Microsoft Defender for Business

Microsoft Defender for Business is the endpoint security product Microsoft built for small and mid-size companies. It covers next-generation antivirus, attack surface reduction rules, EDR and automated investigation, which looks into an alert and can fix common problems on its own. It protects Windows and Mac computers, and iOS and Android devices.

It comes as part of Microsoft 365 Business Premium and can also be bought as a separate subscription. Setup and alerts live in the Microsoft Defender portal, and devices are often onboarded through Intune, so companies already on Microsoft 365 can switch it on without adding a new vendor.

Check that your licenses actually include it, that every device is onboarded and reporting, and who will read the incident queue. Many small companies turn it on and never look at the alerts, which leaves the EDR part doing little.