Microsoft Authentication Changes

January 2022

In the near future, Microsoft will deprecate basic authentication for some of the mail protocols (IMAP, POP3, EAS, and EWS) used to access Exchange Online. Please find the announcement from Microsoft here.

Microsoft recommends customers switch to the newer MSGraph protocol, instead. This change will affect MetaViewer customers who currently use Exchange Online for our Email Capture to Workflow feature.

In response, Metafile has added and will support the MSGraph protocol and other requirements for modern authentication such as use of the Microsoft Authentication Library (MSAL.NET). The MSGraph protocol and modern authentication are only available in our latest MetaViewer versions. Upgrading quickly will allow Email Capture to Workflow customers a continued seamless connection to Exchange Online.

Other Reasons to Upgrade MetaViewer

Even if the Microsoft mail authentication issue will not affect you, there are a myriad of other reasons to upgrade MetaViewer Enterprise to the current version. In short, it will work even better!

Such reasons include:

• Better Support - Metafile can more easily support newer software versions because our staff is more familiar with them. They troubleshoot concerns associated with our current software more often than out-of-date versions. Also, we already have the systems in place to diagnose, fix, and test issues on the newer versions. We are not always able to provide support for older versions, but when we can, it tends to be more expensive.
  
  
• Avoiding Bugs - Bug fix code is not generally applied to older software versions because it cannot be made sufficiently backwards-compatible.
  
  
• Third-Party Compatibility Issues - Third-party platforms such as ERPs are consistently being upgraded and improved. Older versions of MetaViewer will eventually lose the ability to effectively communicate with them.
  
  
• Latest Features - Each release results in the inclusion of better MetaViewer tools. These tools facilitate faster processing and improved accuracy. Such features cannot generally be ported to systems relying on older software versions.

Whether the upcoming Microsoft mail authentication issues will affect your MetaViewer functionality or not, we encourage you proactively plan for and schedule an upgrade soon. Doing so will improve your experience with MetaViewer Enterprise and make your work life that much smoother!