I'm auditing our Microsoft 365 licensing and trying to determine whether we're paying for more Office functionality than our users actually need. Our users access Microsoft Office through an RDSH cluster after connecting by Remote Desktop.
I have older documentation from around 2018 saying that Office Enterprise licensing was required for this setup because the Business plans did not support Shared Computer Activation (SCA). However, it appears that Microsoft added SCA support to Microsoft 365 Business Premium later on.
For an RDSH environment, are there any important differences between using Microsoft 365 Business Premium or Apps for business with SCA versus an Enterprise plan? The 300-user limit on Business plans is not a concern for us, and I'm already aware of some of the broader package differences. I'm mainly trying to understand the Office licensing, deployment, and policy-management implications.
3 Answers
Business Premium users can use Office with SCA on RDSH; an Enterprise license is not automatically required just because the apps are running on a shared server. Configure SCA in the Office deployment settings and deploy the Click-to-Run installation consistently across the hosts.
The licensing distinction matters more for administrative features than for the basic ability to run Office. Confirm the current Microsoft licensing terms for your exact tenant and deployment, since plan entitlements can change.
One potential downside of using Business licensing is that some enterprise-level policy and management controls may not apply. If you depend heavily on Group Policy settings or advanced Office administration, compare those capabilities separately rather than looking only at whether SCA is available.
For a smaller environment where the users only need the Office applications, Business Premium may be sufficient. Just validate the specific policies and controls you use before downgrading anyone.
Microsoft 365 Business Premium has supported Shared Computer Activation for years, so it can be used for Office on shared RDSH session hosts. Apps for business can work as well when the licensing and deployment are configured correctly.
The main thing to avoid is mixing Business and Enterprise Office installations on the same server. They can use different update channels or application packages, which may cause installation and servicing conflicts. Make sure the session hosts use one consistent Office configuration.
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