Shared Mailbox in Microsoft 365: Set up and Management Guide

Today, businesses are very dependent on collaboration and communication. In cases where more than two workers are required to receive customer requests, communicate with suppliers or even with the employees in the department, then having access to personal mailboxes alone, will not be viable. Shared Mailboxes in Microsoft 365 (M365) come in at this point.

Shared mailboxes enable two or more users to receive and otherwise use mail through a single email address, eliminating the need to buy extra paid mailboxes licenses. They are straightforward, safe and common in all contemporary institutions.

In our article, we will address the concept of shared mailboxes, why the organisation requires them and how users can easily set them up and manage them stepwise using the Microsoft 365 Admin Center.

Definition of Shared Mailbox

A Shared Mailbox is a type of mailbox which can be used by more than one user in order to send mail and receive mail under a common email address. These are normally utilised in the communication between teams like:

Table 1.1: Examples of shared mailbox based on department of the organisation

The shared mailboxes do not need separate licenses, provided that the size of the mailboxes is not more than 50GB and no one logs into the mailbox itself

Why should we use Shared Mailboxes in our organisation?

There are some significant advantages of shared mailboxes in the organisation. They facilitate a centralized communication where different team members manage to check and respond to mails on one common, shared email address. This provides uniformity in communication with the customers, suppliers or between departments within the firm. They are price-effective also because there are no extra licenses mentioned when the shared mailboxes are maintained at less than 50GB. Also, they can be used in ensuring accountability as the email activity can be monitored and tracked in terms of quality and ownership. As a result, shared inbox encourages team continuity since there are no interruptions in the workflow upon employee turnover or an employee quitting as history is preserved so that any authorised user can read the messages.

PREREQUISITES:

i.) Microsoft 365 Admin Privileges

ii.) Users are required to be already in Microsoft Entra ID (Azure AD).

CONFIGURATIONS:

[1.] Before configuring and creating the Shared Mailbox, it is necessary to assign permission or allow users to access it in the Microsoft 365 Admin Center.

Some of the steps include:

Go to: https://admin.cloud.microsoft and sign in with your Global Admin ID.

Navigate to:

Teams and groups→ Active teams and groups.

Create Shared Mailbox:

(a) Add a New Shared Mailbox: Select Add a shared mailbox.

(b) Provide Mailbox Details: Add a Shared mailbox name→ select to generate the mailbox.

[2.] Members and Permissions to the Shared Mailbox

After establishing the shared mailbox, it is necessary to grant access to these mailboxes in order to send/receive mails.

• Teams and Groups: From the Teams and Groups section, select the newly created shared mailbox.
• Add members: To start assigning access, click on Add members.
• Search Users: Search and select the users who should be allowed to make use of this mailbox.
• Save and Finish: Save and implement the changes.

[3.] Permission Type for Proper User Access

• Shared mailboxes do provide various levels of permissions that dictate the interaction of the users with the mailbox.
• Read and Manage (Full Access) gives the user the ability to access the mailbox, he/she can read all the mails, organise the messages.
• Send As allows the user to send emails in a systematic manner so that the recipient would see the emails are being sent by the shared mailbox address, thereby maintaining team identity.
• Send on Behalf displays the email as one which was sent by the user on behalf of the shared mailbox which could be in a less formal manner.

[4.] Getting into the Shared Mailbox

The shared mailbox is accessible both through the outlook Desktop and the Outlook web when the users are assigned necessary permission.

1. Outlook Desktop: The shared inbox will automatically show up in the folder list of the users on the left side. In case it does not appear, the user can restart the outlook in order to refresh mailbox preferences.
2. Outlook Web: The user can Browse and log into the Outlook Web. After that, the user can click the Profile picture on the upper right corner. Lastly, by clicking on the Shared Mailbox Name, the mailbox will open in a separate tab and ready to Use!

Tips:

• There is no need to buy a license when the storage in the mailbox is more than 50GB.
• One should avoid directly logging into the shared mailbox rather than using a user mailbox.
• In case the mailbox cannot be seen instantly in Outlook, the user should restart outlook or clear cache.

Conclusion:

Shared Mailboxes in Microsoft 365 is an effective and affordable method of facilitating communication among team members. They facilitate teamwork, minimise the confusion and contribute transparency in communication processes within the department. Your organisation can build up and run with shared mailboxes, and enable teams to act efficiently and uniformly when responding to internal and external queries, with only a few simple steps.