HOW TO EXTEND OFFICE TRIAL UPGRADE
HOW TO EXTEND OFFICE TRIAL TRIAL

More detail is available in the Microsoft 365 E5 compliance column in the comparison table referenced above.

HOW TO EXTEND OFFICE TRIAL TRIAL

Microsoft gives some details of the functionality licensed in the trial in their post. If you decide not to proceed, Microsoft 365 retains the data accumulated by the compliance features for 180 days, after which it is removed. Claimed by a tenant administrator through the Trials section of the Microsoft 365 compliance center, the validity of the Microsoft 365 E5 compliance trial licenses is 90 days, which should be enough for you to decide whether the functionality does what Microsoft claims and is useful to your organization (you can extend the trial within 15 days of its expiration). Which brings me to the free trial for compliance licenses Microsoft is rolling out to tenants which don’t already have these licenses. For instance, using an auto-label policy for Teams meeting recordings or use adaptive scopes for retention and other policies (due next month) both require E5 or a compliance add-on. Continuing to make higher-priced plans more attractive is why Microsoft usually adds new functionality to those plans rather than making features available to Office 365 E3, the baseline plan for enterprises.

HOW TO EXTEND OFFICE TRIAL UPGRADE

Every time Microsoft briefs market analysts after releasing its quarterly results, it emphasizes the growth in annual revenue per user (ARPU), meaning that over time Microsoft becomes more successful at convincing customers to upgrade to higher-price plans. Of course, moving to higher-priced plans is exactly what Microsoft wants customers to do. In addition to the information governance features, you’ll also get access to other features like the Teams Phone system and audio conferencing. In fact, even with the new prices for Office 365 and Microsoft 365 due to come into effect on March 1, 2022, if your organization needs some of the information protection, governance, and compliance features not available in Office 365 E3, upgrading to Office 365 E5 rather than buying add-ons looks like a relative bargain. Figure 1: Comparing compliance features available to the different Office 365 and Microsoft 365 plans

How to extend office trial