Microsoft M365 G3 and Mailbox Licensing Guidance

This page offers currently available guidance regarding Microsoft M365 G3 and mailbox licensing.

Microsoft License Offerings

EOTSS intends to offer three (3) mailbox licensing levels:

1. Full M365 G3, which includes access to Office Pro Plus, Exchange Online, SharePoint Online, and Teams;
2. Exchange Online Plan 2, which includes access to Exchange Online (Email) only;
3. “No” license.

Licenses for Active Users

Active users require a full M365 G3, which gives the user access to the full suite of Microsoft products. 

Licenses for Inactive Users

Determining the correct license level for an inactive user (i.e. “zz’d” accounts) is more complicated.  The goal is that inactive users will not require a license. However, an Exchange Online Plan 2 license will be required when the inactive user’s mailbox will be accessed by another active user (other than eDiscovery) and/or has PST files that need to be ingested into the mailbox.

Licenses for Group Mailboxes

Group or Shared mailboxes are required to be on Litigation Hold and as a result require an Exchange Online Plan 2 license.  The EOTSS team will be enabling Litigation Hold and applying an Exchange Online Plan 2 license on ALL Group or Shared mailboxes.

Licenses for Reservation Mailboxes

Reservation mailboxes, i.e., conference room, equipment, and resource mailboxes, may not require a license.  However, an Exchange Online Plan 2 license is required if the mailbox is larger than 50GB and/or if Litigation Hold is required on that mailbox.  Until such time as EOTSS can provide guidance to ensure that data sent to reservation mailboxes is properly preserved in a manner consistent with the Commonwealth’s data retention requirements, all reservation mailboxes MUST be on litigation hold and thus require an Exchange Online Plan 2 license.  The EOTSS team will be enabling Litigation Hold and applying an Exchange Online Plan 2 license on ALL Reservation mailboxes.

Removing or Downgrading Licenses

At this time, EOTSS cannot offer guidance on removing or downgrading (from M365 G3 to Exchange Online Plan 2) licenses for inactive users.  EOTSS is working with our Consulting Services team to understand the correct deprovisioning process to ensure that an inactive user’s data in Teams, OneDrive for Business, and SharePoint Online are properly preserved in a manner that is compliant with the Commonwealth’s data retention requirements.  EOTSS is also working with our vendor to identify reservation mailboxes that do not have the correct license level assigned.  EOTSS will provide further guidance to Agencies and Secretariats as soon as it is available.

Note on PST Files

Many Agencies or Secretariats still have data that resides in PST files.  The data in those PST files should be ingested back into an inactive user’s mailbox, preserved via another mechanism determined by the agency, or destroyed in accordance with the Statewide Records Retention Schedule before the license can be removed.  As part of the Modern Workplace program, on-premise mailboxes are being migrated to Exchange Online, which will allow for those PST files to be ingested into the user’s mailbox.

Litigation Hold

Not sure if Litigation Hold is required?

The questions below will help you decide.

QUESTION 1: Is this a person?

Yes = REQUIRED

No = continue to Question 2

QUESTION 2: Does someone still need to access this mailbox?

Yes = continue to Question 3

No = NOT REQUIRED

QUESTION 3: Do items need to be discoverable even after being deleted?

Yes = REQUIRED

No = NOT REQUIRED

Please note: After 30 days you cannot reconnect to a user's mailbox if the license was removed, or if the user has been "deleted".  Before a user is unlicensed or "deleted", the administrator should confirm that the user is on Litigation Hold (unless not required).

Microsoft License Decision Matrix

Not sure which license you need? 

The decision matrix below will help you decide.

Microsoft License Decision Matrix

License	Requirements
Microsoft M365 G3	Active User Needs access to other O365 services (Office Pro Plus, Exchange Online, Sharepoint Online, OneDrive for Business, Teams and etc.) Disabled User who has files in OneDrive for Business
Microsoft Exchange Online Plan 2	Disabled User with mail stored outside of their mailbox (external archive, PST’s, etc.) that needs to be migrated, but who does not have files in OneDrive for Business. Active Group, Shared, Resource or Equipment Mailbox that: has a large mailbox (>50GB), and/or requires Litigation Hold
No License Required (Microsoft Outlook Mailbox request item)	Disabled User without mail stored outside of their mailbox (external archive, PST’s, etc.) and who does not have files in OneDrive for Business