Service Announcement for Microsoft 365 Mailboxes and Software Rental
Microsoft 365 Mailboxes and Software Rental was formally added to our Service Catalogue on 22nd August 2012. Customers that require this service should ensure they have carefully read and understood the content of this page before making a purchase decision. Customers that already have this service should from time to time revisit this page to keep abreast of the latest changes to the service they receive. This could include information about changes in features or pricing that may affect you or your users.
Service Name
Microsoft 365 Mailboxes and Software Rental (Formerly Office 365)
Service Start Date
This service was added to our service catalogue on 22nd August 2012.
Service Review Dates
The service was last reviewed on 1st March 2022 in order to accommodate the New Commerce Experience
Service Description
Microsoft 365 Mailboxes and Software Rental are a set of services that our customers can subscribe to on a monthly or yearly basis.
Service Mandate
Although we have historically offered Hosted Microsoft Exchange Mailboxes which are hosted independently of Microsoft, some customers have expressed an interest in hosting email directly with Microsoft on their Microsoft 365 platform. As a result we offer this service, but continue to offer other email hosting options to customers who want to benefit from cheaper or more socially responsible alternatives.
Service Features
Though there are several mailbox types available on the platform, the main ones that will interest our small business customers are as follows:
Microsoft 365 Business Basic
Email hosting by Microsoft along with access to Outlook for Mobile and Outlook for Web.
Microsoft 365 Business Standard
As above – with the added rental of the desktop office suite including Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, Publisher and Access.
Service Pricing
We are official Microsoft 365 reseller partners, purchasing the mailbox licences from a UK based Microsoft 365 service provider and reselling them at a small margin. Purchasing your licences via IT\norwich supports a small local business (as opposed to a large US corporations) and means that we can be your first port of call when you need support on Microsoft 365. In turn we have access to a team of UK based specialists that can provide third line support for this service.
These prices were last changed at the end of March 2023 to reflect the changes in Microsoft Pricing strategy, note that these prices may fluctuate roughly according to these external influences.
If you run a NON PROFIT we may be able to assist in in getting free licences. Please see our Computer Support for Non Profits in Norfolk page.
Business Basic | Business Standard | Business Premium | E3 for Enterprise | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly Subscription Rate per Mailbox (Monthly Contract - Billed Monthly) | ||||||
| Annual Subscription Rate per Mailbox (Annual Contract - Billed Monthly) | ||||||
| Includes Microsoft Office | NO | YES | YES | YES | NO |
|
| Email Hosting | YES - 50GB | YES - 50GB | YES - 50GB | YES - 100GB | YES - 100GB |
|
| Outlook Web Access | YES | YES | YES | YES | YES |
|
| Outlook Mobile App | YES | YES | YES | YES | YES |
|
| Browser Only Apps | YES | YES | YES | YES | NO |
|
| OneDrive for Business | YES - 1TB | YES - 1TB | YES - 1TB | YES - Unlimited | NO |
|
| Data Loss Prevention & In-Place Hold (Compliance Features) | NO | NO | NO | NO | YES |
|
| Mailbox Backup Option | ||||||
| Vade Email Security Option | ||||||
| Email Signature Option |
Pricing Notes
All prices exclude VAT.
1 – If you want to have a rolling monthly subscription, this is the price you’ll pay per mailbox per month. With the monthly subscription, mailbox numbers can fluctuate up and down over time as mailboxes are added to or removed from the platform. We base our charges on the number of mailboxes you have active at the end of a given calendar month.
2 – If you want to have an annual subscription, this is the price you’ll pay per mailbox per month however you may not reduce the number of mailboxes you have until the end of the subscription year – even then there is short time window to do so. You may add more mailboxes at any time but this then forms part of your annual commitment. We base our charges on the number of mailboxes you have active at the end of a given calendar month. If you only have one or two mailboxes we may charge a full twelve months in advance in order to avoid having to send monthly invoices, this is strictly at our discretion.
3 – Microsoft Office means installable versions of Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, Publisher and Access. While some businesses may prefer to rent software in this way we do not think it is cost effective. It’s much cheaper to purchase software licences outright, or even go open source if you possibly can. If you need help to decide which is right for you please contact us in the usual way.
4 – The service includes a mailbox size of 50GB or 100GB. While 50GB is adequate for most users, some do need a larger mailbox. If you have several users that need larger mailbox quotas then Microsoft 365 may not be cost effective and in this case you should consider our other email platforms instead.
5 – Outlook Web Access allows you to view and manage email, contacts calendars using a web browser rather than a software based email client.
6 – The Outlook Mobile App is available for Android or iOS.
7 – These are “light” versions of Word, Excel and PowerPoint and as such are missing many of the features you would find when those products are installed on a desktop computer.
8 – OneDrive for Business is a way for users to share and host data between themselves with little oversight from managers and administrators. As a result we generally disable this in favour of properly administered server based file shares. If you want this to be enabled you can always let us know.
9 – With a Microsoft Office 365 subscription, all emails are stored on Microsoft Servers and so as a result that data is generally speaking going to be safe if you have problems with your own computer systems. Emails that you delete (even from your deleted items folder) can usually be recovered within a two week window and so in that sense you might think email backup is unnecessary. What these features do not protect you from is accidental or malicious deletion of email over time. Likewise, the accidental or deliberate deletion of an email mailbox can also result in unwanted data loss. We therefore recommend that – at least for key mailboxes – you purchase an optional backup service.
10 – With just one single email attack, cybercriminals can penetrate the entire Microsoft 365 suite in order to access your business systems and data and can wreak significant financial and reputational damage as a result. The key to protecting your Microsoft 365 environment is to adopt a layered security approach. While Microsoft 365’s native security features catch most mass spam waves and known threats, they don’t provide sufficient protection against advanced phishing and spear phishing attacks, as well as unknown, polymorphic malware. Vade for M365 is an extra security layer you may wish to consider and is best suited to customers where users are less IT literate or business data is particularly sensitive or valuable. Further details here.
11 – Featuring a simple to use drag-and-drop editor, you can create uniform and professionally designed email signatures directly from your web browser and centrally manage them from one online portal. By using the Microsoft Azure platform to transfer information across to Microsoft 365, Exclaimer adds signatures to all emails sent from any device – be it desktop PC, tablet or mobile. The service delivers a consistent brand message to your customers that saves time and money and provides full compliance with email disclaimer law.
Service Notes for Customers
Use of these services is subject to the Microsoft Customer Agreement located here. If you do not agree to these terms then you must stop using the service.
The prices shown above pay for the mailboxes or the optional mailbox services. The prices do not include any ongoing support in terms of adding or removing mailboxes over time, managing mailboxes, answering questions about spam, configuring devices to work with the service or any other support other than ensuring the service is available to you. If you do not agree to being charged for support then please do not ask us for support. If you wish to have free support from Microsoft please purchase your licences directly from Microsoft and contact them instead.
To learn more about our charges and how we work please do take a moment to review the IT Norwich Ltd How We Work Page located here.
User Documentation and Links
Outlook Web Access – https://login.microsoftonline.com
Microsoft 365 Help & Learning Portal – https://support.microsoft.com/en-GB/microsoft-365