Disabling and Deleting User Accounts
When organizations subscribe to Microsoft Online Services, they purchase licenses for their users. As users leave the organization and new people join, administrators have several options for accommodating these personnel changes, including disabling user accounts, reassigning user licenses, and purchasing additional user licenses.
Disabling User Accounts
If a person leaves an organization, administrators can easily disable that user’s account. Disabling a user account prevents user access to e-mail and Microsoft SharePoint Online data, but retains the user’s data. Disabling a user account also keeps the user license associated with that account. This is the best option to utilize when a person leaves an organization temporarily.
For information about how to disable and enable user accounts, see Enable or Disable a User Account in Microsoft Online Services Help.
Deleting User Accounts
If a person leaves an organization, administrators can also delete a user’s account. Deleting a user account frees the user license, allowing the license to be assigned to a different user. This is the best option to utilize when a person leaves an organization permanently.
Important: When you delete a user account, you permanently delete all information associated with the user's account: for example, the user's profile data and e-mail messages. The best practice is to back-up user data before deleting the user account. If you delete a user account by mistake and need to recover that user account and data, contact Microsoft Online Services Technical Support
For information about how to delete a user account, see Delete a User Account in Microsoft Online Services Help.
Purchasing Additional User Licenses
If an organization is growing and needs additional user licenses, additional licenses can be purchased at the Microsoft Online Services Customer Portal or through a Microsoft Online Services partner.
