Office 365 users will soon be able to initiate sign-in via Outlook.com

While users of Office 365 for business and education have had to use the service-specific portal to sign in, they will soon be able to kick off the authentication process via Outlook.com instead.

During the course of this year, Microsoft has been rolling out the new Mail experience to all Outlook.com users after first announcing it in beta form back in August 2017. Plus, more recently, the company foreshadowed a number of changes headed to Outlook on the web, including a smart search box, smart replies, and visibility of room availability.

Signing in to @Outlook on the web just got easier! Starting in Dec., @Office365 users can sign in at https://t.co/P5TTNEYOSt and will automatically be redirected to their organization or school page. Learn more: https://t.co/RNULYpuU97. pic.twitter.com/QRN0qrUwQc
— Microsoft Office News (@OfficeNews) 29 November 2018

While people may generally welcome new features, Microsoft has announced that it will be introducing "an easier way to sign in to Outlook on the web". According to a post by Kirk Koenigsbauer, Corporate Vice President for Microsoft 365, Office 365 users will soon be able to initiate the login process for their accounts via outlook.com which will then redirect them to the sign-in page for their organization. As an added convenience, the email address will already be filled in on the following page and will have to simply enter their password to continue the process.

This may not seem like a big deal but it may come as a convenience for businesses and IT support organizations who will soon be able to direct their staff to use outlook.com rather than other wordier alternatives, such as login.microsoftonline.com, outlook.office365.com, or organization-specific addresses.