Overview
A shared mailbox in Microsoft 365 or Exchange is a collaborative mailbox that allows multiple users to send and receive emails from a common address such as [email protected]or [email protected]. It provides a central communication point for teams, improving visibility and coordination without requiring individual user licences.
Shared mailboxes are commonly used for customer support, departmental communication, and project collaboration. Activate enhances their management through automation — handling provisioning, permission assignment, and approval workflows — ensuring secure, efficient, and consistent mailbox access across the organisation.
Key Benefits
- Automation and Self-Service:
- Automatically create shared and resource mailboxes based on triggers like group membership, role changes, or workflows.
- Enable business users to create, update, and delete mailboxes via a simple web interface without IT or Service Desk involvement.
- Apply naming conventions, standard configurations, and categorisation consistently.
- Permission Governance:
- Enforce pre-approved permission models (Full Access, Send As, Send on Behalf) automatically.
- Integrate with the Activate Email Approval Engine to manage approval workflows before granting access.
- Configure time-bound access to prevent indefinite permissions.
- Lifecycle Management:
- Automate updates to mailbox properties, including display names, email addresses, and aliases.
- Deprovision mailboxes automatically when no longer needed, based on HR triggers or project completion.
- Audit and Compliance:
- Log all changes to shared and resource mailboxes, including permissions and ownership changes.
- Maintain an audit trail for compliance with internal policies and regulatory standards.
- Generate built-in reports to track access and modifications.
- Scalability:
- Manage mailboxes at scale across large organisations without increasing administrative overhead.
- Use policies to standardise management across departments or business units.
- Integrations:
- Seamlessly integrate with Microsoft 365 / Exchange Online, HR systems, and workflow engines.
- Reduces reliance on custom scripts or manual interventions.
Key Capabilities
- Create, update, and delete shared mailboxes.
- Manage access by adding or removing users.
- View current access permissions.
- Assign and manage Business Owners.
- Update mailbox names and descriptions.
- Transfer mailbox ownership.
- Manage resource mailboxes (rooms & equipment), including delegation and booking settings.
Business Workflow and Approvals
- Customisable workflows for approvals, reminders, escalations, and delegation.
- Full auditability and reporting of actions for compliance.
- Self-service portal for business users to browse, search, and request access to mailboxes.
Prerequisites
- Microsoft Exchange or Office 365 with an Activate Job Service Account configured with appropriate permissions.
- Optional: Activate Role & Entitlement Manager for default access based on department or location.
Additional Management Features
Task | Description |
|---|---|
Create Mailbox | Auto-create mailbox post-approval in Active Directory |
Update Mailbox | Update details with approval |
Delete Mailbox | Controlled and auditable deletion process |
Request Access | Access requests requiring owner approval |
Remove Users | Remove access with owner approval |
Add Owner | Add mailbox owners |
Remove Owner | Remove owners (at least one owner must remain) |
Transfer Owner | Transfer ownership to another user |
Usage Examples
Requesting Access
- Users search for mailboxes via the web portal.
- Choose access types: Full Access, Send As, Send on Behalf, or Forward.
Creating Shared Mailboxes
- Restricted to users with appropriate roles.
- Validates uniqueness in Active Directory.
- Automatically assigns ownership.
Creating Resource Mailboxes
- Supports both Room and Equipment mailbox types.
- Allows configuration of delegates, booking options, and advanced settings.
Limitations
- Office 365 Delegation Query Limitations: Only returns full names, which can impact delegation management accuracy when duplicate names exist.
- This may affect SendOnBehalf permissions management in Office 365 environments.
Activate empowers organisations to efficiently and securely manage shared and resource mailboxes at scale, improving service levels, reducing costs, and ensuring governance and compliance.