Hiding mailbox from the GAL. Blackberry and Outlook Scenarios

Background: Customer wants his mail account hidden from the Exchange GAL

Test Objective: To determine and confirm any difference in  Blackberry and Outlook operations after hiding the mail account from the GAL

Tests performed by: Obi and Brandon

Devices and software used: Blackberry Torch(same device customer uses) and Outlook 2010

Findings:

Outlook Scenarios:

1.       Customers can do a checkname ONLY with full email address
2.       Free-busy lookup works ONLY with full email address
3.       President can still send and receive email
4.       Appointments can be made on president’s calendar
5.       Meeting requests can be sent(again with full email address)
6.       New profiles can’t be created. However this can be mitigated by unhiding the mailbox and creating the profile. It can be hidden afterwards.


Blackberry scenarios:

1.       After hiding from the GAL, free busy is blacked out for the president on the blackberry
2.       President can see other people’s availability
3.       Can send and receive email from blackberry
4.       Can lookup contacts
5.       Can view his calendar and any updates to his calendar
6.       Can’t  send or receive meeting requests from his device
7.       Can’t  post, delete appointments or meeting requests


Webmail Scenarios:  
1 President can see his free busy and others
2 Works just as well as Outlook
3. webmail customers can do free-busy with president’s account using full email address
  
Conclusion:

Given the following:

a.      customer has staff that actively manages his calendar activities,
b.      That his/er blackberry calendar is just for viewing updates and not to add or delete calendar items,
c.       That his/her staff and associates know to use his full email address to do meeting requests, free-busy and checkname,

Then it will be correct to say that customer's mailbox can be hidden from the GAL.