Online Services Licensing Documentation Redesigned

A redesign of a key licensing document devoted exclusively to commercial online services, introduced July 1, 2014, is better organized, more concise, and easier to navigate. It also provides a common set of privacy and security terms that apply across most online services targeting large customers, and it improves guarantees that during the term of their subscription, customers will not be negatively impacted by licensing or technical changes to the services. However, the redesigned document, now called the Online Service Terms (OST), largely preserves existing online services licensing rules, and thus understanding licensing requirements, options, and compliance remains as challenging as before.

Microsoft offers a broad array of commercial-oriented online services and subscription software, including Azure. Exchange Online, Lync Online, Microsoft Rights Management, Office Online, Office 365 ProPlus, Power BI for Office 365, SharePoint Online, Windows Intune, and Yammer Enterprise. While all are available separately, many can also be acquired via suites such as Office 365 E1, E3, and E4; Office 365 Small Business and Small Business Premium; Office 365 Midsize Business; and the Enterprise Mobility Suite. Terms for these individual services and suites are covered in the newly released OST. Microsoft also offers a variety of consumer-oriented services—such as Microsoft account, Office 365 Home Premium, OneDrive (formerly SkyDrive), and Outlook.com (formerly Hotmail)—and terms associated with these offerings are documented separately. (See “Updated Services and Privacy Agreements Affect Enterprises“.)