Lync Online and On-Premises

Lync Online services deliver presence, IM, and Web conferencing capabilities of Lync Server 2010. Shown here are the capabilities of the Lync Online multitenant service planned for Office 365 and currently in beta testing, the Lync Online dedicated service (in which Microsoft hosts Lync Server on hardware dedicated to a customer), and the Lync Server 2010 software installed on-premises. (Microsoft documents refer to the Lync Online multitenant service as “Lync Online.”)

Compared to the Lync Online multitenant service, the dedicated service is missing some capabilities, including scheduling of Lync conferences and integration with audio conferencing partners for dial-in conferencing. These functions are available in the separate Live Meeting Web conferencing service, which many customers license with Lync Online dedicated as part of the Business Productivity Online Services Dedicated (BPOS-D) suite.

The Lync Online dedicated service also offers some options that are missing from the multitenant service. For example, in some countries Lync Online dedicated customers who also have Exchange Online dedicated can buy Online Voice service. Online Voice offers Exchange voice mail and connectivity to the public switched telephone network (PSTN) through a separate contract with a Microsoft carrier partner such as Global Crossing. The Lync Online dedicated service also supports Apple Macintosh computers and integration with IBM Lotus Sametime systems.