Per-Device Office Licenses and Server-Based Desktops

Client devices accessing a server-based desktop generally need an Office license, and the license version assigned to the client device must be the same as or more recent than the Office version deployed and running on the server-based desktop. When Software Assurance (SA) is added to the license, an additional roaming right applies. The illustration shows the Office licenses required for server-based desktops for a variety of users, with and without SA.

At the top of the illustration is the organization’s data center, with the servers that are supplying the server-based desktops. An Office license is not assigned to any of the servers. However, the edition of Office installed or deployed as part of a server-based desktop must be the same as the edition licensed for the users’ devices, in this case, Office Professional (Pro) Plus. The version must be the same as or more recent than the licensed version of Office licensed on the local devices.

The middle of the illustration shows the licensing case without SA. Office Professional Plus licenses are attached to the three devices Joe might use to access his server-based desktop on the organization’s premises: a company-owned iPad, a laptop or work PC, and a thin-client workstation. Joe also has Office Pro Plus licenses for his personal iPad and home PC, which permit him to access his server-based desktop outside of the office.