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Office 365 Platform Service Description
Topic Last Modified: 2013-05-16
Microsoft Office 365 delivers the power of cloud productivity to businesses of all sizes, helping save time, money, and free up valued resources. Office 365 combines the familiar Microsoft Office desktop suite with cloud-based versions of Microsoft’s next-generation communications and collaboration services—including Microsoft Exchange Online, Microsoft SharePoint Online, Microsoft Office Web Apps, and Microsoft Lync Online—to help users be productive from virtually anywhere through the Internet.
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| Because we're continually improving service features, information in these topics can occasionally be out of sync with your service. If the information here doesn’t match what you’re seeing, you may be using Office 365 pre-upgrade. For pre-upgrade service descriptions, see Office 365 for Enterprise Service Descriptions. To see if you’re using Office 365 after the service upgrade, see Am I using Office 365 after the service upgrade? |
Office 365 is available in a variety of plans in order to best meet the needs of your organization. For information about different plans, including standalone plan options and information on moving from one plan to another, see Office 365 Plan Options.
For information about the operating systems, web browsers, and applications that are supported by Office 365, see the following resources:
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For Office 365 Midsize Business, Enterprise, Education, Government, and Kiosk subscription services, see Software requirements for Office 365 Enterprise.
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For Office 365 Small Business and Office 365 Small Business Premium subscription services, see Software requirements for Office 365 Small Business and Office 365 Small Business Premium.
The Office 365 team maintains a list of known issues and workarounds that applies to all services. For more information, see Office 2013 and Office 365 known issues.
The following table lists all Office 365 platform features.
| Feature | Office 365 Small Business | Office 365 Small Business Premium | Office 365 Midsize Business | Office 365 Enterprise E1 Office 365 Education A2 Office 365 Government G1 | Office 365 Enterprise E3 Office 365 Education A3 Office 365 Government G3 | Office 365 Enterprise E4 Office 365 Education A4 Office 365 Government G4 | Office 365 Enterprise K1 Office 365 Government K1 |
| Administer Office 365 by using the Office 365 admin center | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Administer Office 365 by using the Office 365 portal | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No | No |
| Manage core service settings from Office 365 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Use Windows PowerShell to manage Office 365 | No1 | No1 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Protect content by using Windows Azure AD Rights Management | No | No | No2 | No2 | Yes3 | Yes3 | No2 |
| Read and edit IRM-protected content. | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Office 365 Small Business | Office 365 Small Business Premium | Office 365 Midsize Business | Office 365 Enterprise E1 Office 365 Education A2 Office 365 Government G1 | Office 365 Enterprise E3 Office 365 Education A3 Office 365 Government G3 | Office 365 Enterprise E4 Office 365 Education A4 Office 365 Government G4 | Office 365 Enterprise K1 Office 365 Government K1 | |
| Cloud identity | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Federated identity (single sign-on) | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Office 365 desktop setup | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| Manage users with Office 365 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Bulk upload Using .csv files | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Directory Sync tool | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Exchange simple (cutover) migration | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Delete accounts by using Office 365 | Yes | Yes | Yes 4 | Yes 4 | Yes 4 | Yes 4 | Yes 4 |
| Admin can reset user password from Office 365 or by using Windows PowerShell | Yes1 | Yes1 | Yes 4 | Yes 4 | Yes 4 | Yes 4 | Yes 4 |
| Users can change their own password | Yes 5 | Yes 5 | Yes 5 | Yes 5 | Yes 5 | Yes 5 | Yes 5 |
| Manage licenses | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Manage security groups from Office 365 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Multiple administrator roles available | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Allow a partner to administer Office 365 for you | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Office 365 Small Business | Office 365 Small Business Premium | Office 365 Midsize Business | Office 365 Enterprise E1 Office 365 Education A2 Office 365 Government G1 | Office 365 Enterprise E3 Office 365 Education A3 Office 365 Government G3 | Office 365 Enterprise E4 Office 365 Education A4 Office 365 Government G4 | Office 365 Enterprise K1 Office 365 Government K1 | |
| Use name.onmicrosoft.com domain for email, Lync Online and team sites | Yes 6 | Yes 6 | Yes 7 | Yes 7 | Yes 7 | Yes 7 | Yes 7 |
| Use a custom domain name for email and Lync Online | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Use a different provider for email and IM | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Use name-public.sharepoint.com for your SharePoint Online Public Website | Yes 6 | Yes 6 | Yes 7 | Yes 7 | Yes 7 | Yes 7 | Yes 7 |
| Use a custom domain name for your SharePoint Online Public Website | Yes 8 | Yes 8 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Host a public website with a different provider | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Host multiple SharePoint Online public websites with custom domain names | No7 | No9 | No | No | No | No | No |
| Domain ownership verification required for custom domains | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Add custom 2nd-level domains | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Add custom 3rd-level domains | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Add up to 600 custom domains | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| DNS records managed by Office 365 (full redelegation) | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No | No |
| DNS records managed at your DNS hosting provider (partial redelegation) | Yes 10 | Yes 10 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Office 365 Small Business | Office 365 Small Business Premium | Office 365 Midsize Business | Office 365 Enterprise E1 Office 365 Education A2 Office 365 Government G1 | Office 365 Enterprise E3 Office 365 Education A3 Office 365 Government G3 | Office 365 Enterprise E4 Office 365 Education A4 Office 365 Government G4 | Office 365 Enterprise K1 Office 365 Government K1 | |
| Status information available on the Service health or Service status page | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Status of individual alerts available on the Office 365 admin center dashboard | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Service health RSS feed | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Office 365 Small Business | Office 365 Small Business Premium | Office 365 Midsize Business | Office 365 Enterprise E1 Office 365 Education A2 Office 365 Government G1 | Office 365 Enterprise E3 Office 365 Education A3 Office 365 Government G3 | Office 365 Enterprise E4 Office 365 Education A4 Office 365 Government G4 | Office 365 Enterprise K1 Office 365 Government K1 | |
| Active and inactive mailboxes | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| New and deleted mailboxes | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| New and deleted groups | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Mailbox usage | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Types of mailbox connections | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Received mail | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Sent mail | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Received spam | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Malware detections in received email | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Malware detections in sent email | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Top malware | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Sent spam | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Rule matches for received mail | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Rule matches for sent mail | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| DLP policy matches for sent mail | No | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| DLP policy matches for received mail | No | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| DLP rule matches for sent mail | No | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| DLP rule matches for received mail | No | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| IM and audio sessions | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Application sharing, web, and dial-in conferences | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Video, application sharing, and file transfer sessions | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| IM and audio/video conferences | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Downloadable mail protection reports | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Create your own reports using Office 365 reporting web services | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Office 365 Small Business | Office 365 Small Business Premium | Office 365 Midsize Business | Office 365 Enterprise E1 Office 365 Education A2 Office 365 Government G1 | Office 365 Enterprise E3 Office 365 Education A3 Office 365 Government G3 | Office 365 Enterprise E4 Office 365 Education A4 Office 365 Government G4 | Office 365 Enterprise K1 Office 365 Government K1 | |
| Regular updates provided to all customers | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Notifications sent for major upgrades | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| For major upgrades, customers can request to delay the upgrade | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Office 365 Small Business | Office 365 Small Business Premium | Office 365 Midsize Business | Office 365 Enterprise E1 Office 365 Education A2 Office 365 Government G1 | Office 365 Enterprise E3 Office 365 Education A3 Office 365 Government G3 | Office 365 Enterprise E4 Office 365 Education A4 Office 365 Government G4 | Office 365 Enterprise K1 Office 365 Government K1 | |
| Online help | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Community | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Office 365 TechCenter | Yes10 | Yes10 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Other self-help resources | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Office 365 Small Business | Office 365 Small Business Premium | Office 365 Midsize Business | Office 365 Enterprise E1 Office 365 Education A2 Office 365 Government G1 | Office 365 Enterprise E3 Office 365 Education A3 Office 365 Government G3 | Office 365 Enterprise E4 Office 365 Education A4 Office 365 Government G4 | Office 365 Enterprise K1 Office 365 Government K1 | |
| IPv4 and IPv6 protocols | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Trust | Office 365 Small Business | Office 365 Small Business Premium | Office 365 Midsize Business | Office 365 Enterprise E1 Office 365 Education A2 Office 365 Government G1 | Office 365 Enterprise E3 Office 365 Education A3 Office 365 Government G3 | Office 365 Enterprise E4 Office 365 Education A4 Office 365 Government G4 | Office 365 Enterprise K1 Office 365 Government K1 |
| Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| SAS 70 / SSAE16 Assessments | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| ISO 27001 certified | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| EU Model Clauses | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| EU Safe Harbor | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| HIPAA-Business Associate Agreement | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| FISMA Authority to Operate | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Microsoft Data Processing Agreement | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| PCI DSS Level One | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| PCI-governed PAN data | No | No | No | No | No | No | No |
| Office 365 Small Business | Office 365 Small Business Premium | Office 365 Midsize Business | Office 365 Enterprise E1 Office 365 Education A2 Office 365 Government G1 | Office 365 Enterprise E3 Office 365 Education A3 Office 365 Government G3 | Office 365 Enterprise E4 Office 365 Education A4 Office 365 Government G4 | Office 365 Enterprise K1 Office 365 Government K1 | |
| BlackBerry® Business Cloud Services | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Use BlackBerry Internet Service (BIS) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Create trial invitations and purchase orders for a customer who is using the specified plan | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Provide delegated administration | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
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| 1 If using directory synchronization, you must delete accounts or change passwords by using Active Directory, rather than the Office 365 portal or by using the Windows Azure Active Directory module for Windows PowerShell. 2 Windows Azure AD Rights Management is not included, but can be purchased as a separate add-on and will enable the supported Information Rights Management (IRM) features. 3 Windows Azure AD Rights Management is not available for Office 365 Government G3 and Office 365 Government G4. 4 Windows PowerShell can be used with Office 365 Small Business and Office 365 Small Business Premium, but is not recommended. 5 Users can only change their password if they know their old password. 6 This is the default domain name. 7 Using a custom domain is the default. 8 Using a custom domain name for your SharePoint Online public website is only possible if you redirect your name server records to Office 365 name servers. 9 For Office 365 Small Business and Office 365 Small Business Premium , you can have only have one Public Website hosted with Office 365, unless you’ve upgraded from an earlier version of Office 365. In that case, you have two Public Websites, but only one of them can be hosted with a custom domain name. For more information, see Work with your two Office 365 Public Websites. 10 The default for Office 365 Small Business and Office 365 Small Business Premium is full redelegation. However, if you do not redirect the name server records, partial redelegation is available, with some service limitations. 11 Although the TechCenter is available to everyone, most of the content does not apply to Office 365 Small Business and Office 365 Small Business Premium. |
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