Teams and Multiple Domains

[Bugzi]

Hello,

 

I was wondering if anyone has come across this before and could potentially share some info on how to achieve this please.

 

We currently have multiple domains setup within our O365 tenant. (It's a long story which was instructed by SLT to do without much consideration if it works or not).

 

Each user in AD/AAD has their primary account which they also use to log into the network, but each each also has 2 more accounts within AAD only for email accounts.

 

The problem with this, is that when you try and search for users within Teams, everyone shows up three times.

 

Does anyone know how we can have it so that the two extra accounts can be hidden from Teams please?

 

Thanks

[glen_j]

You could untick the box to hide them from the global address list? go to the admin centre and active users. Select the duplicate go to mail tab and click on manage global address list visibility.

[Bugzi]

Thanks.

I thought of that, but the problem is, we have to use those extra accounts for emailing between staff and students.

Teaching staff use the primary domain for sending and receiving.

Non-Teaching staff use the primary domain for receiving but not sending and the secondary domains for sending and receiving.

[Edu-IT]

Unless I am misunderstanding, why doesn't the main account have the 2 email addresses set as alias?

 

Why wouldn't you use a single domain for sending/recieveing? Sounds very confusing.

[Bugzi]

Unless I am misunderstanding, why doesn't the main account have the 2 email addresses set as alias?

 

Why wouldn't you use a single domain for sending/recieveing? Sounds very confusing.

 

Unfortunately, the college has decided that each user has to have 2 additional accounts, rather than aliases.

These were decisions made outside of IT.

[chaplic]

You can specify what GAL to use in Teams, create one that doesn't include the extra accounts (or just set things up properly, sorry to tell you what you know)

[Edu-IT]

Unfortunately, the college has decided that each user has to have 2 additional accounts, rather than aliases.

These were decisions made outside of IT.

I'd love to know why? Do staff actually log in to all 3 to check for messages?

 

Sounds like now is an opportunity to explain why having a single account and aliases will work better for Teams, going forward. Use the problem you're facing in your favour as going forward it makes more sense.

 

I can't see any benefit to every member of staff having 3 emails addresses.

[5tu]

^ What he said.

 

You’ll be helping everyone if you can persuade the decision makers to take a different approach. The current setup sounds like a nightmare which will only get worse as more issues surface.

[Bugzi]

You can specify what GAL to use in Teams, create one that doesn't include the extra accounts (or just set things up properly, sorry to tell you what you know)

 

I've tried searching for this, but can't find any specific info.

How can we specify which GAL teams uses please?

 

I know Teams has the ability to use scoped directory search (Use Microsoft Teams scoped directory search - Microsoft Teams | Microsoft Docs) but that only works in conjunction with Information Barrier policies which is an extra chargeable product for us.

[Bugzi]

I'd love to know why? Do staff actually log in to all 3 to check for messages?

 

Sounds like now is an opportunity to explain why having a single account and aliases will work better for Teams, going forward. Use the problem you're facing in your favour as going forward it makes more sense.

 

I can't see any benefit to every member of staff having 3 emails addresses.

 

Unfortunately I'm not allowed to disclose this information, sorry.

It's a college/company policy that SLT have decided regardless of what IT have said.

 

We've been trying for months and months now to get a final decision on this but with everything in Education, once things have been done a certain way, you can't change it

[Primus]

Unfortunately I'm not allowed to disclose this information, sorry.

It's a college/company policy that SLT have decided regardless of what IT have said.

 

We've been trying for months and months now to get a final decision on this but with everything in Education, once things have been done a certain way, you can't change it

 

My sympathies, this sounds totally mad!

[chaplic]

I've tried searching for this, but can't find any specific info.

How can we specify which GAL teams uses please?

 

I know Teams has the ability to use scoped directory search (Use Microsoft Teams scoped directory search - Microsoft Teams | Microsoft Docs) but that only works in conjunction with Information Barrier policies which is an extra chargeable product for us.

 

Apologies, didn't realize it was a licensed product. Still I'm sure your SLT will support paying the A5 to act a sticking plaster for the original daft decision.

[Bugzi]

Apologies, didn't realize it was a licensed product. Still I'm sure your SLT will support paying the A5 to act a sticking plaster for the original daft decision.

LOL

 

We were quoted about £13 per user per year for this, to which the decision was a No.

[Primus]

LOL

 

We were quoted about £13 per user per year for this, to which the decision was a No.

 

So they've implemented this mad system, they're now asking you to try to fix said mad system but they won't pay?

 

I know what I'd be saying!

[Jaymate]

You can make Teams only find users based on what the logged in user would see in the GAL for Outlook - if that helps?

 

If you get your address book policies sorted so that the right people see the right addresses in Outlook there ten you need use the setting in Teams under "Org Wide Settings", "Teams Settings", "Search by Name" - and turn on "Scope directory search using an Exchange address book policy"

 

No sure if this works in your situation but must be a pain with 3 different accounts per person and not sure what it is actually achieving! :-) Best of luck!

[Bugzi]

Thanks everyone.

It's a bit more complicated than this for us

When it comes to emailing, Non teaching staff's email address on their network account is set to hidden in the GAL, as instructed by our SLT team.

It's a shame you can't specify that Teams uses it's own GAL but actual network users uses the standard GAL.

 

I was thinking of potentially removing the Teams license for those accounts, but not sure if that would remove them from search results.

[Primus]

Thanks everyone.

It's a bit more complicated than this for us

When it comes to emailing, Non teaching staff's email address on their network account is set to hidden in the GAL, as instructed by our SLT team.

It's a shame you can't specify that Teams uses it's own GAL but actual network users uses the standard GAL.

 

I was thinking of potentially removing the Teams license for those accounts, but not sure if that would remove them from search results.

 

I think anything you might be able to do is unlikely to meet the requirements.

 

You're going to need to have the difficult conversation that their requirements are mad and need to be rationalised.

[Boredguy]

Splitting the GAL up would likely have been a better solution than 3 accounts (especially if part of the goal was to limit who is seen in address books etc), but with the setup you currently have I think any solution will either requirement moving to a paid tier or simplifying the 365 account structure.

[Edu-IT]

Unfortunately I'm not allowed to disclose this information, sorry.

It's a college/company policy that SLT have decided regardless of what IT have said.

 

We've been trying for months and months now to get a final decision on this but with everything in Education, once things have been done a certain way, you can't change it

Do your SLT dictate when you go to the bathroom too?!

 

I think in this instance, it's either fix an issue that will at some point cause you even more headaches, inject some cash into the product or make do.

 

O365 isn't designed to work in the complicated way your SLT have enforced upon you, for whatever reasons.