.png)
Lync Online Service Description
Topic Last Modified: 2013-05-17
Microsoft Lync Online is a hosted communications service that connects people anytime and from virtually anywhere by delivering the collaboration capabilities of Lync Server 2013 as a cloud-based service. It gives users access to presence, instant messaging, audio and video calling, rich online meetings, and extensive web conferencing capabilities.
Organizations that subscribe to Lync Online retain control over the collaboration services they offer to users, but they do not have the operational burden of on-premises server software. With the Lync Online multi-tenant hosted plans described in this document, Lync is hosted on multi-tenant servers that support multiple customers simultaneously. These servers are housed in Microsoft data centers and are accessible to users on a wide range of devices from inside a corporate network or over the Internet.
 Note: |
|---|
| 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? |
For information about new features in Lync Online, see What's New in Lync Online.
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.
| Note: |
|---|
| Lync Online is not available in Office 365 Enterprise K1 or Office 365 Government K1. |
For information about the operating systems, web browsers, and applications that are supported by Office 365, see the following resources:
-
For Office 365 Midsize Business, Enterprise, Education, Government, and Kiosk subscription services, see Software requirements for Office 365 Enterprise.
-
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 following table lists Lync Online feature availability across Office 365 and Lync Online standalone plans.
| Feature | Lync Server 2013 | 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 | Lync Online Standalone Plan 1 | Lync Online Standalone Plan 2 | Lync Online Standalone Plan 3 |
| Lync 2013 | Yes | Yes1 | Yes | Yes | Yes1 | Yes | Yes | No | Yes1 | Yes1 | Yes |
| Lync 2013 Basic | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Lync Windows Store App | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Lync for Mac 2011 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Lync mobile clients | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Lync Web App | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Lync 2013 with Lync Server 2013 | 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 | Lync Online Standalone Plan 1 | Lync Online Standalone Plan 2 | Lync Online Standalone Plan 3 | |
| PC-to-PC IM and Presence | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Multiparty IM and Presence | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Contact Card Configuration | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Picture Configuration | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Contact List Configuration | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Unified Contact Store | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Address Book Search | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Distribution List Expansion | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Persistent Chat | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No |
| Lync 2013 with Lync Server 2013 | 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 | Lync Online Standalone Plan 1 | Lync Online Standalone Plan 2 | Lync Online Standalone Plan 3 | |
| Desktop Sharing | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No2 | Yes | Yes |
| Application Sharing | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No2 | Yes | Yes |
| File Transfers | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Voice | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Video | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Media path optimization | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No |
| Network Quality of Service (QoS) - Differentiated Services Code Point (DSCP) | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No |
| Lync 2013 with Lync Server 2013 | 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 | Lync Online Standalone Plan 1 | Lync Online Standalone Plan 2 | Lync Online Standalone Plan 3 | |
| Office Communications Server 2007 R2 and Lync Server 2010 (IM, Presence, Audio, Video, Conferencing) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| XMPP (used by Google Talk, for example) and Sametime federation | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No |
| Windows Live Messenger, MSN, AOL, and Yahoo! federation | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No |
| Lync 2013 with Lync Server 2013 | 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 | Lync Online Standalone Plan 1 | Lync Online Standalone Plan 2 | Lync Online Standalone Plan 3 | |
| Ad Hoc and Schedule Audio Conferencing | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Ad Hoc and Schedule Video Conferencing | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Active Speaker Video | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| H.264 Encoding and Decoding | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Multiparty Video | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| High Definition Video or Pictures of All Attendees | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Presenter Controls | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Participant Selected View | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| OneNote Sharing | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Ad Hoc and Schedule Web Conferencing | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Dial-in PSTN Conferencing via Certified Audio Conferencing Provider (ACP) | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Desktop Sharing | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No2 | Yes | Yes |
| Application Sharing | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No2 | Yes | Yes |
| PowerPoint Sharing | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| File Transfer | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Whiteboard and Annotations | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| PowerPoint Upload | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Polling | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Client-Side Recording and Playback | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Server-Side Recording and Playback | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No |
| Meeting Lobby | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Participant Anonymous Join with Lync Web App | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Schedule Lync Meetings in Outlook | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Schedule Lync Meetings in Outlook on Behalf of Others (Delegation) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Schedule Lync Meetings with Web Scheduler | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Schedule Online Meetings in Outlook Web App | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Outlook Delegation for Scheduling Meetings | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Lync 2013 with Lync Server 2013 | 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 | Lync Online Standalone Plan 1 | Lync Online Standalone Plan 2 | Lync Online Standalone Plan 3 | |
| IM and Media Encryption | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| IM and File Filtering | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No |
| Client Version Control | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| IM Content Archiving | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Conference Content Archiving | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Application Sharing, and Desktop Sharing Archiving | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No |
| User Level Archiving Configuration 4 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Lync 2013 with Lync Server 2013 | 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 | Lync Online Standalone Plan 1 | Lync Online Standalone Plan 2 | Lync Online Standalone Plan 3 | |
| Presence Interoperability with Exchange Server | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Presence Interoperability with Exchange Online | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Unified Messaging interoperability with Exchange Server | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No |
| Unified Messaging interoperability with Exchange Online | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | Yes | No | No | No | Yes |
| Outlook Web App interoperability | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Archiving interoperability with Exchange Server | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No |
| Archiving interoperability with Exchange Online | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Skill Search with SharePoint Server | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No |
| Skill Search with SharePoint Online | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No |
| Lync 2013 with Lync Server 2013 | 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 | Lync Online Standalone Plan 1 | Lync Online Standalone Plan 2 | Lync Online Standalone Plan 3 | |
| Microsoft Office 365 portal | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Microsoft Office 365 admin center | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Lync admin center | Yes | No | No | Yes5 | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Note: |
|---|
| 1 The Lync 2013 client is supported for use with these subscription options, but it is not included. The exception is Office 365 Education A2, which does include the Lync 2013 client. To access multiparty video (gallery view), OneNote meeting notes, recording, and calendar delegation features, users must have rights to the full Lync 2013 client. You can obtain the full Lync 2013 client by purchasing Office 2013 Professional Plus. 2 A Lync Online Plan 1 user may participate in a sharing session if they are invited by a Lync Online Plan 2 user. 3 Requires a qualified device; see Phones and Devices Qualified for Microsoft Lync. 4 User-level archiving is controlled by the user’s Exchange mailbox In-Place Hold attribute. 5 Only accessible through the Lync admin center (LAC) management interface. |
If you have comments or questions about this topic, we'd love to hear from you. Just send your feedback to Office 365 Service Description Feedback. Your comments will help us provide the most accurate and concise content.
