Windows RT device users who install the Windows 8.1 Preview will also get their first look at Outlook 2013 RT, which to date has been one of the major missing pieces in the RT puzzle. This release looks and works like Outlook 2013 but is missing a few enterprise features. Here’s a list of those features.
If you’ve been reading along, you may have seen my previous exclusives about Outlook 2013 RT in Microsoft Outlook 2013 RT Sneak Peek in early June and then Surface RT + Outlook 2013 RT … + More? later in the month. But now that the Windows 8.1 Preview is generally available, any Windows RT user who can stomach the risk of pre-release software can check out this new application for themselves, as the Windows RT version of the Windows 8.1 Preview includes Outlook RT.
As I noted in those previous posts, Outlook RT looks and works like its x86 counterpart, which isn’t surprising. But I’m not a huge Outlook user, so some of the more nuanced differences between the Windows/x86 and Windows RT/ARM versions of the application are lost on (and uninteresting to) me. (Hey, nobody’s perfect.)
Fortunately, Microsoft has supplied a handy list of enterprise features that are not available in Outlook 2013 RT. They are…
Exchange features. Outlook 2013 RT doesn’t support these Online Archive or Personal Archive mailboxes, applying Messaging Records Management (MRM) retention policies, ◦Site Mailboxes or Data Loss Prevention (DLP) policy tips.
VBA and COM add-ins. Like the other desktop Office RT applications, Outlook 2013 RT doesn’t run macros, add-ins, or other custom programs.
Information Rights Management (IRM). Outlook 2013 RT doesn’t allow you to set IRM on new email messages.
Microsoft Lync integration. As with other desktop Office RT applications, there is no integration between Outlook 2013 RT and Lync.
SharePoint integration. Outlook 2013 RT doesn’t support integration with SharePoint. For example, an Outlook contact card won’t display an active link to the user’s SharePoint My Site pages.
Fax providers. You cannot add a fax account to Outlook 2013 RT.
Group Policy. As with the other desktop Office RT applications, Outlook 2013 RT cannot be configured using Group Policy.
As Mary Jo Foley notes in her own post, Microsoft's Outlook RT preview: Which features are (and aren't) supported, Windows RT users are still bound by the same commercial use terms as was previously the case with Office RT: “Windows RT 8 and Windows RT 8.1 Preview ship with Office Home & Student. If your organization also purchased commercial use rights or has a commercial license to Office 2013 suites that include Outlook, your users can use Outlook 2013 RT to get to business on their RT devices too.”
