What License Is Required for Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps?

Question

I am looking to implement Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps in my organization to improve security and manage cloud app usage. Could you provide details on the licensing requirements? Are there specific plans or tiers needed to access its features?

Answer 1

Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps License Required

Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps is licensed as part of the Microsoft 365 and Enterprise Mobility + Security (EMS) suites.

Below are the details of the licensing options:

1) Standalone License

Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps is available as a standalone license. This is suitable if you only need cloud app security capabilities without additional features of Microsoft 365 or EMS.

2) Included in Microsoft 365 Plans

Defender for Cloud Apps is included in the following plans:

• Microsoft 365 E5
• Microsoft 365 E5 Security

3) Included in Enterprise Mobility + Security (EMS) Plans

It is also included in:

• Enterprise Mobility + Security E5

4) Microsoft Security Add-ons

Defender for Cloud Apps may be available as part of a security bundle offered by Microsoft to enhance overall organizational security.

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Additional Notes:

• To access advanced features like anomaly detection, conditional access policies for apps, and integration with other Microsoft Defender solutions, you will need a plan that includes Microsoft 365 E5 Security or Microsoft Enterprise Mobility + Security (EMS) E5.
• Also, ensure that the number of licenses covers all users whose activities you want to monitor or protect.

See Also Get started with Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps

Comments

Thanks Mohamed, but I can't understand this "Ensure that the number of licenses covers all users whose activities you want to monitor or protect", could you elaborate more!

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Consider you have 100 employees using cloud applications and want to monitor their activities and apply security controls to all of them, you need 100 licenses.

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Got it Thanks