Office 365 Open & Office 365 FPP FAQ Overview What is Office 365?

Office 365 is an online subscription service that provides email, shared calendars, the ability to create and edit documents online, instant messaging, web conferencing, a public website for your business, and internal team sites—all accessible anywhere from nearly any device. To learn more about this product, please visit http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/office365/what-is-office365.aspx to explore what Office 365 can do for organizations.

What is the Microsoft® Open Program?

Microsoft® Open Programs provide small and midsize organizations with a cost-effective way to purchase software licenses, including Open, Open Value and Open Value Subscription Licenses. The Open programs are a convenient and simple way for organizations that want to make a minimum initial purchase of at least five licenses to acquire the latest Microsoft® technology.

What is FPP?

FPP stands for full packaged product, available at retail stores and software resellers. This includes physical boxes of licensed product as well as electronic key distribution from a smaller number of partners.

What are Office 365 Open and Office 365 FPP?

The Office 365 Open and Office 365 FPP are new business models for partners to sell Office 365 using the existing Open and FPP licensing programs. In Office 365 Open, reseller partners are able to purchase the new Office 365 Midsize Business service in the Microsoft Open Programs through distributors and resell the product to customers. For Office 365 Open, purchases will be available as a digitally distributed product key. Customers can redeem the product keys on Office.com/get365, similar to unlocking a copy of Office with a product key today. In Office 365 FPP, Office 365 Small Business Premium will be available as POSA (point of sale activation) or microcase (inventory

value) available through retail, retail.com, OEM, or VAR. Similar to Office 365 Open, customers can redeem the product keys on Office.com/get365, similar to unlocking a copy of Office with a product key today. If the customer is a new Office 365 user, they can use the key to create a new account. If they are an existing Office 365 customer with Midsize Business or the Small Business SKUs, the customer will log-in with their Office 365 Org ID to add the seats to their subscription. Descriptions of both new offerings – Office 365 Midsize Business and Office 365 Small Business Premium – appear below. Why are you creating Office 365 Open and Office 365 FPP? What is the purpose of having both the Advisor and Office 365 Open and Office 365 FPP models?

Office 365 Open and Office 365 FPP subscriptions will enable our reseller partner ecosystem to bill customers directly and receive revenue and margin up front, similar to how partners sell onpremise products today.

How does Microsoft®’s role change under Office 365 Open and Office 365 FPP?

Microsoft® will continue to provide the service and the support for customers. In addition to the sales and account management function, partners also bill customers under Office 365 Open and Office 365 FPP subscriptions.

When is it coming? What preparation is required for partners?

Office 365 Open and Office 365 FPP are coming in Q1 2013. In the meantime, partners should become familiar with Office 365 services and continue selling these services to their customers through the Advisor Program.

Advisor Partners are often partners without existing on-premise business. They can use this model to build a recurring revenue stream selling Office 365 without investing in subscription billing systems. Both models are designed to provide customers and partners with the flexibility to choose the sales path that best suits their needs.

Office 365 Open will follow the current process through which Open Programs are transacted. Office 365 FPP will be ordered like FPP products are ordered today. Reseller partners should call their local distributor to understand the process of these programs. In addition, Microsoft will provide more detailed training and information on MPN as launch approaches.

What SKUs will be available thru Office 365 Open and FPP?

Office 365 Midsize Business is available through the Open programs. It will also be available in our advisor program, directly on our website and through our syndication partners. Office 365 Small Business premium will be available through our through our traditional channels that sell FPP as a physical boxed product. It will also be available in our advisor program, directly on our website and through our syndication partners. Product features will be the same across channels. The Enterprise suites and standalone SKUs are not available through FPP and Open at general availability.

Why are different products available in these channels?

We have designed offers targeted to the different needs for customers who purchase in different channels. Our small business customers want simplified IT management and purchase Office in retail environments. Our midsize business customers have more advanced needs due to their size and typically purchase through our large partner ecosystem alongside additional value added services.

What’s the different between Office 365 Small Business Premium and Office 365 Midsize Business?

Office 365 Small Business Premium is designed for businesses with 10 or fewer users without IT personnel. It provides a subscription version of the Office client as well as Exchange business email, and collaboration through SharePoint. It also provides IM/presence and meetings through Lync. Office 365 Midsize Business is designed for companies with between 11 and 250 users. It provides the features of Small Business Premium as well as improved phone support, Active Directory and a more advanced IT admin console. It also includes a full version of Office 365 ProPlus, our best version of the Office client. Small Business Premium Subscriptions have a technical cap of 25 users. Midsize Business Subscriptions have a technical cap of 300 users. These user caps are designed to ensure a positive customer experience based on the SKU design.

Partner Model What are the Partners requirements for selling in the Open and FPP programs?

All partners will be able to sell the products available in Office 365 Open and Office 365 FPP as long as they establish a reseller relationship with one of our authorized distributors. Prior to selling in the Open Programs, please learn about Microsoft Volume Licensing from http://www.microsoft.com/licensing/Default.aspx

Are Partners allowed to sell Office 365 Open and Office 365 FPP globally?

Open and Retail Programs are both regionally bound programs where each distributor is authorized to sell in specific geographical location. Also, reseller partners are allowed to sell Office 365 Open and Office 365 FPP only to end customers who are located where Office 365 subscription is available for direct purchase.

How does billing work?

In Office 365 Open and Office 365 FPP, partners will pay the distributor and bill the customer directly for the services.

How do partners generate revenue with Office 365 Open and Office 365 FPP?

Partners will receive up-front margin like other Open Programs purchases. Additional rebates will be available for qualified partners. Partners will continue to receive up-front margins when additional seats are ordered and if they renew the customer thru the Office 365 Open or Office 365 FPP.

Do partners get paid rebates and coop based on when product keys are sold or when they are redeemed?

Both Distributors and Resellers are paid based on products sold. That said, partners should help customers redeem their purchase and get set up as quickly as possible to ensure the best customer experience and provide the best opportunities for renewal in the future. Microsoft will work to provide Distis and Resellers visibility into the redemption status of product keys to enable this.

Are Office 365 Open and Office 365 FPP seats also eligible for advisor fees?

Advisor fees are not available to advisor partners when seats are sold through Office 365 Open and Office 365 FPP. Partner listed as the partner of record (POR) will receive the advisor fees if a customer selects direct billing during renewal or for the purchase of addition of seats. Microsoft® Online Services Advisor status is required to be listed as the Partner of Record (POR) on customer’s Office 365 subscription.

Are Partners automatically listed as the Partner of Record (POR)?

No. POR will need to be designated through the administration console in Office 365. Being POR will enable you to be copied on customer communications and have additional tools.

How can a Partner become an Online Services Advisor?

Visit https://www.microsoftcloudpartner.com to learn how to become a Microsoft® Online Services Advisor.

Can the POR be different than the Office 365 Open and Office 365 FPP partner?

Yes. If a customer switches partners, they will have the ability to update the POR field at any time.

What is the Admin on Behalf functionality in Office 365? Can partners selling Office 365 Open and Office 365 FPP utilize Admin on Behalf?

“Admin on Behalf” is a feature available to partners that enables them to have greater administrative control over customer accounts. For example, partners can act on behalf of their customers to complete key activities such as password resets, user account management, and service request oversight. Yes, partners selling on Office 365 Open and Office 365 FPP can utilize Admin on Behalf. However, Admin on behalf does require a partner to be listed as the POR and have the customer agree to the admin on behalf capabilities. In order to be listed as a POR, a partner must first sign-up for Cloud Essentials where they will complete the simple process of signing the MOSPA agreement to receive a partner ID number. Then, a customer can go to the Admin tab and use this ID number to add the partner as the POR for their account. Please visit https://www.microsoftcloudpartner.com to learn more.

Are there partner benefits associated with Office 365 Open and Office 365 FPP?

Training will be available through distributors and the advisor program. Partners are encouraged to join MPN for other benefits related to Office 365. Please head to www.mspartner.microsoft.com for more information.

Customer Experience What bundle sizes will be offered to customers? Why do I have to purchase bundles instead of a single product key for all the licenses I need? How long is the subscription?

Office 365 Midsize Business will be sold in bundles of 1, 5, 25, and 50 users for 1 year. Office 365 Small Business Premium will only be sold in units of 1 user for 1 year. Support for dynamic PIN generation (i.e. redeem a single product key for the given number of licenses purchased) is a priority feature on the current product roadmap. Although this functionality will not be available at launch, we hope to offer this feature soon. Each user subscription expires 1 year after activation, not after the point of sale.

Office 365 Open Subscriptions will be sold in bundles. Can bundles be broken up?

Individual bundles cannot be broken up and must be redeemed all at one time. Customers can combine bundles to meet the exact needs of the customer (i.e. a customer needs 6 seats so the partner should sell a 5 seat key and a 1 seat key).

Can Office 365 Open and Office 365 FPP subscriptions be resold from one VAR to another?

No. Office 365 Open and Office 365 FPP subscriptions will be sold exactly like Office is sold through Open and FPP programs today. Partners should not be making Office 365 Open and Office 365 FPP subscription transactions outside of a distributor relationship. In the case of Open, there is no physical distribution and an order should only be placed after receiving an order from the customer.

Do the Office 365 Open and Office 365 FPP Product Keys expire? If so, after how long?

Product keys must be redeemed within 5 years from the time that they are purchased from Microsoft®.

Can customers combine two Office 365 Open and Office 365 FPP product keys to extend service for an end user/seat to two years?

No. At launch, the product will only be available in 1 year increments.

Can Office 365 Open and Office 365 FPP support subscriptions purchased from multiple partners?

Office 365 Open* and Office 365 FPP can be purchased from multiple partners and combined on a single tenant.

Can unused Office 365 Open and Office 365 FPP subscriptions be returned? Can customers cancel?

Office 365 Open subscription product keys cannot be returned. Customers can sign up for a free 30 day trial for any of our product SKUs to ensure the service meets their needs prior to purchase.

*Change of channel partner in Open Value Program requires an additional step. Please consult authorized Distributor.

In Open, Product keys are delivered electronically directly to the customer upon purchase so should not be purchased until an order from a customer has been placed. This is consistent with the Open Agreement today.

Office 365 FPP product keys cannot be returned if the seal on the box is opened. Office 365 FPP may be returned to a distributor based on its return policy. Once redeemed, subscriptions can be canceled but there will be no refunds. The subscription will expire at the conclusion of the subscription billing cycle. How do customers reduce the number of seats?

Seats can only be reduced at renewal.

Are subscriptions transferable?

Subscriptions are also not transferable, consistent with Microsoft® Office 365 terms of service today. However, customers may reassign the licenses from one user to another user within their organization. For Office 365 Midsize Business, the re-assignment within their organization is allowed only within the Microsoft® defined territory. More detail can be found http://www.microsoft.com/licensing/licensing-options/openregional.aspx

What is the customer experience at expiration?

The customer and Partner Of Record will receive the renewal notice 60 days, 30 days, 7 days and 1 day prior to expiration. The 60, 30, and 7 day notifications are tailored for Open and FPP purchases to instruct customers to see their partner to get a new product key. Partners should contact their customers prior to expiration to renew their account with Office 365 Open and Office 365 FPP subscription. Customers will be able to use product keys from any partner to renew their subscription. Partners can also choose to switch their customer to direct billing model from Microsoft®. During direct renewal, the new subscription will start immediately so customers should not renew until expiration. Partners will receive advisor fees on direct renewals if they are listed as the POR.

Can a customer add seats or extend subscription with a credit card?

Yes, a customers can purchase incremental seats directly or extend their existing subscription with a credit card. This purchase will shift the customer from the Open model to the Advisor model, but will not impact any functionality of the product. If the partner is listed as the PoR, they will receive the corresponding advisor fees related to these purchases.

What happens if a customers does not renew?

If a customer does not renew, they have a 30 day grace period when they can continue using the service. After that point, they have another 90 days when data is held, but functionality is severely

reduced. The customer can reactivate the subscription at any time during this period and the billing will be retroactive from the expiration date. After the 120 days, the data is deleted from Microsoft servers. Transitions How can customers transition between SKUs?

We are currently working to improve transitions between SKUs. In the interim, we support customer moving within product families (e.g., Small Business to Small Business Premium), but not across product families (e.g., Small Business to E1, Midsize Business to E3) Additionally, the Midsize Business SKU cannot co-exist with the stand alone service offerings such as Exchange Online (Plan 1). As a result, existing Exchange Online Plan 1 customers who want to use the Office 365 Midsize Business would be required to cancel their subscription and sign up for Exchange Online Plan 1. This is due to different user experiences tailored to the individual market segments.

Will customers purchasing via through MOSA be able to move to Open?

Customers within the same family (e.g., Small Business) will be able to transition between models at GA. As Office 365 Midsize Business is not currently available, there will be no transition path for current customers available at GA. We are currently working to provide additional options.

Microsoft pays advisor fees for a year for new customers. If a customer is transitioned to Office FPP or Open before the year is over, will Microsoft ask for fees back or garnish future fees?

No, the partner will keep the fees in exchange for the pre-sales services. However, the customer has a one year contract for seats purchased through advisor so may be subject to early termination fees, so partners should wait until the customer term has expired.

Are there offers for current customers on Open L&SA/OV that want to move

The current Office 365 Open Value Offer provides new flexibility for customers to move users online by adding MOSP alongside their existing OV(S) agreement. OOVO is being extended for another year (though August 2013).

from on-prem to O365? Licensing In which Volume Licensing Programs will Office 365 Open be offered?

The Office 365 Midsize Business product that is part of Office 365 Open will be available in Open License, Open Value and Open Value Subscription Programs, for commercial customers.

Will Open Programs minimum order requirement apply?

No. Open Programs’ 5 license minimum order requirement is waived for Office 365 Open. Orders with the quantity of 1 will be accepted.

Is there a volume discount for Office 365 Open?

There is no volume discount for Office 365 Open. Consequently, on Open Programs Pricelist for Distributors, ‘Level C’ Price Level will not exist.

What are the payment options available for Office 365 Open?

An up-front payment of 12 months’ subscription is the only payment option available for Office 365 Open.

What happens when someone purchases from a region where Office 365 cannot be provisioned? Is there a refund process?

Partners are expressly prohibited from selling Office 365 Open in countries where Office 365 is not available. Office 365 Open is not refundable once provisioned.

Can Office 365 Open be purchased by customers who already have an active Open License or Open Value Agreement?

Yes. Office 365 can be purchased by existing Volume Licensing Customers, regardless of the remaining term of their current agreement.

Will Office 365 subscription expire when a customer’s Open Programs contract expire?

No. Open Programs’ agreement and Office 365 subscription expiration dates are independent which allows flexibility of purchase.

Note: 5 desktop minimum rules still apply to start Open Value/Open Value Subscription Agreement with Organization-Wide Commitment.

What is the course of action if my customer’s agreement just expired?

Partner can simply place a new order for Office 365 Midsize Business to Microsoft® via a Distributor. Distributor can purchase through Open License Program, which will automatically starts a new 2 year Authorization Number.

Will buying Office 365 enable customers to cancel their current Volume License agreement in the middle of the agreement term?

Office 365 subscription and on-premise Office software are separate with different customer experience and benefits. Purchases already made for Office or Client Access License Suite will not be credited when customers purchases Office 365. Likewise, Open Value/Open Value Subscriptions’ future anniversary orders are still due to be fulfilled.

Does the Office 365 Open count toward the Open Value’s Organization-Wide Commitment?

Office 365 Open is “Additional Product” offer type and by itself does not automatically count towards the organization-wide commitment. However, organization-wide committed customers with Office and/or Client Access License (CAL) Suite can qualify for a discounted price of Office 365 Midsize Business, which is available in Office 365 Open.

Does Office 365 Open have a buyout option via Open Value Subscriptions?

No. The product available (Midsize Business) in Office 365 Open is a pure subscription service and does not have a buy-out option.

How do I activate O365 purchased from Open Programs?

Upon processing of your order, Microsoft® sends an email to End Customer as well as Reseller Partner with the instructions. In summary, following is the process: 1. Customer, or Partner on behalf of customer, log on to Volume Licensing Service Center (VLSC) https://www.microsoft.com/Licensing/servicecenter/default.aspx. 2. Obtain product key called Online Service Activation (OSA) Keys at either of the following locations from the VLSC Homepage:  Download & Keys > find the Product/Service name > click Key  Licenses > Relationship Summary > Click on the License Number > Product Key 3. Copy the Keys and activate the Office 365 at http://www.office.com/setup365

Who is expected to actually obtain Keys from VLSC

While the entire process is end customer ready, Microsoft® encourages Partners to manage the process on behalf of end customers as part of their value-add-service.

and redeem Office 365 from the redemption site? Can Partner sign contract on behalf of end customer inside VLSC?

Before partner may accept the Open License Agreement on behalf of customer, partner must be authorized by the customer to act as their agent in connection with the customer’s agreement with Microsoft®.

What is an Online Subscription Activation (OSA) Key and how do I use it?

An Online Service Activation (OSA) Key is a type of product key, and this single-use redemption key is used to activate subscriptions to Microsoft® Online Services. OSA Key is distributed electronically via VLSC and can be redeemed at the Office 365 redemption site at http://www.office.com/setup365

What is the difference between a 1-seat, 5-seat, 25seat, and 50-seat Keys?

Each type of Keys activates a 12 months subscription for a given number of users. A 5-seat Key can be used to license 5 users for one year, but cannot be used to license one user for five years.

How do I know which Keys have been redeemed?

The redemption status of each Key will not be available in VLSC as of the launch time of Office 365 Open. Partners are encouraged to manage Keys on behalf of end customers and can use the ‘Export to CSV’ function in VLSC for keeping track of Keys via Excel.

How can a partner see Keys for a specific customer or order?

The Relationship Summary view on the Licenses tab in VLSC shows each license agreement (and their associated Keys) separately.

How do I add additional users to the Office 365 Subscription?

Several options exist for adding additional users to Office 365. Additional O365 subscriptions can be purchased via Open Programs in the same manner as the original purchase using the same set of SKUs. Additional users can be added from the Licenses page in the Office 365 Administrative Portal directly as well, that would bypass the purchase via Open Programs altogether. Partner compensation model is different for purchases made directly thru the O365 Admin portal so please use the option that works the best for you and the customer. O365 Subscriptions with two different payment methods cannot be managed as one subscription. Both subscriptions will be on the same tenant and the licenses will be pooled for use across all users.

How do I decrease users of Office 365 Subscription?

Reducing the number of seats is possible during the renewal process directly from Office 365 Administrative Portal.

Can a single key be used to both add users and also extend a subscription? I added users to already existing Office 365 subscription but the new expiration date shows less than 12 months of service. Why?

No. Keys may be used to add users, or to extend a subscription, but not both.

Users can be added to a Product Key subscription midterm, but service time will be distributed evenly across all users to maintain coterminous end-date. This way, administration of renewal is simpler to manage without different end dates across all users. Due to this system calculation, newly added users may receive less than full 12 months of service.