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MS-900 Practice Question: A small business with 10 users needs Microsoft…
A small business with 10 users needs Microsoft 365 desktop versions of Office apps (Word, Excel, PowerPoint), business-grade email, and 1 TB of cloud storage per user. They do not need advanced security or compliance features. Which Microsoft 365 plan is the most cost-effective choice?
⚠ Common exam trap
Many exam-takers confuse 'business-grade email' with the need for desktop Office apps, and incorrectly choose Business Basic because it includes Exchange Online email, forgetting that Basic lacks the desktop Office client installation rights that the question explicitly requires.
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 is the most cost-effective plan that includes desktop versions of Office apps (Word, Excel, PowerPoint), business-grade email (Exchange Online), and 1 TB of OneDrive cloud storage per user. Business Basic only provides web and mobile apps, not desktop versions. Business Premium adds advanced security and compliance features (e.g., Microsoft Defender for Office 365, Azure Information Protection) that the customer explicitly does not need. E3 is an enterprise plan with similar features but at a higher per-user cost, making it overkill for a 10-user small business.
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 Basic
Why it's wrong here
Microsoft 365 Business Basic provides only web-based and mobile versions of Office apps, such as Word and Excel, without the ability to install the full desktop applications on a PC or Mac. Since the small business specifically requires desktop apps for its 10 users, this plan fails the core requirement and is therefore incorrect.
- ✓
Microsoft 365 Business Standard
Why this is correct
Microsoft 365 Business Standard is the correct choice because it includes the fully installed desktop versions of Office apps (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and others) for each of the 10 users, alongside business-grade email (Exchange Online), 1 TB of OneDrive cloud storage per user, and Teams collaboration tools. This plan directly satisfies the stated need for desktop apps without adding unnecessary enterprise-level features.
- ✗
Microsoft 365 Business Premium
Why it's wrong here
Microsoft 365 Business Premium does include desktop Office apps, but it bundles additional advanced security and device management capabilities such as Microsoft Intune, Azure Active Directory Premium P1, and advanced threat protection. For a small business with 10 users that only requires desktop apps, these extra features are not needed and make the plan more expensive than necessary compared to Business Standard.
- ✗
Microsoft 365 E3
Why it's wrong here
Microsoft 365 E3 is an enterprise-tier licensing plan designed for large organizations, featuring comprehensive compliance, analytics, and advanced security tools that far exceed the needs of a 10-user small business. Although it includes desktop Office apps, E3 requires higher per-user licensing costs and often enterprise agreement commitments, making it an overprovisioned and cost-ineffective solution for this specific requirement.
Go deeper
Related to this question
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Cloud Service Types for MS-900
Key term
Microsoft Defender
Microsoft Defender is a suite of security products that protects devices, data, and identities from cyber threats like malware, phishing, and unauthorized access.
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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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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