We want to run up some Windows VM's in Azure which we will allow access via RDS to our clients. We will be purchasing the RDS licenses via SPLA or Open licensing including SA (thus getting the license mobility). We want to use Office 365 for the Office licenses and understand we need to buy 1 copy of Office pro plus via the open program for each client VM. We assumed we can use the Office 365 midsized business plans for the users Office functionality on the VMs.

Word would have it that this is not legal but may be possible in the future if the client has Microsoft Office E3 plans?

We need a legal way for our clients with Office 365 plans that include rights to use Office 2013 within the Azure VM

Interested to hear from anyone with some knowledge in this area

• Moved by Prasant ChhetriMicrosoft contingent staff Friday, September 05, 2014 7:38 AM moving to right forum

Hi,

This forum focuses on questions and feedback for Microsoft Office client. There is not so much about Office 365 deployment\hosted\plan aspects here, I would suggest you to post in the dedicated forum of Office 365 Community, where you can get more experienced responses:

http://community.office365.com/en-us/f/default.aspx

The reason why we recommend posting appropriately is you will get the most qualified pool of respondents, and other partners who read the forums regularly can either share their knowledge or learn from your interaction with us. Thank you for your understanding.

Regards,

Ethan Hua
TechNet Community Support

Hello,

finally a good News Rom Microsoft to Office 365 custumers J

since 01.09.2014 Microsoft have announced that as of 1 September 2014, all Office SKUs with Office 365 Pro plus can now be used on a shared device or virtual machine. This enables users on Remote Desktop Computers in Terminal Servers, to run an activated copy of Office without the requirements of purchasing an additional Volume License or Open License.

thanks

diramoh

• Marked as answer by Ethan HuaMicrosoft contingent staff, Moderator Tuesday, September 16, 2014 2:07 AM

Sorry for necroposting but just wanted to clarify one thing as the post marked as answer is incorrect for Azure scenario. The announcement mentioned by diramoh is true only for RDS on private cloud. You cannot run Office in the public cloud - such as azure. Check this FAQ site: http://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/pricing/licensing-faq/

Can customers rent Windows Client desktops on Azure or other Service providers?

No, multi-tenant hosting is restricted in the Product Use Rights of Windows Client, such as Windows 7 or Windows 8. Windows Client Desktops are not available on either Azure or on any other Service Provider such as Amazon or Rackspace. You can read more about the Microsoft Product Use Rights

It's also confirmed in this Licensing biref http://download.microsoft.com/download/3/D/4/3D42BDC2-6725-4B29-B75A-A5B04179958B/Licensing_Office365_ProPlus_in_Volume_Licensing.pdf

Can I deploy Office 365 ProPlus on shared public cloud environments?

No. Office 365 ProPlus may only be deployed on network servers in your organizations premises or outsourced servers fully dedicated to your organization. You are responsible for the use of the software regardless of the physical location of the hardware, on or off your organization premises.