Administration Guide

Configuring e-mail settings for Exchange Online

Introduced in 2022.2

Exchange Online is the hosted version of Microsoft's Exchange Server messaging platform that organizations can obtain as a stand-alone service or via an Office 365 (now Microsoft 365) subscription. This article describes how to integrate Alloy Discovery with your Exchange Online service.

Configuring e-mail settings for Microsoft Exchange Online service requires the following preliminary steps:

  • Choose the Microsoft Exchange Online account Alloy Discovery should use for sending notifications. Since Exchange Online is part of the Microsoft 365 suite of products, by Microsoft account here we understand the account you use to work with your Microsoft 365. This Windows account will be used by the Mail Connector so it must have sufficient permissions to work with your Microsoft mailbox. You can create a special mailbox account for this task, or use an existing one

To specify e-mail settings for a Microsoft Exchange Online service, follow these steps:

  1. In the Settings app, navigate to Services > E-mail Settings.

  2. In the Choose e-mail service field, choose Exchange Online with OAuth authentication from the drop-down list.

  3. Choose one of the API options:

    • Microsoft Graph (recommended) - Microsoft Graph is the gateway to data and intelligence in Microsoft 365. Microsoft Graph API usage ensures the latest Microsoft standards in Office 365 Email protocols for very latest in security and connectivity.

    • Exchange Web Services (EWS) - EWS was launched as a part of Microsoft Exchange 2007 as a SOAP based API that allows access to Exchange Online data.

  4. Click the Sign in hyperlink to sign in to your Microsoft account. If you're already signed in with one account, you can change it by clicking the Change hyperlink and choosing another account.

  5. By default, all notifications will be sent from the Microsoft account, i.e. will have its address in the From field. If you want to enable Alloy Discovery to send notifications on behalf of other users, select the 'From’ address delegation check box.

    6. IMPORTANT: Sending notifications on behalf of other users requires that every person whose e-mail address you specify in the From field when configuring e-mail notifications must grant your Microsoft account a permission to send e-mail messages on their behalf.

  6. To verify your settings, click Test Settings. Alloy Discovery will send a test message using the specified parameters to confirm the ability to communicate with the mail server. When the Send Test Message window opens, enter a valid e-mail address to send the test message to and click OK. When the “Test message has been sent” message appears, use your e-mail client to access the Inbox of the account you have just sent the message to and review the result.

    7. NOTE: To view the log data about sending your test message, open the Alert Log and review the most recent entry at the top. For details, see Alert Log.

  7. Click Save to save your settings.

How to enable sending email on behalf of another user

In order to enable Alloy Discovery to send notifications on behalf of a user, that user must grant Send On Behalf permission to the Microsoft Exchange Online account which you are using for sending notifications in Alloy Discovery. Notification recipients will see both the sender address and the Microsoft Exchange Online account address in the From line, as follows: From: Mailbox <Microsoft Exchange address> on behalf of Mailbox <user’s address>.

Send On Behalf permissions can be granted using Microsoft Outlook 2007, Outlook 2010, Outlook 2013, Outlook 2016, Outlook 2019, or Outlook for Microsoft 365 via Delegate Access. Each user needs to add the Microsoft Exchange Online account user as a delegate for their mailbox in Outlook, and assign the delegate any level of access. Follow the instructions below for your version of Microsoft Outlook.

For Outlook 2010, Outlook 2013, Outlook 2016, Outlook 2019, or Outlook for Microsoft 365:

  1. Select File > Info > Account Settings > Delegate Access.

  2. Click Add.

  3. Choose the Microsoft account mailbox from the Address Book.

  4. Choose None for each folder.

  5. Click OK.

IMPORTANT: For additional information on Outlook for Microsoft 365, Outlook 2019, Outlook 2016, Office for business, Outlook 2013, Office 365 Small Business, Outlook 2010, see the Microsoft Support article "Allow someone else to manage your mail and calendar" at https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/allow-someone-else-to-manage-your-mail-and-calendar-41c40c04-3bd1-4d22-963a-28eafec25926.