Does Defender XDR require Microsoft 365 E5?
No. The unified Defender XDR portal and cross-workload incident correlation activate at the E3 level. Full capability — Defender for Identity, Defender for Cloud Apps, and Entra ID Protection risk-based policies — requires either E5 or E3 with the Microsoft Defender Suite add-on. IT Partner confirms your exact licensing position during Phase 1 and scopes the deployment to match what your plan actually includes.
