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Microsoft 365 E5 and E7: New Opportunities for your Business

Samuel Mannhart Knowledge

Microsoft has made two major announcements for 2026 that will fundamentally change the daily operations of businesses. What is behind these announcements?

Microsoft 365 E5 remains the most powerful foundation for businesses with the highest standards for productivity, security, and compliance. With the new enhancements integrated into E5 in 2026, the value of this license will be significantly expanded once again. Those who choose E5 today automatically receive an expanded endpoint management package as well as AI-powered security features without having to purchase additional licenses.

What is new in Microsoft 365 E5?

Microsoft has integrated several features from the previously separate Microsoft Intune Suite and Microsoft Security Copilot directly into E5. These new features are now included in your license. The crucial question is not whether you have them, but whether you are using them. Many companies only utilize a fraction of the capabilities offered by their existing E5 license. You should change that.

Microsoft Security Copilot

Security Copilot is included for all E5 customers. Security Copilot is the AI-powered security assistant that automatically analyzes threats, detects attack patterns, and helps your security team respond. It automates tasks such as threat hunting, phishing triage, and identity risk remediation. It also delivers insights in seconds that previously took analysts hours to obtain. Security Copilot is deeply integrated with Microsoft Defender, Sentinel, and Entra.

Endpoint Privilege Management

Employees occasionally need elevated privileges for specific tasks. EPM enables the targeted, time-limited, and fully auditable management of such privilege elevations. The IT team retains control, and permanently privileged accounts become a thing of the past.

Microsoft Cloud PKI

Certificates are the backbone of secure IT. With Microsoft Cloud PKI, E5 customers get a fully cloud-based certificate management system that integrates seamlessly with Intune and Microsoft Entra. Complex on-premises PKI infrastructures are now a thing of the past.

Intune Advanced Analytics

Do you know which devices in your organization crash most frequently or pose a higher security risk? Advanced Analytics provides proactive insights into the health of all managed devices before problems disrupt operations.

Remote Help

Remote Help enables the IT team to access employee devices directly and securely – whether in the office, working from home, or on the go. This saves time, reduces downtime, and significantly improves the user experience.

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Microsoft 365 E7: The Frontier Suite.

Starting 1th of May 1 2026, Microsoft will introduce Microsoft 365 E7, the first new enterprise license tier since the launch of E5 in 2015. Dubbed «The Frontier Suite,» E7 combines everything modern businesses need to remain competitive in the age of AI: advanced productivity, agent-based AI, enterprise-wide security, and a complete zero-trust identity solution in a single package.

What is included in Microsoft 365 E7?

  • Microsoft 365 E5 (Basic)

  • Microsoft 365

  • Copilot Studio + Agent Builder

  • Microsoft Agent 365

  • Work IQ

  • Entra Suite

  • Enhanced Defender features

  • Enhanced Intune features

  • Enhanced Purview features

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AI that actually works: Copilot Cowork.

With Wave 3 of Microsoft 365 Copilot, Microsoft takes a decisive step forward: AI is no longer just an assistant that answers queries – it becomes an active employee that independently performs multi-stage, long-term tasks. Copilot Cowork takes over complex workflows directly in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook, accesses your company data, coordinates tasks across various applications, and keeps you, the decision-maker, in control at all times. For managers, this means less time on administrative tasks and more focus on what matters most.

Work IQ: Your Company's Intelligence Layer.

Work IQ is the foundation upon which Copilot and Agent 365 reach their full potential. It is an enterprise-wide intelligence layer that continuously analyzes signals from Outlook, Teams, SharePoint, Meetings, and other Microsoft 365 sources, building deep contextual knowledge about your organization. Work IQ knows who is collaborating with whom, which projects are underway, which documents are relevant, and how information flows within your company, without requiring individual employees to manually input this context. Based on this, Copilot no longer delivers generic AI answers, but rather answers tailored to your company, your processes, and your projects. Work IQ makes the difference between an AI tool used occasionally and an AI system that delivers real value every day.

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Microsoft Agent 365: Enterprise-scale AI.

Microsoft Agent 365 is the platform that enables companies not only to deploy AI agents, but also to manage, monitor, and scale them. An AI agent is more than a chatbot: It independently performs multi-step tasks, interacts with enterprise systems, makes decisions within defined guidelines, and operates continuously – even without direct human input. Agent 365 provides the necessary infrastructure: IT managers can see in the Microsoft 365 Admin Center console which agents are active, what tasks they are performing, how they are interacting with company data, and whether they are acting in accordance with compliance and security policies. For companies, this means that AI becomes not only powerful, but also manageable, traceable, and auditable. Agent 365 will be available separately starting 1th of May 2026, for $15 per user per month – it is fully integrated into Enterprise 7.

Independent Task Execution

Agents handle multi-stage workflows without manual intervention: from data acquisition and analysis to results delivery.

Centralized Control and Governance

All active agents are visible, manageable, and auditable in the Admin Center. Security and compliance policies automatically apply to each agent.

Integration into existing Systems

Agents access Microsoft 365, Power Platform, SharePoint, and external systems. They also operate within the context of your company data.

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Zero Trust as the Foundation: The Microsoft Entra Suite.

A particular highlight of E7 is the complete integration of the Microsoft Entra Suite. This is not an add-on. It is the security foundation upon which the entire E7 architecture is built. Zero Trust means: Do not automatically trust anyone. Every access, to every application, from every device, is continuously checked and secured.

Entra ID Governance

Employees only receive access to the resources they actually need. Access rights are automatically reviewed, adjusted, and revoked as necessary. A key component for NIS2 and GDPR compliance.

Entra Private Access

Replaces the traditional VPN with a modern, identity-based access solution. Employees gain secure access to internal resources, regardless of their location.

Entra Internet Access

Protects internet access directly through the Microsoft infrastructure. Every connection is checked and secured in real time, resulting in a smaller attack surface and better performance.

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Context: What E7 means for your Business.

Microsoft 365 E7 is the answer to a question more and more companies are asking: How do you bring AI not just to pilot projects, but into your entire operations – securely, controllably, and with measurable added value? E7 combines next-generation, production-ready AI tools with a security architecture designed for running AI agents in an enterprise environment. Copilot, Agent 365, Work IQ, and the Entra Suite work seamlessly together: Work IQ provides the business context, Copilot uses it for precise work results, Agent 365 scales automation to the enterprise level, and the Entra Suite ensures that all of this is built on a solid, zero-trust foundation. The result is a platform that lightens the load for your teams every day, accelerates your processes, and equips your organization for the demands of an AI-driven workplace.

Plan your next Steps now.

Microsoft 365 E7 will be available starting 1th of May 2026. The time until then is ideal for evaluating which scenarios will deliver the greatest benefits for your business and for establishing the necessary organizational and technical prerequisites. Epic Fusion will guide you every step of the way: from assessing your current environment and planning your rollout to training your team.

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Samuel Mannhart, Teamlead Cloud Services, Senior Cloud Consultant

Questions?

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