MS-900 Practice Question: Describe Microsoft 365 pricing, licensing, and support
Your organization has 500 users with Microsoft 365 E3 licenses. You want to add security features such as Microsoft Defender for Office 365 (Plan 1) and Microsoft Purview Information Protection. Which licensing approach should you recommend?
⚠ Common exam trap
Test-takers frequently assume the E5 Security add-on or E5 Compliance add-on alone can cover both requirements, but each add-on only covers its respective domain (security or compliance), and neither alone includes both Defender for Office 365 (Plan 1) and Purview Information Protection.
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
✓
Upgrade all users to Microsoft 365 E5
Microsoft 365 E5 includes both Defender for Office 365 (Plan 1) and Purview Information Protection (formerly Azure Information Protection P2) natively, whereas E3 requires separate add-ons. Upgrading all users to E5 is the simplest and most cost-effective licensing approach when both security features are needed for all 500 users, as it avoids the complexity and potential per-user cost of stacking multiple add-on SKUs.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Keep E3 and add Microsoft 365 E5 Compliance add-on
Why it's wrong here
Adding the Microsoft 365 E5 Compliance add-on to E3 licenses provides Microsoft Purview Information Protection capabilities such as sensitivity labels and data loss prevention, but it does not include Defender for Office 365 Plan 1. Email threat protection requires a separate add-on, so this option only partially satisfies the stated requirements, leaving critical security coverage missing.
- ✗
Keep E3 and add Microsoft 365 E5 Security add-on
Why it's wrong here
The Microsoft 365 E5 Security add-on bundles advanced security tools like Defender for Identity and Defender for Endpoint, but it does not include Defender for Office 365 or Microsoft Purview Information Protection. This means you would still need to purchase the Compliance add-on separately to meet the information protection requirement, making the licensing stack more complex and incomplete for the stated needs.
- ✓
Upgrade all users to Microsoft 365 E5
Why this is correct
Upgrading all users to Microsoft 365 E5 is the correct choice because E5 directly includes both Defender for Office 365 Plan 1 and Microsoft Purview Information Protection. E5 bundles all E3 features with advanced security and compliance workloads, eliminating the need for additional add-ons and ensuring both the email protection and information protection requirements are met under a single license.
- ✗
Keep E3 and use the Security & Compliance Center for E3
Why it's wrong here
The Security & Compliance Center in Microsoft 365 E3 is a management portal that provides only basic compliance features like audit log search and retention policies, but it cannot unlock advanced workloads. E3 does not include the underlying service licenses for Defender for Office 365 or Microsoft Purview Information Protection, so accessing the portal does not grant these capabilities; licensing must be added separately.
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
Benefits of Microsoft Cloud
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
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.
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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.