What is Microsoft Office 365 Admin Center? | Definition from TechTarget (2024)

The Microsoft Office 365 Admin Center sections

The Users section allows administrators to create, delete and manage users. This area allows administrators to set permissions, edit user details and reset passwords.

The Groups menu lets administrators create, organize, manage and delete groups of Office 365 users, such as business groups, shared mailboxes, distribution lists, security groups, teams and so on.

Administrators use the Resources section to create and manage resources, such as SharePoint site collections. Collections are typically business assets -- files, media and sites -- that are organized to share navigation, permissions and other Office 365 settings. Administrators can make these collections available to selected users or groups.

The Billing menu allows administrators to purchase new subscriptions, view current subscriptions and cancel subscriptions. Administrators can view billing statements and audit the licenses assigned to users.

The Settings section lets administrators implement global settings for Office 365 applications, such as the Microsoft Office applications and email. Administrators can set a password policy and password change period, add and update business Domain names where appropriate, edit business profiles and preferences, and control outside entities -- such as business partners or third-party service providers -- with permission to access the Microsoft Office 365 Admin Center.

The Reports menu shows administrators how Office 365 is used for email, Microsoft Office activations and other activity. This area helps organizations identify and reduce wasted licenses and control subscription costs.

The Health menu displays the current service health for Office 365 and the service health history. This section can help administrators diagnose problems with the service and compare business disruptions to service disruptions.

Finally, the Admin centers menu lets administrators access and open separate admin centers for related Microsoft services, including Exchange, Skype for Business, SharePoint and Azure Active Directory. From specific admin centers, administrators can manage settings for that particular service. For example, the Microsoft Office 365 Admin Center focuses on email and user/group management, while the SharePoint admin center is used to manage collections, and the Skype for Business admin center would handle instant messaging, conferencing and notifications.