Native RDS support for Office 365 ProPlus has arrived and that means a slight change to the licensing.

Previously, Office 365 ProPlus couldn’t be deployed to users’ devices using RDS and there was a note in the Product List which allowed customers to use Office Professional Plus 2013 software to enable this scenario, which counted as 1 of the 5 allowed installations.

From 1 September 2014 there’s something called Shared Computer Activation – now, Office 365 ProPlus CAN be installed in an RDS environment, and this no longer counts against the 5 installations.

See page 51 of the September 2014 Product List, this Microsoft blog: http://bit.ly/ZfxoXr and TechNet article: http://bit.ly/1s9EOX4

When don’t you need to assign Office 365 licences to mailboxes? When they’re non-user mailboxes of course. But when DO you need to assign licences to these non-user mailboxes?

If a resource, room, or shared mailbox goes over its quota of 10GB then it needs a licence, and if one isn’t assigned after one month, the mailbox will be locked.

The recommendation is to use archiving to avoid going over the quota: http://bit.ly/1qBZPrh.

Office 365 Personal has arrived. The key facts:

• One PC or Mac and one tablet may be connected to the service;
• It includes 60 minutes of Skype calling per month as well as 20 GB of OneDrive storage;
• Estimated Retail Price is $69.99/year or $6.99/month.

Office 365 Home Premium is still available but is renamed to Office 365 Home and offers installation on up to 5 PCs or Macs and 5 tablets as well as 20 GB of OneDrive storage for each of up to 5 users, with a price tag of $99.99/year or $9.99/month.

Here’s the Office Blog post: http://bit.ly/QVUxKm.

Office for iPad – the licensing facts:

• Free apps allow viewing and presenting of documents and an Office 365 subscription allows creation and editing;
• Office 365 subscriptions that include Office for iPad – Home, Small Business Premium, Midsize Business, E/G/A3, E/G/A4, Office 365 ProPlus, and Office 365 University;
• One subscription covers Office for iPad on up to 5 tablets and Office on up to 5 PCs or Macs;
• Office Mobile for iPhone and Android phones is now free as it is on Windows Phone.

Read the full Office Blog post here: http://bit.ly/1h23WFi.

OneDrive for Business is one of those products still wriggling to feel comfortable in its own skin. Until recently known as SkyDrive Pro, it can trace its roots back through SharePoint Workspace and, of course, Groove. These days it’s part of every Office 365 Plan and is included with the SharePoint Online plans too. From 1 April 2014 it will also be available as a standalone service and will include access to Office Online and 25GB of storage. There will be some promotional pricing with discounts of up to 50% available until the end of September 2014. Get the full story on the OneDrive Blog: http://bit.ly/1doMJem

Microsoft announce Office 365 Personal which is expected in the “Spring”. The key facts:

• One PC or Mac and one tablet may be connected to the service;
• It will include 60 minutes of Skype calling per month as well as 20 GB of OneDrive storage; and
• The ERP is expected to be $69.99/year or $6.99/month.

Office 365 Home Premium will continue to be available but will be renamed to Office 365 Home. Read the full announcement here: http://bit.ly/1d9wmwt.