Once that meeting room is equipped with a dedicated Skype for Business device then a Skype for Business license must be assigned to that account, which is not free.

Typically an empty meeting room might already have an Exchange Online Room Mailbox configured for it which incurs no cost and consumes no license in Office 365, but that is only for room reservation capabilities. Once an account is created for the device then a valid Office 356 license needs to be allocated to it before it can be used to register a device.

This previous article focusing on Online Meeting Room Accounts covers in detail the different configuration options and guidance around each type. Generally it is a best practice to use the Meeting Room account which affords the registered device some unique capabilities and behaviors, but it is not a requirement. This can be a standard Skype for Business user or a special Meeting Room account. RequirementsĪs with any device that is registering to Skype for Business Online, be it a phone or video system, a licensed Office 365 account is required. It is the meeting room solutions and other similar shared resources like conference room phones or common area phones which utilize their own dedicated account which are the focus of this article. The guidance covered in this article is not necessarily applicable to desk phones which are assigned to a specific user, as those users would already have an assigned Office 365 license which applies to any client and devices they sign into with their own credentials.

This covers equipment like the many different IP Phones from five different partners or the several different Meeting Room platforms like the older Lync Room Systems, newer Skype Room Systems, or even the recently qualified Polycom Group Series to name a few. These products can natively register to Skype for Business Online using resource accounts which must be assigned the correct licensing. The purpose of this article is to explain what type of Office 365 licenses can or should be used with any of the various phones and meeting devices qualified by Microsoft for Skype for Business Online.

Office 365 skype for business