Exchange Online Protection: when you need it
Exchange Online Protection
per user per month, excluding VAT
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Exchange Online Protection is Microsoft's cloud email filtering service: anti-malware, anti-spam, anti-phishing and anti-spoofing, connection filtering on sender reputation, mail flow rules and quarantine. Before buying it standalone, check one thing. Exchange Online Protection is already included in every Microsoft 365 organisation that has Exchange Online mailboxes. The standalone subscription exists for a different case: protecting mailboxes that are still on-premises, on Exchange or on another SMTP mail product, in an organisation with no cloud mailboxes. If your mail is already in Exchange Online, this licence adds nothing you do not have.
What it is
Exchange Online Protection is the mail filtering layer in front of Microsoft 365 mail. Bought standalone, it protects an on-premises mail organisation instead: internet mail is routed through Microsoft, filtered, and then delivered to the on-premises recipients.
Who it is for
Organisations running mailboxes on-premises, on Microsoft Exchange or another SMTP product, that want cloud filtering without moving the mailboxes. It is also included for on-premises Exchange organisations holding Exchange Enterprise CAL with Services licences.
Read this before buying it standalone
Exchange Online Protection is already included in every Microsoft 365 organisation with Exchange Online mailboxes. Microsoft 365 Business Standard, Business Premium, E3, E5 and Exchange Online Plan 1 and Plan 2 all carry it. If your mail is already hosted in Exchange Online, the standalone subscription buys capability you already own.
Key capabilities
- Anti-malware scanning with multiple engines, on inbound and outbound mail
- Anti-spam filtering with customisable policies
- Anti-phishing and anti-spoofing, examining forgery of the From header
- Connection filtering on sender reputation
- Mail flow rules for custom handling and conditional routing
- Quarantine, with administrator and end-user management
- Message trace and reporting
One limit specific to the on-premises case
Protecting on-premises mailboxes, the service scans inbound and outbound messages that route through it. It does not scan internal messages sent from one person in your organisation to another, because those never leave your own mail system. Pairing it with the anti-malware capability of Exchange Server covers that gap. For Exchange Online customers, internal mail is scanned as well.
Requirements
Mail flow must be routed through the service. In a hybrid deployment, two mail flow rules are needed in the on-premises Exchange organisation so that cloud spam verdicts land messages in the Junk Email folder correctly.
Do I need this if I already use Exchange Online?
No. Exchange Online Protection is included in every Microsoft 365 organisation that has Exchange Online mailboxes. The standalone subscription is for organisations whose mailboxes are still on-premises.
What is the standalone subscription actually for?
Protecting an on-premises email organisation that has no cloud mailboxes. Internet mail routes through Microsoft for filtering and is then delivered to the on-premises recipients. The on-premises system can be Exchange or another SMTP product.
Does it scan internal email?
Not in the on-premises case. It scans inbound and outbound mail that routes through the service, but internal messages between two people in your organisation never leave your mail system. Exchange Server's own anti-malware covers that. For Exchange Online mailboxes, internal mail is scanned.
Can anti-malware scanning be turned off?
No. Anti-malware scanning cannot be disabled. Anti-spam policies and quarantine behaviour are configurable, but malware scanning always runs.
Is it included with Exchange Enterprise CAL with Services?
Yes. If your on-premises Exchange organisation holds Exchange Enterprise CAL with Services licences, these built-in security features are part of the included services.
- Vendor
- Microsoft
- Category
- Productivity
- Type
- SaaS
- Billing
- Monthly
- Commitment
- 1-Year
- Available terms
- Monthly, 1-Year
- SKU
- MST-NCE-184-C100
- 1You request the licence, or add it to the cart.
- 2I confirm price, term and seats, and check your VAT number in VIES. Businesses in the EU only.
- 3You pay before we provision, under the CSP Marketplace Terms. The invoice comes from Michal Jatczak, a sole trader registered in Malta, trading as ITSailor. Reverse charge for an EU VAT number that validates in VIES.
- 4Your authorised signatory accepts the Microsoft Customer Agreement before activation.
- 5I place the order with Pax8 within one business day of payment.