Office 365 Licensing Guide-September 2018
Table of Contents
Office 365 Licensing – Offers in Volume Licensing
Product availability
Office 365 has two sets of suites: one for the Small and Medium Business segment and one for the Enterprise segment. These suites are sold across different channels and programs designed to meet each segment’s needs. Below, you can find a list of the different Office 365 suites with details on what each includes for the different segments. For full details on each suite and included Online Services, please go to the corresponding product pages.


Channel and program availability
Office 365 is sold across different channels and programs. The following table outlines the availability of Office 365.

Buying Office 365 licenses in Volume Licensing
Microsoft offers a variety of licensing models to fit the different needs of different customers, depending on the customers’ previous licensing purchases with Microsoft. There are four types of user subscription licenses (USLs) a customer can buy: Full USL, From SA USL, Add-on USL, and Step-up USL
Full USL
These licenses are designed for new customers who haven’t purchased any productivity solution from Microsoft. The Full USL also may be appropriate for a previous Microsoft customer who previously acquired some perpetual licenses but stopped paying for Software Assurance.
From SA USL
These licenses are designed for current Microsoft customers who want to transition, at their next contract renewal, to the cloud and are using our on-premises solutions, such as an ECAL Suite and Office Professional Plus. From SA USLs recognise the investment our current customers have made with Microsoft and therefore are offered at a discounted price for customers who continued to pay for Software Assurance throughout their enrollement. From SA USLs also offer customers cloud relevant Software Assurance benefits, such as deployment planning services, IT Pro technical training vouchers, Home Use Program, Online end user training courses, and Additional Support Incidents. It’s important to note that some traditional Software Assurance benefits, like Version Upgrade Rights, don’t apply to an always up-to-date online service. In order to purchase From SA USLs, customers must have qualifying licenses, namely the corresponding On-Premises licenses from which the customer is transitioning. The qualifying licenses are detailed in the Product Terms. From SA USLs must be purchased on the same agreement or enrollment as the qualifying licenses.
Add-on USL
Add-on USLs are designed for current On-Premises Microsoft customers who want to try a Office 365 cloud solution without giving up their On-Premises solution or fully transitioning to the cloud. These USLs provide the full benefits of the Office 365 suites at a fraction of the cost. Add-on USLs also have qualifying licensing requirements—which are detailed in the Product Terms—and must also be purchased on the same agreements or enrollment as the qualifying licenses.
Step-up USL
Step-up USLs are designed for current Office 365 customers who want to upgrade their service during the term of the enrollment or agreement. These licenses must be purchased on the same agreement or enrollment as the base license from which the customer is upgrading.
Office 365 technical dependencies
The previously-mentioned Office 365 suites are a collection of online services that, when purchased together, give customers what we call a suite discount. Customers who don’t need or want to buy full suites can purchase individual services as separate products. Note that some of these online services have technical dependencies on others. For example, Exchange Online Protection (EOP) provides an added level of security to the Exchange Online and/or Exchange Server services, customers can’t use EOP if they don’t have either Exchange Online or Exchange Server deployed. These technical dependencies are highlighted on the corresponding service description pages for the different Office 365 Online Services. While customers should always review the individual service descriptions to understand how the service works and any corresponding dependencies, you can use the following table as a reference.

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