Forum Discussion
Outlook for iOS/Android App Availability for Government
I don't know the why's, but we can't authenticate and the last time I asked (couple months ago) I was told it was because we are a Government tenant.
Thanks for the explanation, that's taking a long time (since https://blogs.office.com/en-us/2016/09/26/outlook-for-ios-and-android-is-now-fully-powered-by-the-microsoft-cloud/ in Sep 2016), but as has been explained it will take as long as it takes. In fairness, in the https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/mt774581.aspx it says for Outlook for iOS and Android "Not yet available for Office 365 US Government Community or Office 365 US Government Defense but coming soon". Hopefully, by Ignite this will be announced.
Cian Allner wrote:In fairness, in the service description it says for Outlook for iOS and Android "Not yet available for Office 365 US Government Community or Office 365 US Government Defense but coming soon".
Don't be suprised if I don't see much "fairness."
That's the only place I've ever seen it spelled out. Even the Tech Support people didn't know that Government tenants aren't supported by the apps. I wasted over a week on that very question back in June.
Now my users are asking why are we still using an app that hasn't been updated in almost 2 years. I just have to tell them "it's Microsoft" . . . they aren't very satisfied with that answer.
I do understand, I wouldn't be terribly impressed in those circumstances either.
I do think this is an example of where Office 365 change management falls down. As customers, we should be better informed, especially about something like this that takes so long to deliver. We need to be able to go back to our user base and have a timeframe at least, rather being completely open ended.
This is on the roadmap of sorts, I think, under the https://products.office.com/en-us/business/office-365-roadmap?filters=&featureid=14667 item that is still classified as rolling out.
- Not speaking for Microsoft, but it could be that:
a) there were some security concerns expressed about the Outlook apps in the past.
b) Microsoft has redone the infrastructure to address the issues.
c) It takes time to check mobile apps and the underlying infrastructure against security requirements... especially when an app is updated weekly (as in the case of Outlook)
All of which might lead to an extended qualification period. Most government bodies tend to be pretty cautious about mobile devices, which is one reason why BlackBerry has persisted so long...
