Microsoft Outlook - workplace insisting we use Web based version, not desktop version

[Readandsew]

Have used Microsoft outlook in the desktop version for many years at work. The job is more customer facing than most of the rest of the organisation, my team deal with far more emails from outside the organisation than from other work colleagues. Because of this, we each manage multiple mailboxes, not just the one in our name. IT recently determined that we should be using the Web based version of outlook only. Yes, I know humans are generally resistant to change, but we have now set out a list of tasks/functions that our team find far more difficult/time consuming using the Web version. Spell check, templates, multiple mail boxes, drafts, fonts, all are much less user friendly than the desktop version. No training, guidance is forthcoming we are googling for advice, and we are all computer literate, and it just makes no sense. AWBU?

I manage a team that are customer facing and so we also use multiple mailboxes. We use the app version of outlook but switching between mailboxes is a pain because the system hangs for a while and sometimes crashes. We've also been advised to use the web version which we're resisting for exactly the reasons you outline. I have no solutions to offer, just solidarity!

I manage 4 inboxes on the desktop version with no issues.

I'm public sector too so rubbish infrastructure. If I have to use the wrb version for any reason it is painful.

(Gah - I pressed the wrong button on the vote. Ignore one of the You're Unreasonable votes.)

I assume your company are being cheapskates and don't want the expense of running the desktop version.

If you have a business need for the desktop functionality then any decent company should let you have it.

They're being tight and don't want to pay for the full 365 licence but the web based version doesn't give anything like the level of security that the desktop one does. It's risky.

We had to move from desktop to web version about two years ago, I feel your pain. I only run two mailboxes, so the way I get round having them open at the same time is to have one open in Chrome and the other open in Microsoft Edge.

Still a pain in the neck tbf, but at least better than switching accounts all the time.

This sounds like my worst nightmare!

For some reason, when I work in office the app won't work for me and I have to use the web based version. It's my weekly reminder that I hate the web based version and the app is so much better. So I can't offer any help, just empathy!

If you are managing a customer facing team why are you using multiple mailboxes and not a proper solution like Zendesk?

We use the web based version and need constant access to 3 main inboxes (plus another 2 but not as often). Never had any issues and actually can't remember the move from desktop to web based so it wasn't a massive deal.

We had to move to the web version of Office and it was a pain in the arse. Some stuff is much harder to do, and some stuff is not available. You can’t handle large amounts of data in Excel.

YANBU to not want to swap.

Thank you for all these comments, we thought it was just the 'nobody likes change' scenario, and we'd have to put up with it. Intrigued by what zendesk is, will google, although unlikely to move to this as I'm sure the reason we are being encouraged to move to Web based is cost and a useless head of IT who won't spend time with teams to see what they need and how they use the IT

How are they proposing to help any of the team who are neurodiverse?

Intrigued to know why that would be significant, thinking of colleagues? Just for the change aspect?

For what it's worth, from an IT perspective, Outlook is a nightmare of instability and lost data, and costs a hell of a lot (in terms of scarce IT resources) to support when it inevitably decides it's no longer going to cooperate; the web-based version, on the other hand, is basically trivial.

Not saying you're wrong, just that this won't have been a decision made on a whim.