Multiple AD-users same Office 365 mailbox. How many license needed?

Copper Contributor

Hey,

 

We are working with E1/E3 licenses but are not sure how many licenses we need. The local AD is dirsyned to Office 365.

 

We have 8 AD users with generic login names (Logistics1, Logistics2, Logistics3, ....) working on 2 domain joined PC's.  They don't need there own email.

 

They all use the same office 365 e-mail box logistics@domain.com (license E1) coupled to the domain user logistics@domain.com.

Outlook on the local PC's is covered with a volume license plan.

 

Is it ok to have only one office 365 E1 license?  Or do we need to buy 8 licenses and use a shared mailbox?

 

What if we change the license to a E3?  Can we install outlook on both locale PC's using the same logistics@domain.com office 365 E3 license?

5 Replies

"Sharing" the same account is a violation of the license agreement, afaik. But in general, when considering licensing questions, it's best to speak directly with your Microsoft representatives, as they are the authority.

You may wish to consider using F1, Frontline licensing for your users depending on their needs. This might provide an economic but compliant solution to your use case. As suggested discussing licensing with your Microsoft representative is a good practice to remain legal.

I agree with Vasil, get some advice from Microsoft directly or a partner. that way you can get a definitive answer, rather than us speculating.

 

To add a bit of background info though, as I understand it, Office 365 is sold through the User Subscription License (USL) Model and that means -

 

"A company and its affiliates can purchase a USL for every employee in their company or a subset of employees. Each USL is assigned to an end user."

 

where the "USL is tied to the user. Within the context of this document, “user” refers to end user of the service". 

 

Based on that, I would assume you would require 8 licences but a licencing rep would be able to confirm that for you for sure.

Great suggestion by @John Wynne, check out the F1 plan to see if it could meet your needs.  This plan used to be known as the K1 (Kiosk) plan but has now been broadened.  Here is the product page by the way and check out the FAQ at the end as well.   If you looking to compare plans, there are the Office 365 Service Descriptions.

All,

Thanks for all the replies.  But I'm not shure the F1 is the way to go.  I find that F1 includes the Kios user license for mail.  And also see that the kios user is not licensed to view a shared mailbox.

https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/Exchange/Exchange-Online-Kiosk-and-Shared-Mailbox/td-p/3389

SO I don't think we can use that.