easyMultiple Choice
MS-900 Practice Question: A company has 50 users with Microsoft 365…
A company has 50 users with Microsoft 365 Business Basic licenses. They need desktop versions of Office apps (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) and 1 TB of cloud storage per user. They do not need advanced security, device management, or analytics features. Which licensing upgrade is the most cost-effective?
⚠ Common exam trap
Test-takers frequently think an add-on license exists for desktop Office apps on Business Basic, but Microsoft does not offer such an add-on; the only path is a plan upgrade, and Business Standard is the cheapest option that includes all required features without over-provisioning security or management capabilities.
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Microsoft 365 Business Standard
Microsoft 365 Business Standard includes desktop versions of Office apps (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) and provides 1 TB of OneDrive cloud storage per user, meeting the stated requirements exactly. It is the most cost-effective upgrade from Business Basic because it adds these features without the advanced security, device management, or analytics capabilities found in higher-tier plans.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Microsoft 365 Business Standard
Why this is correct
Microsoft 365 Business Standard is the correct upgrade because it directly addresses the gap in Business Basic: it includes the full desktop versions of Office apps (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and more) in addition to the 1 TB OneDrive storage, Exchange Online, Teams, and SharePoint that users already have. This gives the 50 users the locally installed productivity tools they need without paying for extra security or compliance features that are irrelevant to their stated requirement.
- ✗
Microsoft 365 Business Premium
Why it's wrong here
Microsoft 365 Business Premium is incorrect because it includes everything in Business Standard plus advanced security and device management capabilities such as Microsoft Intune, Azure Information Protection, Conditional Access, and Microsoft Defender for Business. These extra features are not needed for simply obtaining desktop Office apps and would significantly increase the per-user cost, making it an overprovisioned and unnecessarily expensive solution for a business that only needs standard productivity tools.
- ✗
Microsoft 365 E3
Why it's wrong here
Microsoft 365 E3 is incorrect because it is an enterprise-level plan marketed to larger organizations, bundling Windows Enterprise, advanced compliance tools (eDiscovery, legal hold), Power BI analytics, and other enterprise-scale features. For a 50-user business, E3 would require a higher price per user and often an enterprise agreement or volume licensing, and the additional licenses do not solve the desktop Office deficiency in a way that justifies the substantial cost over Business Standard.
- ✗
Add an Office desktop apps add-on to Business Basic
Why it's wrong here
Adding an Office desktop apps add-on to Business Basic is not possible because Microsoft does not offer a standalone add-on that grants the full Office desktop suite to Business Basic subscribers. Business Basic is intentionally limited to web and mobile versions of Office apps; the only way to get the desktop applications is to upgrade to a higher-tier plan such as Business Standard or Business Premium. Therefore, this option is invalid as a licensing path.
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Key term
Microsoft 365
Microsoft 365 is a subscription-based cloud service from Microsoft that combines productivity tools like Office apps with security, device management, and online storage.
Key term
Cloud storage
Cloud storage is a service that lets you save data on remote servers accessed over the internet instead of on your computer's hard drive.
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