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ManageEngine M365 Manager Plus alternative for Microsoft 365

Manager Plus gives you every report. Who spots the incident hiding in them?

ManageEngine M365 Manager Plus is a report library and a bulk administration console for Microsoft 365, run on your own Windows server. 1Security answers the questions a report cannot: is this an incident, what did the person, device or agent reach, is there sensitive data in the file itself, and which regulation does the gap break. It runs next to Manager Plus on the same tenant, read-only until you enable actions, and feeds your SIEM events that already carry the answer.

  • Verified 25 Oct 2026
  • Keep both or switch
  • Free side-by-side POC
  • Every claim sourced below

Fair first

What M365 Manager Plus does well.

Written so a Manager Plus administrator nods. These are real strengths, and a team that relies on them can keep them while 1Security takes the security side.

  • Breadth of reports

    More than 700 preconfigured reports across Entra ID, Exchange Online, SharePoint, OneDrive, Teams, Power BI and Viva Engage, scheduled hourly to monthly, exported as CSV, PDF, XLSX or HTML, embedded in other portals and delegated to the people who need them.

  • Bulk administration without scripts

    Users, licences, mailboxes, groups, Teams and SharePoint site permissions changed in bulk from a CSV or a template, plus automation policies fed by reports or shared folders, so the help desk never opens PowerShell.

  • Help desk delegation

    Custom technician roles built from any mix of reporting, management, auditing and alerting tasks, virtual tenants, domain- and attribute-based scopes, non-admin technicians and an audit log of what each technician did.

  • Your server, your retention

    An on-premises install where, in the vendor's words, no data is sent to external servers, audit logs kept for as long as your disk allows with archive and restore, an Exchange Online backup add-on, and a free edition for 25 users.

What it does not touch

Four questions a report library was never built to answer.

Each one is a gap a security team feels during an incident, an audit or a Copilot rollout. Manager Plus lists the rows; the answer lives between them, or in a separate ManageEngine product you would have to buy and run as well.

  1. 01

    A report is not an answer

    "Is this an incident, and what is the blast radius?" needs every event joined to the user, the device, the place, the file and its sensitivity, and to who else could reach it. 1Security keeps three years of exactly that and learns what is normal for each user, app and agent. Manager Plus alerts when a count crosses a threshold, for example five failed logins in three minutes; its behaviour analytics live in ADAudit Plus and Log360, which are separate products.

  2. 02

    Sensitive data in the content, not only in label events

    Manager Plus audits when a sensitivity label is added or changed and, on the Professional edition, searches email for patterns. The files in SharePoint and OneDrive are never read. 1Security scans the content of files and emails with its own engine, more than 300 detectors plus OCR for scans and photos, on a Business Basic licence, and stores none of the content.

  3. 03

    Who can reach this file, and through what

    Manager Plus shows site-level roles, members and groups, and logs sharing-link events as they happen. 1Security resolves direct grants, sharing links, groups, site roles, inheritance, apps, agents and guests into one answer per file, and names the real company behind every external organisation that touches your tenant.

  4. 04

    Agents, Copilot, and the devices and places nobody listed

    No Copilot or agent coverage appears on the Manager Plus feature list or in its release notes from 2017 to 2026; devices mean ActiveSync phones and Entra-registered machines; a country appears only as a grouping option on alerts. 1Security shows what each AI agent can reach, whether Copilot is safe to switch on, which devices touch data without ever being registered, and sign-ins from VPN, Tor and datacenter networks on a map.

Side by side

1Security vs M365 Manager Plus, row by row.

Three states, not two: where Manager Plus has a lighter version of something, the row says so, and where it is simply better, the row says that too. Every Manager Plus cell carries a number that resolves to a public source below the table.

1Security15/17
  • 15Covered
  • 2Partial or lighter
  • 0Not covered
M365 Manager Plus3/17
  • 3Covered
  • 12Partial or lighter
  • 2Not covered
Gaps and incidents
Activity history
1SecurityCovered
3 years as standard, each event carrying the user, file, device, location, app and the sensitivity of what was touched; nothing to host
M365 Manager PlusCovered
Kept in the product database on your server for as long as you choose; older logs archived to password-protected files and restorable7
Sign-in detail
1SecurityCovered
Per-user sign-ins with network, device and Conditional Access coverage, on Business Basic
M365 Manager PlusPartial or lighter
Logon activity, failure and last-logon reports; inactive-user and last-logon reports "require an Azure AD premium license to gather the users' sign-in data"5
Anomaly detection
1SecurityCovered
Learns what is normal per user, app and agent; threshold you set and re-apply to history
M365 Manager PlusNot covered
Threshold alerts: a number of events within a window in minutes, grouped by user, country, status or operation; behaviour analytics sold as ADAudit Plus and Log3606
Locations and networks
1SecurityCovered
Country, city, VPN, Tor and datacenter classification, map, per-user travel
M365 Manager PlusPartial or lighter
Country as an alert grouping attribute and a report of the Conditional Access named locations you configured; no map or network classification6
Devices
1SecurityCovered
Every device touching data, including ones never registered; unmanaged flagged; disable action
M365 Manager PlusPartial or lighter
Exchange ActiveSync device reports and an Entra registered devices report; no discovery of unregistered devices, no device action16
Sensitive data detection
1SecurityCovered
Own engine with 300+ detectors and OCR on file and email content, on any licence; Purview detections as a second opinion
M365 Manager PlusPartial or lighter
Sensitivity label events audited since April 2025; email content search on Professional; no scanning of SharePoint or OneDrive file content5
Email and mailboxes
1SecurityCovered
Outbound sensitive content, delegated sending, shared mailboxes, whole-conversation view, actions on messages
M365 Manager PlusPartial or lighter
Non-owner mailbox access, permission changes, mail traffic and spam reports; pattern search of email on Professional; no sensitivity verdict per message18
Administration, compliance, AI
Permission graph
1SecurityCovered
Direct grants, links, groups, site roles, inheritance, apps, agents and guests resolved into one answer per file
M365 Manager PlusPartial or lighter
Site-level roles, members and groups; sharing-link and inheritance events in the audit log; no effective access per file or library13
Bulk administration and delegation
1SecurityPartial or lighter
40+ security actions on users, sites, files, apps, licences, devices, agents and email; roles follow Entra; not a provisioning or help desk console
M365 Manager PlusCovered
Bulk create, modify and delete from CSV and templates across users, licences, mailboxes, groups, Teams and site permissions; custom technician roles and virtual tenants17
Report library
1SecurityPartial or lighter
Seven report types rendered from live data: Copilot readiness, compliance status, trends, incident; PDF, PowerPoint, HTML, CSV, JSON; everything else over the API
M365 Manager PlusCovered
More than 700 preconfigured reports, scheduled, exported as CSV, PDF, XLSX or HTML, embedded and delegated1
Remediation under control
1SecurityCovered
Review queue, grace period, revert and read-back confirmation on every action
M365 Manager PlusPartial or lighter
Admin actions run immediately; automation policies on Professional; no review queue, grace period or revert in the documentation4
Compliance mapping
1SecurityCovered
11 frameworks on shared requirements, readiness score per framework, weekly snapshots, dated evidence packs
M365 Manager PlusPartial or lighter
Report packs for SOX, HIPAA, PCI DSS, GLBA and FISMA; no readiness score, snapshots or evidence pack; GDPR, NIS2 and DORA not named12
AI agents and Copilot
1SecurityCovered
What each agent can reach across files, sites and email, who deployed it, its activity and anomalies; Copilot readiness with a fix list and per-site indexing block
M365 Manager PlusNot covered
Not on the feature list, not among the 11 audited services, not in the release notes from 2017 to July 20265
Fit and deployment
API and SIEM feed
1SecurityCovered
REST API and MCP server for logs, detections, alerts, users, compliance and readiness; events arrive already enriched
M365 Manager PlusPartial or lighter
Raw Microsoft 365 audit logs forwarded to Syslog (RFC 3164, RFC 5424, CEF) or Splunk HEC; no public REST API documented9
Deployment and residency
1SecurityCovered
SaaS, your own Azure (BYOC) or on-premise at any size; a dedicated database per tenant
M365 Manager PlusPartial or lighter
Windows Server you install and patch, with bundled PostgreSQL or your SQL Server; no hosted edition3
Pricing model
1SecurityCovered
One subscription covers every screen; shared, room and guest accounts are never counted
M365 Manager PlusPartial or lighter
Annual, per user mailbox, two editions; auditing, alerts, automation, monitoring and content search only on Professional; backup and extra technicians as add-ons2
Microsoft licence needed
1SecurityCovered
Nearly everything on Business Basic, E1 or E3; no E5 or Purview for content scanning
M365 Manager PlusPartial or lighter
Not stated by the vendor; last-logon and inactive-user reports need an Entra ID premium plan5
  • Covered
  • Partial or lighter
  • Not covered

Sources for every M365 Manager Plus claim

Verified 2026-10-25
  1. 1.M365 Manager Plus product overview (700+ reports, on-premises FAQ, editions, backup) - www.manageengine.com/microsoft-365-management-reporting/
  2. 2.M365 Manager Plus pricing details (editions, prices, free edition, trial) - www.manageengine.com/microsoft-365-management-reporting/pricing-details.html
  3. 3.M365 Manager Plus system requirements (Windows versions, databases, hardware) - www.manageengine.com/microsoft-365-management-reporting/help/getting-started/system-requirements.html
  4. 4.M365 Manager Plus features (reporting, management, auditing, delegation) - www.manageengine.com/microsoft-365-management-reporting/features.html
  5. 5.M365 Manager Plus release notes (sensitivity label audits in 4700, premium licence note in 4536, archive threshold in 4610) - www.manageengine.com/microsoft-365-management-reporting/release-notes.html
  6. 6.M365 Manager Plus alert profiles (threshold within a time window, grouping, 11 services) - www.manageengine.com/microsoft-365-management-reporting/help/alert/alert.html
  7. 7.M365 Manager Plus audit log archiving ("holds audit logs indefinitely") - www.manageengine.com/microsoft-365-management-reporting/microsoft-365-audit-logs-archiving.html
  8. 8.M365 Manager Plus archive settings (age threshold, folder path, restore) - www.manageengine.com/microsoft-365-management-reporting/help/settings/admin/archive-settings.html
  9. 9.M365 Manager Plus log forwarder (Syslog RFC 3164 / 5424 / CEF, Splunk HEC) - www.manageengine.com/microsoft-365-management-reporting/help/settings/admin/general-settings/log-forwarder.html
  10. 10.M365 Manager Plus SIEM integration page (Splunk, Log360, Syslog) - www.manageengine.com/microsoft-365-management-reporting/microsoft-365-siem-integration.html
  11. 11.M365 Manager Plus roles and permissions (Graph, Exchange and SharePoint scopes per module) - www.manageengine.com/microsoft-365-management-reporting/help/tenant/roles-and-permissions.html
  12. 12.M365 Manager Plus security and compliance reports (SOX, HIPAA, PCI DSS, GLBA, FISMA packs) - www.manageengine.com/microsoft-365-management-reporting/microsoft-365-security-and-compliance-reports.html
  13. 13.M365 Manager Plus SharePoint Online reports (site-level members, groups, roles) - www.manageengine.com/microsoft-365-management-reporting/microsoft-365-sharepoint-reporting-tool.html
  14. 14.M365 Manager Plus SharePoint Online auditing (sharing links, inheritance, admins) - www.manageengine.com/microsoft-365-management-reporting/microsoft-365-sharepoint-online-auditing-tool.html
  15. 15.M365 Manager Plus Entra ID reports (logon, MFA, applications, Conditional Access, registered devices) - www.manageengine.com/microsoft-365-management-reporting/microsoft-entra-id-reporting-tool.html
  16. 16.M365 Manager Plus mobile devices report (Exchange ActiveSync devices) - www.manageengine.com/microsoft-365-management-reporting/microsoft-365-mobile-devices-report.html
  17. 17.M365 Manager Plus help desk delegation (custom roles, virtual tenants, cross-tenant) - www.manageengine.com/microsoft-365-management-reporting/microsoft-365-delegation.html
  18. 18.M365 Manager Plus non-owner mailbox access report - www.manageengine.com/microsoft-365-management-reporting/microsoft-365-non-owner-mailbox-access-report.html
  19. 19.M365 Manager Plus help centre welcome (content search of email for PII) - www.manageengine.com/microsoft-365-management-reporting/help/index.html
  20. 20.ManageEngine comparison of native Microsoft 365 with M365 Manager Plus (700 reports, indefinite audit storage, 75 alert profiles) - www.manageengine.com/microsoft-365-management-reporting/microsoft-365-with-manageengine-m365-manager-plus-comparison.html
  21. 21.M365 Manager Plus logon auditing - www.manageengine.com/microsoft-365-management-reporting/microsoft-365-logon-auditing.html
  22. 22.M365 Manager Plus Entra ID management (block, revoke sessions, MFA, licences) - www.manageengine.com/microsoft-365-management-reporting/entra-id-management-tool.html
  23. 23.M365 Manager Plus SharePoint Online management (site permissions and groups) - www.manageengine.com/microsoft-365-management-reporting/microsoft-365-sharepoint-online-management-tool.html
  24. 24.ManageEngine DataSecurity Plus (separate product: file-server data discovery) - www.manageengine.com/data-security/
  25. 25.ManageEngine ADAudit Plus (separate product: UBA-driven change auditor) - www.manageengine.com/products/active-directory-audit/
  26. 26.ManageEngine Log360 (separate product: SIEM with UEBA) - www.manageengine.com/log-management/

ManageEngine and M365 Manager Plus are trademarks of Zoho Corporation. This comparison was written by 1Security from public documentation and was not reviewed by ManageEngine. If a row is out of date, write to us and we will fix it.

Richer administration

Beyond the gaps: the same questions, answered deeper.

Where both tools have a feature, the difference is how far the answer goes and whether you can act on it from the same screen, instead of exporting one report to filter it against another.

  • Who has access, and why

    One graph across every path: direct permissions, sharing links, group membership, site roles, inheritance, apps, agents and guests. Every external organisation that touches your tenant resolved to a real company and reconciled with your trusted-domain settings.

  • Remediation under control

    More than 40 actions on users, sites, files, apps, licences, devices, agents and messages. Each one is staged in a review queue with a grace period, can be reverted, and is read back from Microsoft to prove the change landed.

  • Compliance without manual mapping

    Eleven frameworks today, more arriving: GDPR, NIS2, DORA, the EU AI Act, ISO 27001 and 42001, SOC 2, NIST CSF, HIPAA and the Polish KSC and KRiBSI acts. One requirement counted everywhere it applies, weekly snapshots, a dated evidence pack for the auditor or the investor.

  • AI agents and Copilot

    Not a list of agents: what each one can actually read across files, sites, users and email, who deployed it, what it did, and when it broke its own pattern. Copilot readiness with a fix list and a per-site indexing block, so the rollout starts from a clean reach.

The rest of the tenant

Beyond the comparison: the whole Microsoft 365 stack, from one read-only connection.

The table covers what a Manager Plus buyer asks about. The same connection opens every screen below on day one, each answering a question your tenant cannot answer about itself today.

Fits what you run

Native to Microsoft 365, open to the rest of your stack.

Every action runs through Microsoft Graph, roles sync from Entra, setup takes minutes, and the platform stays read-only until you decide to enable writes. There is no Windows server to size, patch or back up, and no mailbox to re-route.

A public REST API and an MCP server expose logs, detections, alerts, users and compliance status, so your SIEM, SOC or MSSP receives events that already carry the user, the file, the device, the location and who could reach what, instead of raw audit rows to parse.

Run it as SaaS, in your own Azure subscription with our container images, or on-premise, air-gapped if needed, so a team that chose Manager Plus for keeping data in-house loses nothing. Each tenant gets its own database, and disconnecting removes the data within seven days.

Savings, last and measured

It runs on the licences you already have, and finds the ones you do not use.

Most of what 1Security does needs no premium Microsoft plan: content scanning without E5 or Purview, locations and last sign-in without premium sign-in logs, three years of history without a server to host it or a SIEM contract. On top of that it ranks what you pay for and nobody uses, each item with its idle time and a reclaim action waiting in the review queue.

  • Business Basic
    the plan most features run on
  • 3 years
    of activity history without a server or a SIEM contract
  • 0
    E5 or Purview add-ons needed for content scanning
  • 1 queue
    unused licences, dead apps, orphaned sites and mailboxes, reclaimed from one place

Keep both or switch

You do not have to choose on day one.

If your team likes M365 Manager Plus for its report library, bulk administration, help desk roles and Exchange backup, keep it. 1Security takes security, incidents, sensitive data, compliance and AI access. The two never fight over the same setting: 1Security uses its own Entra app, stays read-only until you enable actions, and changes nothing Manager Plus manages. Many customers run both for a year and then decide which one they still open.

The free proof of concept runs side by side on your own tenant: read-only consent in the morning, first findings the same day on a small tenant, and one meeting to compare what each tool showed.

What the side-by-side POC compares

  • Sensitive data inside files that carry no label and are reachable by guests or Anyone links
  • Unknown devices and locations in the last 90 days, next to the ActiveSync and registered device reports
  • AI agents and apps, and what each can reach
  • Anomalies on users, apps and agents over 90 days, next to the threshold alerts
  • Mail leaving with sensitive content and who can send as whom
  • Licences, apps, sites and mailboxes you pay for and nobody uses

FAQ

Questions buyers ask when they already run M365 Manager Plus.

Do I have to remove M365 Manager Plus to use 1Security?

No. 1Security reads your tenant through its own Entra app with read-only consent and changes nothing until you enable actions. Manager Plus keeps working as before, on its own server and its own app registration. Teams that keep both usually leave scheduled reports, bulk administration and help desk roles with Manager Plus and move incidents, sensitive data, compliance and AI access to 1Security.

Which Microsoft licence do I need?

Nearly everything works on Business Basic, Office 365 E1 or Microsoft 365 E3. Content scanning, locations, last sign-in and three-year history need no premium plan. The few features that read premium Microsoft data, such as Purview detections or per-sign-in detail, are listed on the requirements page with what you get without them, and the free licence checker tells you before you connect.

Does 1Security store my file or email content?

No. Content is streamed into the sensitivity scan and discarded when it finishes. What persists is the detection type, the match count and a confidence bucket linked to the file, never the matched values. The data handling page lists exactly what is read and what is stored.

We chose Manager Plus because it runs on our own server. Can 1Security do that?

Yes. Besides SaaS you can run 1Security in your own Azure subscription from our container images, or on-premise, air-gapped if needed. Each tenant gets its own database in every model, and there is no minimum user count for self-hosting.

How does it feed our SIEM or SOC?

Through the public REST API: logs, detections, alerts, security alerts, users, compliance status and Copilot readiness, with scoped API keys per tenant or organisation-wide for MSSPs. The same reads are available as MCP tools. If Manager Plus already forwards raw audit rows to your Splunk or Syslog collector, 1Security adds the enriched layer next to them. Sentinel and Splunk pairings are described on their own pages.

How do you know what M365 Manager Plus does and does not do?

From ManageEngine's public product pages, help centre, knowledge base, pricing page and release notes, each linked under the table with the date we last checked. Where we could not confirm something, the row says so instead of claiming a gap. If something has changed or we got a row wrong, tell us and we will correct it.

What does the free POC include, and how long does it take?

A read-only connection to your tenant, a full scan, and a comparison meeting. A small tenant shows first results within one to two hours; a tenant with around a million files takes six to twelve hours for the first full map. Nothing is changed in your tenant during the POC, and Manager Plus keeps running.

See both on your own tenant.

Book a demo, then a free side-by-side proof of concept next to M365 Manager Plus. Read-only consent, first findings the same day, nothing changed in your tenant.

Or schedule one more report and hope the incident is in it.