License policies

  • Last update on December 6th, 2024

The remediation action for License management policies is available in the Essentials solution.

 

These policies provide recommended practices for identifying and preventing license waste, while also ensuring the protection of valuable data.

The list below provides an overview of the License management out-of-the-box policies, what type of remediation action they are set to execute, and which remediation settings you can configure.


Disabled users with an assigned license

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Description

This policy highlights users whose accounts are disabled but still have licenses assigned to them.

 It lists the UPN, confirms their account status as disabled, and shows the licenses that remain allocated to that inactive account.

This tool enables efficient license management by identifying accounts that may no longer require an assigned license, allowing administrators to reclaim and redistribute those licenses as needed across the organization.

Impact on your tenant

As users leave the organization, without structures processes in place, it can be forgotten to remove the user’s licenses. By reclaiming these licenses, an organization can avoid purchasing unnecessary additional licenses.

Remediation action

  1. Send attestation to the manager or a specific recipient
  2. Execute the action “Remove all licenses”

What you can configure

  • Select the recipient (manager or custom address)
  • Insert an additional message
  • Set time-out days (min: 1 day – max: 180 days)
  • Schedule the recurrence of the remediation action
  • Enable/disable the email alert if the workflow fails
 
 

Inactive users with Microsoft 365:
E1, E3, E5, F1, F3, G1, G3, G5 Plans

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Description

This policy provides insights into users who have been inactive for the last 90 days but are assigned the Microsoft 365 Plan. 

It captures the user's principal name, the licenses they hold, account creation date, and the specific active plans, including details of their manager, display name, OneDrive URL, and their Exchange and OneDrive plans. 

This tool is valuable for assessing plan utilization and managing licenses within your organization.

Impact on your tenant

Inactive licenses are a waste of money. You are paying for licenses no one is using. Those licenses can be reclaimed and assigned to other users.

Remediation action

  1. Send attestation to the manager or to a specific recipient
  2. User's mailbox is converted into a shared one giving access to a named user; user's OneDrive permission is given to a new owner
  3. License is removed

What you can configure

  • Select the recipient (manager or custom address)
  • Insert an additional message
  • Select the new OneDrive owner (manager or custom address)
  • Select the person who has access permission to the mailbox (manager or custom address)
  • Set time-out days (min. 15 days – max 180 days)
  • Schedule the recurrence of the remediation action
  • Enable/disable the email alert if the workflow fails
 
 

Licenses assigned to basic shared mailboxes

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Description

This policy is designed to show basic shared mailboxes that have licenses assigned to them. 

It lists the UPN, confirms the mailbox type, and verifies that licenses are indeed allocated. Additionally, it provides details such as mailbox size, archive status, and whether a litigation hold is enabled for each mailbox. 

This tool is practical for license optimization and ensuring compliance with organizational policies on mailbox usage.

Impact on your tenant

Resource and shared mailboxes can store up to 50 GB of data without needing an assigned license. If these mailboxes are assigned license, they can be reclaimed so the organization can avoid purchasing unnecessary additional licenses.

Remediation action

  1. Send attestation to a specific recipient
  2. Execute the action "Remove all licenses"

What you can configure

  • Select the recipient (manager or custom address)
  • Insert an additional message
  • Set time-out days (min: 1 day – max: 180 days)
  • Schedule the recurrence of the remediation action
  • Enable/disable the email alert if the workflow fails
 
 

Licenses assigned to guest users

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Description

This policy focuses on tracking licenses assigned to guest users. 

It provides the UPN and the recipient type details to confirm guest status, and shows that licenses have been allocated. 

It's a valuable tool for managing guest user access and ensuring proper license distribution within your organization.

Impact on your tenant

Guest users may temporarily require a license or may be given one unnecessarily. By reclaiming these licenses, an organization can avoid purchasing unnecessary additional licenses.

Remediation action

  1. Send attestation to the manager or a specific recipient
  2. Execute the action “Remove all licenses”

What you can configure

  • Select the recipient (manager or custom address)
  • Insert an additional message
  • Set time-out days (min: 1 day – max: 180 days)
  • Schedule the recurrence of the remediation action
  • Enable/disable the email alert if the workflow fails
 
 

Licensed users without Planner and Project activity

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Description

This policy gathers information about licensed users who haven't used their Project and Planner license in the last days. It shows the user's principal name, display name, their manager, and details regarding their inactivity status. Additionally, it records the date of the last action taken on Project and the specific licenses assigned to the user. This tool is useful for tracking engagement with Project and Planner features and managing software licenses effectively.

Impact on your tenant

Inactive licenses are a waste of money. You are paying for licenses no one is using. Those licenses can be reclaimed and assigned to other users.

Remediation action

  1. Send attestation to the manager or a specific recipient
  2. Execute the action “Remove all licenses”

What you can configure

  • Select the recipient (manager or custom address)
  • Insert an additional message
  • Set time-out days (min: 1 day – max: 180 days)
  • Schedule the recurrence of the remediation action
  • Enable/disable the email alert if the workflow fails
 
 

Licensed users without Visio Online activity 

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Description

This policy gathers information about licensed users who haven't used their Visio license in the last days. It shows the user's principal name, display name, their manager, and details regarding their inactivity status. Additionally, it records the date of the last action taken using Visio and the specific licenses assigned to the user. This tool is useful for tracking engagement with Visio features and managing software licenses effectively.

Impact on your tenant

Inactive licenses are a waste of money. You are paying for licenses no one is using. Those licenses can be reclaimed and assigned to other users.

Remediation action

  1. Send attestation to the manager or a specific recipient
  2. Execute the action “Remove all licenses”

What you can configure

  • Select the recipient (manager or custom address)
  • Insert an additional message
  • Set time-out days (min: 1 day – max: 180 days)
  • Schedule the recurrence of the remediation action
  • Enable/disable the email alert if the workflow fails