Fast Response, Quality Service, 24/7 Technical Monitoring
Fast Response, Quality Service, 24/7 Technical Monitoring
The way we work has completely transformed over the past few years. What started as a temporary adjustment during the 2020 pandemic has quickly became a permanent shift; one that has changed how teams connect, collaborate, and communicate. With meeting attendance skyrocketing by more than 150% since March 2020, it’s clear that remote and hybrid work have become the new normal.
And has workplaces evolved, so has the technology that supports them. Tools like Microsoft Teams, Slack, and a growing list of others have reshaped how businesses operate, making it easier than ever to meet, share ideas, and get things done from anywhere. Some of these tools are free, others come with a price tag, and many offer premium features designed to boost productivity and enhance security.
Microsoft Teams Premium is one such tool. And that brings us to a key question: how do you know what your business actually needs? More importantly, is it time to upgrade?
In this post, we’ll unpack what it is, how it differs from the standard version, and whether it’s a smart investment for your business.
While you might think Microsoft Teams is just a messaging app, it’s actually a cloud-based communication and collaboration hub within the Microsoft 365 suite. Think of it as a digital office, that includes messaging, video calls, file sharing, and app integrations all in one place.
Teams helps your business stay connected, organised, and productive, whether you’re on desktop, web, or mobile. It’s designed to give teams of any size a centralised space for conversations, meetings, and file storage, eliminating the need to juggle multiple tools.
So, what is Microsoft Teams Premium?
Teams Premium is an add-on enhancement to your existing Teams setup. It builds on the standard Teams experience, preserving all the features you already rely on while adding advanced tools designed for businesses with more complex needs.
To use Teams Premium, you need an active Microsoft 365 or Office 365 subscription that includes Teams. You can’t purchase Premium on its own as it’s designed to layer on top of your existing license, enhancing what’s already working rather than replacing it.
With Teams Premium, you keep all the core capabilities of standard Teams (chat, file sharing, video conferencing, and Microsoft 365 integrations) but gain access to advanced functionality that standard Teams doesn’t offer.
Microsoft has also moved several features that were once free into the Premium tier, including:
Teams Premium focuses on five main objectives that go beyond standard Teams functionality:
By consolidating these advanced features under one license, Teams Premium can reduce the need for multiple third-party tools for webinars, virtual appointments, and meeting intelligence, making your collaboration ecosystem simpler BUT more powerful.
Feature | Standard Teams | Teams Premium | Why It Matters |
AI-Powered Meeting Summaries & Notes | Basic meeting notes; manual task tracking | AI-generated meeting recaps with speaker identification, topic summaries, task suggestions, organized chapters, and audio recaps for up to 8 meetings; supports 9 languages including English, Spanish, Japanese, French, German, Portuguese, Italian, Mandarin, and Korean | Lets participants focus on discussions instead of note-taking; makes catching up on meetings faster and more accurate |
Advanced Security & Compliance | Standard encryption; basic meeting controls | Watermarking on shared content and video feeds; end-to-end encryption for meetings up to 200 participants; granular controls over recording and participation; automatic sensitivity labels via Microsoft Purview | Protects sensitive information and ensures compliance for regulated industries; prevents data leaks and unauthorized recordings |
Custom Branding & Meeting Templates | Limited customization | Full branding across meeting invites, pre-join screens, and lobbies; meeting templates to pre-set security, AV, recording, and engagement settings | Creates a professional, consistent look for internal and client meetings; saves time for organizers |
Enhanced Webinar & Event Tools | Webinars up to 20,000 attendees; basic registration | Webinars up to 50,000 attendees; waitlist management, registration limits, customizable reminders; virtual green room for presenters; Microsoft eCDN support; town hall insights | Enables larger-scale events with better attendee management and presenter control |
Real-Time Translation & Accessibility | Captions in one language; limited accessibility features | Live translated captions in meetings, webinars, and town halls; organizers can pre-select up to 10 languages; transcripts can be translated into participant-preferred languages | Supports multilingual teams and enhances accessibility, making meetings inclusive for all participants |
Before upgrading to Microsoft Teams Premium, it’s important to understand the financial and licensing implications. Premium operates differently from most Microsoft services, so careful consideration is key.
Teams Premium is not a standalone product. It functions exclusively as an add-on license. This means:
Pricing Component | Microsoft 365 Business Standard | Teams Premium (Add-on) | Notes |
Price (per user/month, paid yearly) | AU$18.70 | AU$15.00 | Teams Premium is an add-on; you must already have a Teams license |
Annual Subscription | Yes, auto-renews | Yes, auto-renews | Monthly billing for Premium begins Dec 1, 2024, at 5% higher than the annual upfront cost |
Trial Option | Typically 1-month free trial | Sometimes 1-month free trial | Subscriptions auto-convert to paid after trial |
Other Add-ons / AI | Microsoft 365 Copilot: AU$44.90 per user/month | Microsoft 365 Copilot: AU$44.90 per user/month | Copilot can be added to either plan for advanced AI functionality |
Higher-Tier Alternative | Microsoft 365 Business Premium: AU$32.90 per user/month | N/A | Business Premium includes Business Standard features plus advanced security and device management |
Â
Not every user in your organisation requires a Premium license. The need depends on roles and feature usage:
Flexible work arrangements have changed the way businesses evaluate collaboration tools. Deciding between Teams Premium vs Standard comes down to your organisation’s specific needs. While some scenarios clearly justify the extra investment, others may not deliver enough value to warrant an upgrade.
Remote and hybrid workforces face unique challenges that Teams Premium directly addresses. AI-powered meeting notes and action items close the “I missed the meeting” gap, ensuring everyone stays up to date on critical discussions. Real-time translation capabilities remove language barriers, making global teamwork seamless.
In fact, 96% of users find AI features helpful in daily work. Many report that intelligent recaps and AI-generated notes reduce meeting anxiety and make information review effortless. For geographically dispersed teams, these features foster a more inclusive and productive work environment.
Organisations that conduct regular client meetings or high-stakes presentations gain significant benefits from Teams Premium. Custom meeting themes and branded backgrounds offers a polished, professional image to clients and partners.
Meanwhile, watermarking for shared content and video feeds protects sensitive information from accidental leaks. For businesses where professionalism and information security are critical, Premium clearly adds tangible value over the standard version.
Industries handling sensitive data (like healthcare, finance, and legal services) require robust security measures. Teams Premium provides end-to-end encryption, watermarking, and automated sensitivity labels that enforce meeting protection policies.
These features simplify compliance management and ensure sensitive information stays secure, making Teams Premium an essential tool for organisations with strict regulatory obligations.
Organisations that host webinars or virtual events regularly will find Premium especially essential. Features like waitlist management, manual approval of registrations, and customizable reminder emails make event management smoother.
Teams Premium also allows up to 50,000 attendees for town halls and large webinars, compared with 20,000 in standard Teams. Combined with custom branding options for registration pages and webinar emails, Premium ensures your events are professional.
When evaluating collaboration tools, it’s important to understand how Teams Premium stacks up against other options, too, both within Microsoft’s ecosystem and beyond.
While both products leverage AI, they address different needs:
The main overlap is intelligent meeting recaps, which both services provide. However, the cost difference is substantial: Copilot runs around AU$44.90 per user per month when paid yearly, or AU$47.15 per user per month when paid monthly, making Teams Premium’s monthly fee much more modest.
The good news? You can use both together. They’re designed to complement each other rather than compete, letting you enhance meetings with Premium while leveraging Copilot for broader productivity gains.
Teams Premium works exclusively within the Microsoft ecosystem, whereas Otter.ai and Fireflies.ai support multiple platforms, including Google Meet, and Teams.
Ultimately, your decision comes down to platform preferences:
Choosing between Teams Standard and Teams Premium ultimately depends on your business’s specific collaboration needs and meeting patterns. Remember, Teams Premium enhances, not replaces your existing setup. Licenses can be assigned selectively, ensuring cost-effectiveness while upgrading the parts of your business that benefit most.
Evaluate your team’s collaboration patterns, weigh potential productivity gains, and match Premium’s capabilities to your real-world needs. The right choice improves efficiency, maintains security, and ensures your business operates at its professional best.
Contact CRT Network Solutions today for expert guidance, fast IT support, and seamless Microsoft Teams integration across the Sunshine Coast and Brisbane. We’ll ensure your systems are secure, efficient, and performing at their best, so your team can focus on what matters most.
Request A Free Quote
