UNDERSTANDING MICROSOFT LICENSING
Tailored for the public sector: Government licensing Microsoft provides dedicated licensing for government entities, operating within a secure and compliant cloud environment. These licenses, often designated with a "G" (e.g., G3 , G5 ), mirror the features of their enterprise counterparts (E3 and E5) but are hosted in a government-specific cloud infrastructure that meets stringent federal, state, and local compliance standards. This ensures that sensitive government data is handled in accordance with regulatory requirements. Other notable licensing tiers A-Series: These licenses are specifically designed for academic institutions, providing students and educators with access to Microsoft's productivity tools. ▪
Microsoft 365 is a more comprehensive package. It includes everything in the corresponding Office 365 plan and adds the Windows Enterprise operating system license and the Enterprise Mobility + Security (EMS) suite. EMS provides advanced security features for identity and access management, threat protection, and information protection. Microsoft 365 is intended as a holistic solution that covers the operating system, productivity applications, and advanced security and device management under a single license. Key license add-ons Microsoft 365 and Office 365 add-on licenses provide specific features and capabilities not included in a base subscription plan, depending on the plan. These add-ons allow organizations to modify their services by adding certain functionalities for users or departments, such as security or voice calling, without upgrading their entire organization to a different plan. The availability of communication add-ons has changed, particularly with Microsoft Teams . Previously bundled, Teams is now offered as a standalone add-on in certain regions like the European Economic Area to comply with regulatory requirements. For communication, the Teams Phone add-on gives the application business phone system functionalities, enabling cloud-based PBX capabilities to make and receive calls to traditional phone numbers. This requires a connection to the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) via a Microsoft Calling Plan, Direct Routing, or Operator Connect.
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Business Premium: Tailored for small to medium- sized businesses with a user count ranging from 25 to 300 users, this license combines the Office applications with advanced security features and device management.
Office 365 vs. Microsoft 365 licenses From a licensing perspective, the fundamental difference between Office 365 and Microsoft 365 lies in the scope of the offering. Office 365 primarily bundles Microsoft's suite of productivity applications (like Word, Excel, and Teams) and cloud services (like Exchange Online and SharePoint Online).
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