
On the surface this may not seem like a problem as users would not be sending meeting invitations from device’s account, they create or schedule meetings using their own Skype for Business account. But that plan is not recommended based on its limitation of only being able to join other meetings and not create ad-hoc or scheduled meetings.
Office 365 cost license#
The absolute minimum Office 365 license required for a device would be a standalone Skype for Business Online Plan 1 license. The items in red are the default recommended options in each class and the reasoning for each is explained below. Office 365 Plansįor those unfamiliar with the various Office 365 licensing plans the following is a list of the current plans which provide Skype for Business Online services in them. That being said many of the Office 365 licensing plans already include Exchange Online licensing so unless dealing with a standalone plans this point is moot. The Exchange Online portion of the device’s account is still only a Room Mailbox, so then there is no need for Exchange Online plans to be assigned. This means that the devices need only to be concerned with the Skype for Business Online portion of licensing. Once that meeting room is equipped with a dedicated Skype for Business device then a Skype for Business license must be assigned to that account, which is not free. Typically an empty meeting room might already have an Exchange Online Room Mailbox configured for it which incurs no cost and consumes no license in Office 365, but that is only for room reservation capabilities. Once an account is created for the device then a valid Office 356 license needs to be allocated to it before it can be used to register a device. This previous article focusing on Online Meeting Room Accounts covers in detail the different configuration options and guidance around each type. Generally it is a best practice to use the Meeting Room account which affords the registered device some unique capabilities and behaviors, but it is not a requirement. This can be a standard Skype for Business user or a special Meeting Room account. RequirementsĪs with any device that is registering to Skype for Business Online, be it a phone or video system, a licensed Office 365 account is required. It is the meeting room solutions and other similar shared resources like conference room phones or common area phones which utilize their own dedicated account which are the focus of this article. The guidance covered in this article is not necessarily applicable to desk phones which are assigned to a specific user, as those users would already have an assigned Office 365 license which applies to any client and devices they sign into with their own credentials.

Office 365 cost series#
This covers equipment like the many different IP Phones from five different partners or the several different Meeting Room platforms like the older Lync Room Systems, newer Skype Room Systems, or even the recently qualified Polycom Group Series to name a few.


These products can natively register to Skype for Business Online using resource accounts which must be assigned the correct licensing. The purpose of this article is to explain what type of Office 365 licenses can or should be used with any of the various phones and meeting devices qualified by Microsoft for Skype for Business Online.
