Updated Services and Privacy Agreements Affect Enterprises

Updated agreements for Microsoft-hosted consumer services, effective July 31, 2014, provide new terms of service and privacy policies that also affect large organizations. Although the updated services agreement and privacy policies appear to cover only consumer-focused hosted services, at least one service—Microsoft account—is required to access critical services, such as the Volume Licensing Service Center, while other services, such as OneDrive, may be brought into the organization by users. Therefore, organizations need to be aware of the updated terms and polices and understand how they affect overall governance plans.

Despite Consumer-Focus, Enterprises Affected

The services covered by the updated services agreement and privacy policies include Bing, Family Safety, Microsoft account, Movie Maker, MSN, Office.com, Office 365 Home Premium, Office 365 University, OneDrive (formerly SkyDrive), Outlook.com (formerly Hotmail), Photo Gallery, Windows Live Mail, and Windows Live Writer. Other services, in particular some Microsoft Office—branded services, may link to the updated agreements and privacy policies through a supplemental agreement.