Microsoft 365 E1 in China: Essential Cloud Productivity for Online Teams

Microsoft 365 E1 offers the essentials for businesses operating in China’s unique and challenging digital environment—without sacrificing collaboration or communication capabilities.
This plan is designed for companies that primarily work online and prefer lightweight, browser-based productivity without the overhead of installing and maintaining desktop software. It’s particularly well-suited for companies managing mobile, distributed, or temporary workforces across multiple cities and provinces.

Core services in E1 include:

• Exchange Online provides robust, enterprise-grade email hosting with a 50 GB mailbox per user. Employees can access emails, calendars, and contacts from anywhere via Outlook on the web, with full integration into mobile devices.

• OneDrive for Business grants each user 1 TB of secure cloud storage, allowing seamless document storage, sharing, and real-time collaboration—especially critical when VPNs and external drives can pose regulatory risks or slowdowns.

• SharePoint Online enables teams to build intranet sites, automate workflows, and manage content centrally—ensuring employees can securely collaborate on documents regardless of location.

• Microsoft Teams becomes the core platform for day-to-day communication, offering chat, voice, video conferencing, and file sharing—all optimized for performance through China’s dedicated Microsoft Azure datacenters, operated by 21Vianet.

Because China’s Great Firewall can slow or block access to global cloud services, businesses using the China-based Microsoft 365 environment gain a massive advantage—enjoying stable, localized access without the need for unreliable workarounds.

 Important: Microsoft 365 E1 does not include the downloadable, fully-installed Office desktop applications (like Word, Excel, or PowerPoint). It’s best suited for organizations that are always online and comfortable using web apps for their workflows.

Microsoft 365 E3 in China: Full Desktop Apps with Strengthened Compliance

Microsoft 365 E3 builds on everything offered in E1 but adds a critical layer of offline productivity, security, and regulatory compliance—a must for companies serious about operational stability and legal risk management in China.

Businesses in China face not just global cybersecurity threats but also must comply with national regulations like the Personal Information Protection Law (PIPL), the Cybersecurity Law, and the Data Security Law (DSL). Microsoft 365 E3 directly addresses these needs.

Major E3 benefits for China include:

• Full Office Desktop Applications: Users can install Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and more on up to five PCs, Macs, smartphones, and tablets. This ensures teams can continue working even during network outages or slow connections—critical in cities where connectivity may vary.

• Advanced Data Loss Prevention (DLP): Define and enforce security policies that automatically detect and protect sensitive information, like national ID numbers, banking details, and personal records—helping companies comply with PIPL.

• Mobile Device Management (MDM) and Conditional Access: Manage employee devices remotely, enforce security policies, and selectively wipe company data from lost or stolen devices—perfect for protecting sensitive information in mobile-heavy work environments.

• Compliance Tools: Features like litigation hold, content search, and information barriers help companies fulfill legal obligations for data retention, transparency, and audit-readiness in China’s increasingly strict regulatory climate.

• Seamless Hybrid Work Enablement: Employees can work offline with locally stored files, which synchronize automatically once an internet connection is reestablished, ensuring continuity even in areas with intermittent internet.

For organizations concerned about local inspections, regulatory audits, or internal governance standards, Microsoft 365 E3 provides a balanced, scalable solution for the China market.

Microsoft 365 E5 in China: Elite Security, Compliance, and Business Intelligence

For companies operating in China’s most highly regulated industries—such as finance, healthcare, legal services, manufacturing, and technology—Microsoft 365 E5 delivers the highest level of protection, insight, and flexibilityavailable within the local regulatory environment.

This is not just an upgrade—it’s a transformation of how your organization handles risk management, threat detection, compliance, and data-driven decision-making.

Key E5 China-specific advantages include:

• Microsoft Defender for Office 365: Protects against sophisticated cyberattacks such as phishing, business email compromise (BEC), ransomware, and malware—all tailored to detect threats common in the China region. Defender uses AI-driven threat analytics and automated investigation and response tools to keep your environment safe.

• Advanced Compliance Tools:

  • Insider Risk Management to detect and address risky behaviors before they lead to data leaks.

  • Advanced eDiscovery to find, preserve, and review content for legal cases or government audits.

  • Customer Lockbox to maintain control over your data access even when Microsoft engineers need to intervene—critical for maintaining compliance with Chinese data privacy laws.

• Power BI Pro: Unlock the power of your organizational data. Create real-time dashboards, advanced reports, and business insights—helping leadership make faster, smarter decisions based on localized, China-hosted data.

• Phone System & Audio Conferencing: Extend Microsoft Teams into a full voice platform, replacing outdated PBX and VOIP systems. Employees can make and receive calls anywhere inside China or internationally, with China-optimized call routing to ensure call quality and reliability.

By deploying Microsoft 365 E5 operated by 21Vianet, businesses achieve a level of security, compliance, and operational intelligence that’s designed to withstand the pressures of China’s fast-changing business and regulatory landscape.

 Tip: For companies planning IPOs, undergoing mergers, or expanding aggressively within China, Microsoft 365 E5 is the smart choice for future-proofing against cyber threats, regulatory changes, and operational disruptions.

How to Choose the Right Microsoft 365 China Plan

Choosing E1, E3, or E5 for China isn’t just about cost—it’s about strategic alignment with the realities of doing business in a complex regulatory and network environment.

Ask yourself:

• Are your teams mobile or desk-based?

• Do you handle sensitive customer or financial data?

• How crucial are uptime and local support for your Chinese operations?

• Are you preparing for future compliance or audit needs?

Choosing a cheaper plan today could lead to higher costs tomorrow—whether through compliance fines, downtime, or employee frustration.

Need Help Deciding? JET IT Services Can Help!

Navigating Microsoft 365 in China isn’t simple.
Let JET IT Services guide you through licensing, compliance, and network optimization tailored to the Chinese market.

Our bilingual experts can help:

• Assess your needs based on your China strategy.

• Implement China-specific Microsoft 365 solutions.

• Optimize performance with fast, secure SD-WAN and localized support.

 Contact us today to get a customized Microsoft 365 China consultation!