Microsoft 365 operates on a subscription-based, per-user licensing model. The total cost for an organization is calculated by multiplying the price of the chosen subscription plan (e.g., Microsoft 365 Business Standard, E3, E5) by the total number of user licenses required. Each employee who needs to use the services must be assigned a unique license. This model provides predictable monthly or annual costs and allows organizations to scale the number of licenses up or down as their workforce changes.

A. This describes a consumption-based model, which is typical for cloud infrastructure services like Microsoft Azure, not the per-user subscription model of Microsoft 365.

B. This describes a perpetual license model (a one-time purchase). Microsoft 365 is a subscription service that requires recurring payments to maintain access.

C. Microsoft 365 licenses are assigned to individual users and cannot be shared among multiple employees, as this would violate the licensing terms.

1. Microsoft Learn. "Describe pricing and support in Microsoft 365." MS-900: Microsoft 365 Fundamentals. Under the section "Describe the pricing model for Microsoft 365

" it states

"The price you pay depends on the subscription plan you choose and the number of licenses you need." This confirms the per-user licensing model.

2. Microsoft Product Terms. "General Licensing Terms." Microsoft Licensing Resources and Documents. The "Assignment of Licenses" section specifies that licenses must be assigned to a single user or device and cannot be shared. It states

"Customer may assign a License to a User or a Device... Reassignment of a License is permitted as described in the Product-Specific License Terms."

3. Microsoft 365. "Microsoft 365 for Business | Small Business." microsoft.com. The official pricing pages for all business and enterprise plans explicitly list the cost as "per user/month" or "per user/year

" demonstrating the per-user billing structure.