I'm managing a hybrid environment with on-premises Active Directory and Exchange Online, and I'm struggling with the user experience regarding the Global Address List (GAL) on mobile devices. Desktop Outlook is working fine, but our users on iOS and Android often run into issues where they can't reliably see or search for contacts in the company directory. We're receiving a lot of tickets asking why they can't find coworkers or vendors on their phones.
I'm looking for suggestions on tools or methods that can help: reliably show directory contacts on mobile (preferably in the native Contacts or caller ID app), eliminate duplicates and stale entries, and handle the quirks of hybrid identity smoothly. What solutions have worked for you?
4 Answers
You might want to check out cirasync.com. It’s what we’re using, and it seems to help with syncing contacts from the GAL to mobile devices.
We use Microsoft Intune along with Exchange ActiveSync for GAL sync. You can set up 'Global Address List' in the Exchange policy for mobile devices and make sure to enable 'Sync contacts to native address book.' Just double-check that your AAD Connect is syncing the right Organizational Units and that 'Exchange hybrid writeback' is enabled. Otherwise, mobile devices might miss on-prem updates and only see cloud-only objects.
Exactly! We’ve configured our setup similarly, and it’s great—we hardly get any tickets related to the GAL.
Good question! I've noticed similar issues in our hybrid setup. I'm eager to find out if anyone has a solid solution for mobile devices.
We've faced similar challenges in our hybrid environment too. I recommend looking into the Microsoft Graph Connector for mobile GAL sync, though it’s not foolproof. Another option could be using a third-party MDM solution like VMware Workspace ONE or MobileIron to manage corporate contacts on devices. Alternatively, consider syncing your contacts to a cloud-based directory like Azure AD B2C or Okta and using their mobile apps for access.
I’m actually interested in other options. They require a service user with global admin access for some features, which seems excessive.