On November 3, 2025—one week before CMMC Phase 1 enforcement began—Microsoft announced a new licensing tier for GCC High that was designed specifically for small defense contractors seeking a cost-effective path to CMMC compliance: Microsoft 365 Business Premium.

At approximately $22 per user/month, this license is up to 40% cheaper than the next tier up for GCC High. For component manufacturers, service providers, and other small to mid-sized DIB organizations that were previously priced out of GCC High, this changes the game significantly.

What Is Microsoft 365 GCC High Business Premium?

The Business Premium licensing tier for GCC High is a more affordable option for smaller defense contractors that want to use Microsoft’s government cloud offering that was purpose-built for the DIB to meet CMMC and other US defense regulatory requirements. 

Before this tier was launched, access to GCC High meant committing to enterprise licensing (either Microsoft 365 Government G3 or G5). While pricing at this tier is not posted publicly by Microsoft and is negotiated either directly with Microsoft or an authorized reseller, it is estimated to be 40%-70% more expensive than the Commercial Cloud equivalents, which prices out most small to mid-sized contractors. 

Microsoft designed Business Premium for GCC High specifically for smaller DIB organizations with fewer than 300 seats, such as component manufacturers and service providers, that need to meet CMMC requirements without the overhead of enterprise licensing.

This new tier brings the same FedRAMP High Authorized Microsoft government cloud down to a price that smaller organizations can actually afford (~$22 per user per month) while still including all the core tools that small contractors need, including Microsoft Teams, secure cloud storage, business email with enhanced protection, Microsoft Defender for Business for endpoint protection, and premium Office applications across devices.

Note: The original announcement saying 500 seats has been superseded by more recent documentation and web pages that specify a cap of 300 seats.  

Note on pricing: The ~$22 figure is the standard annual rate with Teams posted by Microsoft. If purchasing through a reseller, actual pricing may vary based on support, setup, and other services offered.

What's included in GCC High Business Premium?

Microsoft 365 Business Premium for GCC High includes everything in the Microsoft 365 Business Standard tier plus cybersecurity and productivity capabilities, including advanced security protection, next-generation protection, endpoint detection and response, and threat and vulnerability management.

Here’s a more detailed breakdown:

Productivity

• Microsoft 365 Apps (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, Microsoft Access (PC only)) — web, mobile, desktop
• Exchange Online — business email with custom domain
• SharePoint Online — document management and collaboration
• OneDrive for Business — cloud file storage
• Microsoft Teams — communication and meetings
• Microsoft Defender for Office 365 Plan 1

Security

• Microsoft Defender for Business — endpoint protection specific to SMBs
• Microsoft Defender for Office 365 Plan 1 — cloud-based email filtering and security
• Microsoft Intune — device management and mobile security
• Microsoft Entra ID — identity and access management
• Multi-factor authentication (MFA) — built-in and configurable
• Conditional access policies

Compliance

• Microsoft Purview Audit (core) — standard auditing and data governance
• Sensitivity labels — CUI classification support (manual not automatic)
• Data Loss Prevention (DLP) — baseline policies for emails and policies
• Audit logging — compliance record-keeping (logs retained up to 180 days)

Add-ons (Available as of February 2026)

For organizations pursuing CMMC Level 2, two add-ons are now available that extend Business Premium's capabilities:

• Microsoft Defender for Business GCC-H — advanced threat protection
• Microsoft Purview for GCC-H — advanced compliance features

This add-on bundle costs $15 per user/month, paid annually. 

When paired with Business Premium, these add-ons provide the security and compliance capabilities required to support CMMC Level 2 requirements.

What's not included in GCC High Business Premium vs. Enterprise?

Business Premium covers the fundamentals of information protection, threat protection, identity and access management, and more, offering a strong foundation of cybersecurity and compliance for small-to-medium DIB organizations. 

But if your organization has more advanced requirements, there are gaps compared to the enterprise licensing plans for GCC High (G3 and G5).

Bottom line: Business Premium covers what most small DIB contractors need. But if you need more than 300 seats, look at G3 and if you need advanced identity, security, and least privileged access management for 300+ users, look at G5.

Check Microsoft documentation for the most comprehensive breakdown of feature availability for Microsoft 365 Business Premium compared to G3 and G5 for GCC High.

Cost Comparison: Business Premium vs. Enterprise for GCC High

Since Microsoft and most resellers don’t publicly post pricing for enterprise tiers, we’ll use cost estimates shared by real small businesses. Then we’ll calculate totals for a 50-person organization per month and per year (using rates for annual pricing):

Even with the add-ons required for CMMC Level 2, Business Premium at list price costs roughly 40% less than G3 (based on estimate). For a 50-person organization, that's over ten thousand dollars saved per year. That's real money for a small contractor also investing in CMMC compliance tooling and a C3PAO assessment.

For organizations that would otherwise need G5, the savings are even more dramatic, closer to 60% (based on the G5 estimate).

Can you achieve CMMC Level 2 with GCC High Business Premium?

Yes, but not out of the box.

Purchasing a GCC High Business Premium license gives you a FedRAMP High-equivalent cloud environment, which satisfies DFARS 252.204-7012. However, CMMC Level 2 requires full implementation of all 110 NIST SP 800-171 requirements. Many of these require the organization to have the right configuration, policy, and process in place, not just the right software, to be assessed as “MET.”

What Business Premium provides out-of-the-box toward CMMC Level 2:

• FedRAMP High-equivalent cloud environment (satisfies DFARS 252.204-7012)
• MFA and conditional access (access controls)
• DLP and sensitivity labels (information protection controls)
• Audit logging (audit and accountability controls)
• Intune endpoint management (device security controls)
• Advanced threat protection and compliance capabilities add-ons (required to support full Level 2 compliance)

Important caveat: Microsoft has documentation explaining more in-depth how Microsoft cloud products and services may satisfy requirements for CMMC practices. These existing documents, Microsoft Product Placemat for CMMC and Technical Reference Guidance for CMMC, are written for G3/G5 licenses, however. If you're implementing Business Premium, you'll need to manually map its features to each of the 110 NIST SP 800-171 controls or use an automation tool to do so.

What you still need to provide:

It’s important to understand that CMMC compliance is a shared responsibility between the customer and Microsoft (the cloud service provider). In addition to purchasing the add-ons required for Level 2, customer responsibilities include:

• Security configuration of every applicable feature
• System Security Plan (SSP) documenting your controls
• Plan of Action & Milestones (POA&M) for any gaps
• Incident response plan and tabletop testing
• Security awareness training program
• Physical security controls
• Personnel security policies
• Formal risk assessments

The licensing savings from Business Premium can materially offset these costs.

Who should use GCC High Business Premium?

Business Premium is a strong fit for:

• Small defense contractors with fewer than 300 employees
• Component manufacturers in the defense supply chain
• Service providers handling limited CUI
• Organizations where CMMC Level 2 is required but budget is a real constraint
• Companies evaluating GCC High for the first time

Consider Enterprise licenses (G3/G5) instead if you:

• Have more than 300 seats
• Need unlimited archive mailboxes (e.g., for legal hold requirements)
• Need advanced eDiscovery capabilities
• Need advanced threat hunting capabilities available in Defender for Endpoint Plan 2 
• Need a built-in Phone System 
• Need advanced analytics capabilities, including dashboards and reports, available with Power BI Pro

What about Microsoft 365 Business Standard? The Business Standard is for the Microsoft 365 Commercial Cloud, not the Government Clouds (GCC or GCC High) and does not support CMMC compliance. It lacks the FedRAMP authorization and the data residency and sovereignty controls required for handling CUI. Business Premium for GCC High is therefore the entry point for CMMC for small businesses.

How to get started with GCC High Business Premium

1. Confirm eligibility: GCC High requires a CAGE code and a copy of a government contract or subcontract. Eligibility requirements are the same as any GCC High license.
2. Contact an AOS-G partner: Business Premium for GCC High is sold through Microsoft's authorized AOS-G partners, the same channel as enterprise.
3. Map your CMMC controls: Before committing, map your required NIST SP 800-171 controls to Business Premium features to confirm fit.
4. Budget for configuration: Plan for a consultant or compliance platform support to configure correctly. The license alone doesn't ensure compliance.
5. Start tracking evidence early: CMMC Level 2 requires documented, continuous evidence of control implementation.

Get your GCC High license and CMMC ready with Secureframe

Getting access to GCC High is step one. Getting compliant with CMMC Level 2 is the real goal and that requires configuring all 110 NIST SP 800-171 controls, documenting them in a System Security Plan, preparing for a third-party C3PAO assessment, and then monitoring and maintaining compliance over time.

Secureframe is not only an authorized reseller of GCC High. It also connects directly to your Microsoft 365 GCC High environment, maps your configurations to each control automatically, and shows you exactly what requirements have already been met and what steps still need to be completed to get fully assessment-ready.

With Secureframe Defense, you're not building your compliance program from a blank spreadsheet or with disparate tools or consultants. You’re automating the CMMC process end-to-end.

Visit secureframe.com/cmmc or request a demo to start your most efficient path to CMMC with Secureframe Defense.