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MS-900 Practice Question: A company with 200 users has Microsoft 365…
A company with 200 users has Microsoft 365 Business Standard licenses. They need to add Microsoft 365 Defender for Office 365 (Plan 2) for increased protection against advanced threats. What should they purchase?
⚠ Common exam trap
It's easy for candidates to confuse the licensing tiers and assume that upgrading to Business Premium is the only way to get advanced security, when in fact Microsoft offers targeted add-ons like Defender for Office 365 Plan 2 that can be layered onto existing Business Standard subscriptions without a full suite upgrade.
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
✓
Purchase the Microsoft 365 Defender for Office 365 Plan 2 add-on
Microsoft 365 Business Standard licenses include basic email security but lack advanced threat protection features like automated investigation, threat hunting, and simulation training. Purchasing the Microsoft 365 Defender for Office 365 Plan 2 add-on directly adds these capabilities to existing Business Standard users without requiring a license upgrade, making it the most cost-effective and targeted solution.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Upgrade each user to Microsoft 365 Business Premium
Why it's wrong here
Upgrading every user to Microsoft 365 Business Premium would change their licensing tier and add features like identity and endpoint protection, but Business Premium only bundles Defender for Office 365 Plan 1. Plan 2 capabilities such as Threat Explorer, automated investigation and response, and attack simulation training are not included in Business Premium. Therefore, this option would still fail to deliver the required Plan 2 protection and would also be more expensive than purchasing the add-on.
- ✓
Purchase the Microsoft 365 Defender for Office 365 Plan 2 add-on
Why this is correct
The Microsoft 365 Defender for Office 365 Plan 2 add-on is the correct choice because it can be licensed per user directly onto an existing Microsoft 365 Business Standard subscription. This add-on supplies advanced email and collaboration protection that goes beyond the baseline Exchange Online Protection controls, including Threat Explorer, advanced hunting, automated investigation and response, and attack simulation training. It is designed for tenants that already have a qualifying base plan but need the higher tier of Defender for Office 365 without switching suites.
- ✗
Purchase Microsoft 365 E3 licenses
Why it's wrong here
Purchasing Microsoft 365 E3 licenses would replace the Business Standard subscription with a different enterprise licensing family, not add Plan 2 capabilities. Microsoft 365 E3 includes Office 365 E3, EMS E3, and Windows E3, but it does not include Defender for Office 365 Plan 2—only Microsoft 365 E5 or Office 365 E5 bundle that feature (or it requires an additional add-on). This approach would force a migration to a more expensive plan while still failing to meet the stated requirement by itself.
- ✗
Install the Microsoft Defender for Endpoint standalone subscription
Why it's wrong here
Installing Microsoft Defender for Endpoint standalone addresses device-level threats such as malware on Windows or mobile endpoints, not email and collaboration workload threats. Office 365 threat protection is delivered through Defender for Office 365, which inspects mail transport, mailbox links, attachments, and collaboration content. Defender for Endpoint and Defender for Office 365 are separate workload protections, so the standalone endpoint product cannot fulfill a requirement for Office 365 Plan 2.
Go deeper
Related to this question
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Benefits of Microsoft Cloud
Key term
Defender for Office 365
Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is a cloud-based email security service that protects organizations against advanced threats like phishing, malware, and business email compromise by scanning emails, attachments, and links in real time.
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.
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JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This MS-900 practice question is part of Courseiva's free Microsoft certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the MS-900 exam.