How to access Office 365 resources without an account

The most fundamental new feature of v.14 is how you connect to Office 365. A user account with certain permissions and a mailbox were previously required to access Exchange Online resources: the directory, traffic data, object size and the contents of mailboxes and public folders. Unfortunately, this approach of delegated permissions was by definition incompatible with multi-factor authentication (MFA). We now also offer a new method called certificate-based authentication.

The certificate-based authentication mode

Promodag Reports is a product designed to work mainly in batch mode - so without any human intervention - and MFA cannot work in this context. The alternative is to use the Certificate-Based authentication mode, which means granting permissions directly to the Promodag Reports application in Azure AD. With this mode, no specific user account and mailbox are required, which completely eliminates the problems of password expiration and MFA compatibility. The Exchange Online Management v.3 PowerShell module is now delivered with the application.

Create the Promodag Reports application in Azure

For complete setup instructions, see our Knowledge Base article: Configure certificate-based authentication to Office 365. 

Note: If you're using v.14.0.0143 or later, the configuration process has been updated. Please refer to this Knowledge Base article for the current method.

Conclusion

The certificate-based authentication mode represents an important step in the evolution of Promodag Reports and its integration into increasingly secure hosted environments. This new approach delivers several key benefits:

• No user account required - eliminates the need for dedicated service accounts
• MFA compatible - works seamlessly with multi-factor authentication policies
• No password expiration issues - certificates provide long-term, maintenance-free authentication
• Enhanced security - direct application permissions in Azure AD reduce attack surface.

Whether you're upgrading from delegated permissions or implementing Promodag Reports for the first time, certificate-based authentication provides a more robust and secure foundation for your Office 365 reporting needs.

If you are not yet a customer, feel free to download it for a free 45-day evaluation. You can send us any business question or support request using our contact form.