Microsoft 365 Lighthouse and Defender for Business.
- A panel of experts to help answer your questions.
Microsoft 365 Business Premium partner playbook and readiness series Practical guidance on building a profitable managed services practice, with:
- Examples of successful managed service offerings from industry experts and peers.
- Technical enablement and checklists from Microsoft experts.
- Sales enablement and customer conversation aids to help you market your solution.
Defender for Business partner kit The Defender for Business partner kit provides you with practical guidance, technical information, and customer-ready resources to market and sell Defender for Business to small and medium-sized businesses.