Deploy Office 365 plugins using the Admin Portal

Posted On June 8, 2019

From the Office 365 Admin portal it is possible to deploy Office plugins to users, both specific as all users. With this manual we will deploy a plugin from the store, but you can deploy custom apps as well. The advantage of using plugins from the store is that the plugins get automatically updated, so nothing you have to worry about anymore!

Step 1: Login to the office portal, go to the admin center, and from there go to Settings, Services & add-ins, and Deploy Add-in

Step 2: This step is easy, just click next.

Step 3: Leave the default selection on the Add-in from the Office store, and click next again.

Step 4: Now search for your plugin that you want to add. For the manual we will use Report Message to help improve spam detection in the Office 365 systems. Click Add on your desired plugin.

Step 5: Now specify the access that you want to grant to this app, for this demo I just want everybody to receive the add-in, and click Deploy now.

Step 6: After you’ve hit deploy, it might take a few minutes for the process to complete. After the deployment is finished, you can hit next to finish the process.

Step 7: You are now done. Microsoft provides a few examples how to tell your users about the new plugin. Close the screen, and go to your Outlook client.

Step 8: In your selected office application verify if the Add-in has been deployed. This might take up to 12 hours to be completed, but it usually takes less than 15 minutes, depending on your tenant size.