A scenario that is being raised more often now that Microsoft is pushing it’s Enterprise Mobility Suite through the SMB channel is whether or not the version of the Office 365 desktop applications included with the Business and Business Premium plans can interoperate with Azure Rights Management Service. The answer is yes, but with an asterisk.
What’s the asterisk? The Business and Business Premium desktop applications do allow you to open rights protected content, but they don’t allow you to apply rights management to new files you are creating, or to new emails you are sending. This isn’t something that is obvious from the following tablet that I copied from Requirements for Azure Rights Management.
| Device operating system | Word, Excel, PowerPoint | Protected PDF | Other file types | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Windows | Office 2010
Office 2013 Office Mobile apps (Azure RMS only) [footnote 1] Office Online [footnote 2] |
Gaaiho Doc
GigaTrust Desktop PDF Client for Adobe Foxit Reader Nitro PDF Reader RMS sharing app |
Outlook 2010
Outlook 2013 Outlook Web App (OWA) [footnote 3] Windows Mail [footnote 4] |
RMS sharing application for Windows: Text, images, pfile
Siemens JT2Go: JT files (Windows 10 only) |
| iOS | Office for iPad and iPhone [footnote 5]
Office Online [footnote 2] TITUS Docs |
Foxit Reader
RMS sharing app [footnote 1] TITUS Docs |
NitroDesk [footnote 4]
Outlook for iPad and iPhone [footnote 4] OWA for iOS [footnote 3] TITUS Mail |
RMS sharing app [footnote 1]: Text, images, pfile
TITUS Docs: Pfile |
| Android | GigaTrust App for Android
Office Online [footnote 2] |
GigaTrust App for Android
Foxit Reader RMS sharing app [footnote 1] |
9Folders [footnote 4]
GigaTrust App for Android [footnote 4] NitroDesk [footnote 4] OWA for Android [footnote 3 and 6] Samsung Email (S3 and later) [footnote 6] TITUS Classification for Mobile |
RMS sharing app [footnote 1]: Text, images, pfile |
| OS X | Office 2011 (AD RMS only)
Office 2016 for Mac Office Online [footnote 2] |
Foxit Reader
RMS sharing app [footnote 1] |
Outlook 2011 (AD RMS only)
Outlook 2016 for Mac Outlook for Mac |
RMS sharing app [footnote 1]: Text, images, pfile |
| Windows RT | Office 2013 RT
Office Online [footnote 2] |
Not supported | Outlook 2013 RT
Mail app for Windows Windows Mail [footnote 4] |
Siemens JT2Go: JT files |
| Windows Phone 8.1 | Office Mobile (AD RMS only) | RMS sharing app [footnote 1] | Outlook Mobile [footnote 4] | RMS sharing app [footnote 1]: Text, images, pfile |
| Blackberry 10 | Not supported | Not supported | Blackberry email [footnote 4] | Not supported |
Footnote 1: Supports viewing protected content.
Footnote 2: Supports viewing protected content in SharePoint Online, OneDrive for Business, and Outlook Web Access.
Footnote 3: If a recipient has a mailbox in Exchange on-premises, and receives a protected email, this content can be opened only in a rich email client, such as Outlook. This content cannot be opened from Outlook Web Access.
Footnote 4: Uses Exchange ActiveSync IRM, which must be enabled by the Exchange administrator. Users can view, reply, and reply all for protected email messages but users cannot protect new email messages themselves.
If a recipient has a mailbox in Exchange on-premises, and receives a protected email from another organization who is using Exchange, this content can be opened only in a rich email client, such as Outlook. This content cannot be opened from a device that uses Exchange Active Sync IRM.
Footnote 5: Supports viewing and editing protected documents. For more information, see the following post on the Office blog: Azure Rights Management support comes to Office for iPad and iPhone
Footnote 6: For more information, see the following post on the Office blog: OWA for Android now available on select devices
As you go scroll through the Requirements for Azure Rights Management article you then hit the following list.
Microsoft Office applications (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook) from the following suites can protect content by using Azure RMS:
- Office 365 ProPlus
- Office 365 Enterprise E3
- Office 365 Enterprise E4
- Office 365 Enterprise E5
- Office Professional Plus 2016
- Office Professional Plus 2013
- Office Professional Plus 2010
Other editions of Office (with the exception of Office 2007) can consume protected content.
Note: Azure RMS with Office Professional Plus 2010 or Office Professional 2010:
- Requires the Rights Management sharing application for Windows
- Not supported on Windows 10
The reason why I’ve put this post up is that many SMB partners I’ve spoken to are always looking for additional clarification around what the Office 365 E3 or higher plans include versus the SMB targeted plans.