Shared Mailbox vs Distribution Group

Shared mailboxes are a convenient way to let multiple people access the same email account, such as info@company.com, support@company.com, reception@company.com, or any other function that might be shared by multiple people. Users who have permissions to the shared mailbox can send emails as or on behalf of the shared mailbox email address, depending on the permissions granted by the administrator.

Before requesting a shared mailbox, please keep in mind the following points:

- There should be one person who is responsible for managing the shared mailbox and approving or revoking access to other users.

- Only one user can send emails as the shared mailbox email address. Multiple users can send emails on behalf of the shared mailbox email address.

- The shared mailbox can be accessed via OWA (email.cshl.edu) and official Microsoft clients only.

To request a shared mailbox, please provide the following information:

- What is the purpose of the shared mailbox?

- What is the preferred email and name of the mailbox?

- Who is the responsible person for the shared mailbox?

- Who else should have access to the shared mailbox?

- Will the shared mailbox need to send or receive emails?

- Will the shared mailbox be used for sending emails to more than 100 recipients at a time? If so, how often will this happen?

Please note that a distribution list might be a better option if you only need to do the following:

- Broadcast information to a group of people (Note that we do not allow external contacts in a distribution group)

- Do not need a shared calendar

- Do not need a shared inbox where messages can be organized and stored in folders that multiple users can access

However, if you need to create a distribution list that includes external contacts, we can provide you with a shared mailbox where you can create an address book with both internal and external contacts.