Shared Mailboxes - Individual vs. Resource

There are two distinct categories of Microsoft 365 mailbox:

Individual Mailboxes

Individual mailboxes are owned by and represent a specific person, and associated with that person’s EID. They are accessed by signing into Microsoft 365 with the person’s EID credentials and/oror M365 email address and EID password.

Shared or Resource Mailboxes

Shared or resource mailboxes are:

• Shared between a department, group, or role

• Usually accessed by being granted full access permission to the resource mailbox

• Can represent:

  • A department (e.g. UT Service Desk)

  • A project or program (e.g. Bevo Party Planning Committee)

  • A role (e.g. president@utexas.edu)

  • A resource (e.g. room, vehicle, or equipment reservation)

While individual mailboxes are automatically provisioned for most new employees, shared or resource mailboxes can only be created by existing resource mailbox owners, the Service Desk (upon request), as well as by most local desktop support via the Resource Admin Tool.

To have the Service Desk create a resource mailbox on your behalf, contact them with the following information:

• Desired display name and email address

• Names and EIDs of the users who will have access to the account

• Intended use of the mailbox (room reservations, shared calendar, shared mailbox, etc.)

• Any requests for advanced calendaring options (e.g. automatic acceptance of calendar invitations, extending booking horizon, allow or disallow conflicting meetings, etc.)

More About Automated Calendaring

Automated calendaring configuration settings are plentiful, although the controls are not entirely exposed to the end-user. In addition, different settings are available depending on the resource mailbox ‘type’ (shared, room, or equipment). More information on hidden calendaring options are available in Microsoft’s documentation, but these can only be configured via PowerShell.

For advanced calendaring configuration, contact the Service Desk and provide your resource mailbox address and a description of your desired configuration (or the address of a similarly functioning mailbox).