Office 365
Only ESDC-provided equipment may directly access an ESDC Office 365 account.
If you do not have an ESDC managed smart phone, tablet or laptop, you may indirectly access your ESDC Office 365 account through an AppGate SDP connection or the Secure Access Virtual Environment.
Please visit the Restricted Devices iService page for more information.
Office 365 (also known as "Microsoft 365") is a collection of software components hosted on the Internet to which we have access from the ESDC network. Employees can use this software in much the same way as we use the software that is in our computers.
All of this collection is accessible now, but it will only be supported by our National Service Desk (NSD) in incremental stages. Software, which is not yet supported, is to be used "at your own risk".
The first software in this collection to have NSD support is Microsoft Teams, which provides an interactive space for discussion and videoconferencing. You may ask the Super Users in the Office 365 Help team about unsupported applications.
Why are we using Office 365?
Cloud-based (i.e. externally hosted) software creates an easier space for hosting the collaborative functions of commonly used software. It removes traffic from the ESDC network, and it makes it easier to sustain the larger number of employees who work remotely. Cloud-based software takes care of its own updating, and it does not experience conflicts with our internal resources.
The release of Office 365 came early in response to the Covid-19 pandemic to serve better ESDC employees working from home, even though it was already being planned for that purpose. We are an increasingly virtual workforce that is becoming more accustomed to having colleagues who sit hundreds or even thousands of kilometers apart. Meeting together in boardrooms is increasingly a challenge, and virtual alternatives are required to step in.
What features does Office 365 uniquely provide?
Cloud-based tools are especially appreciated for their collaborative features, i.e. the ability for multiple people to work together simultaneously on the same documents, in real time. Microsoft Teams offers a more vibrant, interactive community for virtual teams to inhabit, more so than the limited features provided by Outlook email or Skype messaging. The various software in Office 365 has also been designed to interact and call upon one another more readily than the version that is installed on computers.
Are we keeping the Microsoft Office software that is on our computers?
Yes, in fact, we are keeping Microsoft Office 2016 software that is installed on ESDC computers in addition to using the cloud-based version. This enables employees to work offline when they wish to, and to continue using employee-created macros free of concern. It also avoids the department becoming entirely reliant on externally hosted software.
The exception is Microsoft Skype (as a component of Office 2016), which may be removed in the near future since Microsoft Teams provides a better environment for exchanging messages and for videoconferencing.
Which parts of Office 365 are being supported by the National Service Desk (NSD)?
Microsoft Teams is supported by the National Service Desk (NSD) if you encounter issues.
Additional components of Office 365 will be supported as the necessary technical work and support preparations are completed. The close interrelationship between components is making it difficult to add support gradually for only one component at a time; so there may be instances of a few released at once.
Employees are welcome to use all parts of Office 365 that they find useful. However, it is to "use at your own risk" bearing in mind that NSD does not offer full support at the moment. You may ask the Super Users in the Office 365 Help team about unsupported applications.
Key Topics
Applications that have received Protected B certification
ESDC has received Protected B certification for the following O365 applications:
- SharePoint Online
- OneDrive
- Office Online Applications (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote)
- Teams
Before using O365 applications to interact with Protected B information, read the interim guidance, and ensure you understand the risks of sharing sensitive information.
For questions regarding the management of information in Teams, contact the Enterprise Information Management General Delivery Mailbox gestioninformation-informationmanagement@hrsdc-rhdcc.gc.ca for assistance.
Automated Chat Deletion
Starting June 30, 2021, the instant messages that you create in the chat feature in Microsoft Teams will be automatically deleted when they are 15 days old. This applies to all messages that have been created since this tool was adopted by ESDC. Visit the Microsoft Teams – Instant Messages overview page to learn more about how this affects you.
Restricted Devices
Employee access to the Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) network and our collaboration tools, such as Microsoft Teams (Teams) and Office 365 (O365) will soon be restricted to ESDC-issued devices.
Access to cloud applications (e.g., O365 and Teams) from personal devices will be blocked.
Restrictions will be enforced starting in summer 2021.
Please visit the Restricted Devices iService page for more information.
Microsoft Teams
SharePoint Online