New Microsoft 365 SKU for Frontline Workers

March 19, 2020

Today we’re announcing a new Microsoft 365 plan designed specifically for Frontline Workers. This offer will help organizations connect their Frontline Workers with the rest of the company and close long-standing technology gaps that often separate these workers from the tools, resources, and expertise they need to do their best work.

Organizations are extending digital transformation efforts to all levels of the organization. They are prioritizing the employee experience of all workers and empowering their Frontline Workers with intuitive and secure apps and services that enable continuous productivity, simplify communication, and support greater self-service.

Microsoft is in a unique position to help companies of all sizes to help employees work more simply and productively, solve problems, and collaborate with a shared purpose.  

Updates to Microsoft 365 Licensing for Frontline Workers

We are excited to announce a new plan for Frontline Workers, plus new value coming to our Frontline Worker plans. This new plan will extend the Microsoft 365 SKU line-up and will slot below our existing frontline plan. As such, it will inherit the Microsoft 365 F1 name and our current Microsoft 365 F1 plan will be renamed to Microsoft 365 F3 to provide consistency across our commercial offers.

Microsoft 365 F1 (New): will be rolled out later this year (April 1, 2020) and will provide the foundation of a secure and connected experience for Frontline Workers. It will include products like Microsoft Teams, SharePoint, Yammer, Stream, and Enterprise Security + Management. This plan will cost $4 per user, per month.

Microsoft 365 F3 (Updated): is in market today and will be renamed from “Microsoft 365 F1” to “Microsoft 365 F3” on April 1, 2020. It includes all the features in our new frontline plan, plus additional capabilities to enhance worker productivity and innovation. This plan costs $10 per user, per month.

Finally, to create a truly connected and secure company, we are also expanding the Microsoft Teams value included in our Frontline plans (Microsoft 365 F1, Office 365 F3, and Microsoft 365 F3) to include full audio / video capabilities, meeting rights, Walkie Talkie, and adding enhanced identity and access management features disclosed earlier this calendar year.  

Please find the latest information about the new Frontline Plans here.

Timeline for the new Frontline Worker plan

The new Microsoft 365 F1 plan will be available on April 1, 2020. Existing Microsoft 365 F1 (and Office 365 F1) plans will be rebranded to Microsoft 365 F3 (and Office 365 F3) officially on April 1, 2020. Existing customers will receive a message about this new plan in the Admin Message Center or from their Microsoft Partner.

This is just the next step in our journey to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more. We aim to build tools and experiences for the modern workplace and for workers at all levels of the organization. We will continue to develop purpose-built frontline worker capabilities and experiences in partnership with our customers. And we will continue to innovate and build features that simplify work, bring people together, and help organizations achieve more.

The new Microsoft 365 F1 is not yet available in the US Government cloud environments (GCC, GCC High, and DOD). Further information on these environments will be posted as available on the public roadmap at www.microsoft365.com/roadmap.