Every CloudM Continuity tenant requires a licence to operate. Licences control your sync tier, user limit, and allowed data types. This article explains how licensing works, how to activate your licence, and how to view your licence details.
How licensing works
Licences are generated by CloudM staff and provided as a licence key. Key points:
- Each licence key follows the format BCSYNC-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX
- A tenant admin activates the licence by entering the key directly in the product
- The key binds to your tenant on activation — it is single-use and cannot be transferred to another tenant
- Each tenant can have one active licence key at a time
- Licences are annual, with a defined start and expiry date
- Your licence tier can be upgraded mid-term (e.g. Basic to Standard) but cannot be downgraded
Unlicensed tenant state
Before a licence key is activated, your tenant is in an unlicensed state:
- The product shell is visible — sidebar navigation is shown, but all items are disabled
- A persistent banner is displayed: "Your tenant is not yet licensed"
- An activation card is shown with a licence key input field
- A "Don't have a licence key?" fallback link is provided, directing you to contact CloudM or your partner
To activate your tenant, enter your licence key in the activation card and confirm. The key binds to your tenant immediately and your licence details take effect.
Licence components
| Component | Description |
|---|---|
| Tier | Determines your sync frequency. See the tier comparison below. |
| User limit | The maximum number of Microsoft 365 users you are licensed to sync. This is a soft limit — sync continues if you exceed it, but a warning banner is shown. |
| Data types | The types of data you are licensed to sync (e.g. Mail). This is a hard limit — unlicensed data types are blocked and the option is disabled in the UI. |
| Expiry date | The date your licence expires. A 7-day grace period applies after expiry. |
| Licence key | Your unique activation key in the format BCSYNC-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX. This is the key you entered to activate your tenant. |
Sync frequency tiers
| Tier | Sync frequency | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Basic | Weekly | Organisations with lower data freshness requirements |
| Standard | Daily | Organisations that need daily data protection |
| Premium | Hourly | Organisations that need near-real-time data freshness |
Your tier controls the maximum sync frequency available when creating or editing policies. You cannot select a frequency faster than your tier allows.
Viewing your licence
To see your current licence details, go to Settings in the sidebar. The licence card displays:
- Tenant name and tier — your tenant name with a tier badge (e.g. Basic, Standard, Premium)
- Expiry status — shown in the top right corner (e.g. "Expiring" with an indicator when nearing expiry)
- Days remaining — how many days are left on your licence
- Expiry date — the exact date your licence expires
- User usage — a progress bar showing how many users are being synced out of your licensed limit (e.g. "0 of 12")
- Licence key — masked by default, with a Show button to reveal
Enforcement rules
| Limit | Enforcement type | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| Sync frequency | Hard | You cannot set a policy to sync more frequently than your tier allows. The option is disabled in the UI. |
| Data types | Hard | Sync jobs for unlicensed data types are blocked. The data type option is disabled in the UI. |
| User limit | Soft | Sync continues for all users, including those over the limit. A warning banner is shown indicating the overage. |
Upgrading your licence
To upgrade your tier, increase your user limit, or add data types, contact your CloudM sales representative or partner. Changes such as adding data types or increasing user limits can take effect mid-term without waiting for renewal.
Licence cache
Licence data is cached and refreshed hourly. After a licence change (activation, upgrade, renewal), it may take up to 1 hour for the updated details to appear in your tenant.