Please note this information is correct at the time of publishing
Local Administrator (LA) bulletin – 28 January 2022
Local Administrator (LA) webinar changes
You may have recently seen that our LA Webinars are now fortnightly from 14 January 2022, please see further changes and the agenda below:
- General Updates – NHSmail and Accenture Collaboration Services Team
- Technical Updates – NHSmail Collaboration Technical Team
- Guest Speaker – new releases/key updates, 10 minutes max plus questions
- Digital Workplace – your opportunity to highlight benefits to the wider community from utilising the shared tenant functionality, 10 minutes max plus questions
- Panel for open questions – NHSmail Collaboration Services Team, NHSmail Collaboration Technical Team, Accenture Service Team
For further information and to join the webinars please visit the NHSmail support pages.
Note – please use appropriate escalation for organisation/user specific issues, the following will provide guidance – Complaints and Escalations Process.
Same Sign On Solution
In February 2022, Same Sign On will be available for organisations using NHSmail. This solution will provide simpler password management for NHSmail users, by enabling the bi-directional synchronisation of passwords between NHSmail and organisations’ local Active Directories. This synchronisation will occur when a user’s password is changed or reset on either their NHSmail or local Active Directory.
The Same Sign On solution will allow the same password to be used to access local workstations, NHSmail services, applications using NHSmail single sign on and Azure Active Directory. It will also ensure the application of a single Password Policy for both NHSmail and Local AD, and will align password expiry dates between NHSmail and the Local AD.
If you would like to install the solution for your organisation, please visit the Same Sign On Onboarding Guide.
New features
Spotlight Light in Teams
A new support article published to show how to highlight a participant in a meeting using the Teams Spotlight feature. https://support.nhs.net/knowledge-base/teams-spotlight/
Cortana voice assistant in Teams
The Cortana voice assistance in Teams mobile app is now available on the NHSmail shared tenant. To support this the following article has been published on the support site. https://support.nhs.net/knowledge-base/cortana-voice-assistance-in-teams-mobile-app/
Microsoft Depreciation of TLS 1.0 and 1.1 in Azure Active Directory (AAD) and Active Director Federated Services (ADFS)
On 31 January 2022 Microsoft are planning to deprecate their support for TLS 1.0 and 1.1 in Azure AD (AAD) and Active Director Federated Services (ADFS). TLS versions 1.0 and 1.1 are no longer compliant with the latest security requirements and are being retired. We strongly advise that you start transitioning to TLS 1.2 as soon as possible to avoid any service impact.
Transport Layer Security (TLS) Deprecation Guidance – NHSmail Support
Office 2010 important end date reminder
In November 2021, the NHS was provided an extended period of connectivity between O365 and older versions of the Office suite until Microsoft to May 1st, 2022, meaning users may continue to receive O365/Exchange Online email service to Outlook 2010 on their devices.
This connectivity will not be extended, the deadline is May 1st, 2022, and email from Exchange Online to older versions of Office will stop.
What is the impact?
NHSmail impact – If you are using NHSmail and Outlook 2010 on a device, then you will not be able to connect and all emails from Exchange Online will not be delivered and calendars will not sync.
Local O365 tenant impact – Any locally manged Microsoft 365 tenant will not accept connections from Outlook 2010 clients and not send emails to these clients and calendars will not sync.
Exchange On Premise impact – Exchange on Premise systems will allow Outlook 2010 and Office 2010 connections. However, your organisation faces an increased cyber security risk and potential compliance issues if this advice is not acted upon before the deadline date.
What action do I need to take?
If no action is taken the only option is to use the web-based applications such as Outlook Web App or upgrade to a version listed below.
- Version 1706 of Microsoft 365 Apps
- Version 16.0.4600.1000 of Office 2016 (with the November 2017 Update, KB 4051890)
- Version 15.0.4971.1000 of Office 2013 (Service Pack 1 with the October 2017 Update, KB 4043461)
- All versions of Outlook 2019 should be able to connect to Microsoft 365 services, but only the most current version is supported.
Please note it is not only Office 2010 in scope – please see the latest update below from Microsoft.
Even though newer versions of Outlook 2013 might be able to connect to Microsoft 365 services, it’s not supported, and you may encounter performance or reliability issues. Versions of Outlook that are newer than those listed, but aren’t the most current (supported) versions, may experience connectivity issues. To find what is the most current (supported) version, see the following articles:
Below is the link to the Message Centre article:
Office versions and connectivity to Office 365 services – Deploy Office | Microsoft Docs
For those NHS organisations looking for an easy way to locate their devices with older versions of Office deployed to upgrade, the inventory within MDE (previously known as ATP) is a great resource. Please see the attached guidance for further information.
N365 Shared Tenant Virtual Training
Due to popular demand, we are running live virtual live sessions themed on the N365 shared tenant capabilities throughout February and March.
You can register to attend the sessions using the links below. If you cannot attend the live training sessions, please feel free to watch the recordings from previous sessions found further down on the page on the same link.
https://support.nhs.net/knowledge-base/n365-shared-tenant-virtual-training/
N365 Office 365 Survey
We recently published the N365 Office 365 survey inviting all users to share their views on the current service and how we could improve and build upon our current service to ensure it’s working in the best possible way for you.
The survey is closing today, Friday 28 January 2022 and we will be analysing all the feedback and comments that has been shared with us in the coming weeks, but we wanted to share some early insights with you –
- A majority of users are satisfied with the overall current service being offered although you have told us that you want to see improvements when contacting the support desk
- You want to know more about features and functionality already available
- Better automation between current O365 products, better portal functions and more 3rd party integration of tools and services currently used locally into the NHSmail shared tenant
- Learning of Office 365 products – You want to see more training and easier user guides on tools for NHSmail and Microsoft 365
We understand all our users face unprecedented pressures across the health and care system and wanted to thank everyone who took time out to complete the survey, share their views and help shape the future national Office 365 service. From everyone in the NHSmail team, thank you.
NHSmail support site
We are currently carrying out research to gather feedback on the current NHSmail support site. We would like to hear about your experience using the support site and any recommendations you might have on how we could improve it.
You can submit your feedback anonymously using this short survey. We will also be hosting two interactive feedback sessions, where we will collect anonymous feedback in real time and explore your ideas in more depth. Please use this form to select which session you would like to attend, and we will follow up with a meeting invitation.
Your insights are invaluable to us.
N365 Shared Tenant Virtual training
Due to popular demand, we are running live virtual live sessions themed on the N365 shared tenant capabilities throughout February and March.
You can register to attend the sessions using the links found here https://support.nhs.net/knowledge-base/n365-shared-tenant-virtual-training/.
If you cannot attend the live training sessions, please feel free to watch the recordings from previous sessions found further down in the linked support site article.
NHSmail O365 Shared Tenant Clinical Safety Case Report and Hazard Log publication
The NHSmail O365 Shared Tenant Clinical Safety Case Report and Hazard Log has been published on the NHSmail support site:
NHSmail O365 Shared Tenant Clinical Safety Case Report and Hazard Log – NHSmail Support
These documents are designed to assist with local clinical impact assessments. Please do share this information locally within your organisations and networks.
Best wishes,
NHSmail Team
NHSmail is provided by NHS Digital
in partnership with Accenture
| Last Reviewed Date | 01/02/2022 |
