Microsoft starts rolling out Uber, PayPal, Evernote add-ins for Outlook
Microsoft is starting to roll out promised add-ins for Outlook, starting with Outlook 2013 and Outlook on the web for Office 365 and Exchange 2013 business users.
Microsoft also will be bringing many of these add-ins to Outlook.com, as company officials originally announced in late April at the company's Build 2015 developers conference.
The partner add-ins allow users to complete tasks while inside their inboxes, rather than by having to use completely separate apps.
Starting today, the Uber, PayPal, Evernote and Boomerang email-scheduling add-ins are available for Outlook 2013 and Outlook on the web for users with Office 365 and Exchange 2013 mailboxes. They will be available to those with the updated Outlook.com service "within the next month. (The Evernote add-in requires Exchange IT admins to install the add-ins for those who want to use it with Exchange 2013 mailboxes.) Instructions for installing the add-ins are available on Microsoft's site.
It's worth noting these add-ins are for Office 365 commercial customers, meaning business, enterprise, education and government plan customers. Office 365 Home and Office 365 Personal users can't use them, but consumers will be able to access them via Outlook.com mail.
Speaking of Outlook.com, Microsoft officials said they are going to be broadening the rollout of the new Outlook.com preview starting over the next several weeks. Microsoft announced the kick off of the updated Outlook.com preview back in May. I've had numerous people ask me when they'd see the preview; no one I know personally has gotten it to date.
The new Outlook.com is slated to deliver a "refined" inbox, updated Skype service; simplified sharing from OneDrive; new themes; and improved calendar with search, along with the aforementioned add-ins. The updated Outlook.com and Outlook services will share more common elements over time.