Licensing for server-based deployment

Organizations can choose to deploy the Microsoft 365 Apps to a server and to deliver them to a user’s desktop from there. They could choose to install Windows locally and just deliver the apps from the server, or to deliver the whole desktop, including Windows and the Microsoft 365 Apps, from the server.

The licensing of the Microsoft Apps in both scenarios is the same and is an option for Microsoft 365 Apps licenses that include Shared Computer Activation (SCA) rights, as below:

• Microsoft 365 Apps for Enterprise
• Office 365 E3/E5
• Microsoft 365 E3/E5
• Microsoft 365 Business Premium

The licensing rules are the same, regardless of how the licenses are acquired, and organizations may deploy the Microsoft 365 Apps via Shared Computer Activation using the following server solutions:

• A customer-owned server, dedicated to them
• A server managed by an Authorized Outsourcer
• Azure Dedicated Host
• Azure multi-tenant hardware
• A QMTH partner’s multi-tenant hardware
• A CSP-Hoster partner’s multi-tenant hardware
• The Azure Virtual Desktop service

You might notice that the Listed Providers are missing from this list – or rather, the three Listed Providers that are not Microsoft – Alibaba, Amazon, and Google. And, to confirm, the Microsoft 365 Apps licenses can’t be used with the infrastructure of these organizations. However, on August 1, 2023 Microsoft introduced an exception where customers with Microsoft 365 E3/E5 or Microsoft 365 Business Premium licenses can run the Microsoft 365 Apps in dedicated Amazon Workspaces deployments.