Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Good Enterprise app for work email

5enohpi

5enohpi

macrumors regular
Original poster
Sep 23, 2012
149
3
Philly/Vegas
So my employer has finally decided to switch over to a bring your own device program and stop using ancient blackberries. For personal reasons I plan on using a separate phone aside from my personal phone after the transition. My question is- does anyone use the "Good" app for outlook? Is it easy to use? Can I open attachments ? Attach files ? Is it efficient overall? I read reviews but there's seems to be a mix of happy and frustrated customers. Thanks for the help!
 
I know nothing of 'Good'. Many use TouchDown by NitroDesk. I use Mail+ by iKonic.

With Mail+ you can open attachment. You can add attachments from camera roll, dropbox, or box.net. It's not as stable as I would like, but my exchange in general is heavy, and my exchange mailbox is massive.

Whatever you use, make sure they are listed as official licensee of the ActiveSync protocol with Microsoft, otherwise I wouldn't trust the security, as they wouldn't have access to official tools.
http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/lega...sing/Programs/ExchangeActiveSyncProtocol.aspx

Both NitroDesk and iKonic are official licensees.
 
Yes, I use it. It does all above - the functionality is configurable and can be policied away by the Administrator. It works well but don't jailbreak your phone as it checks for that and won't run if you have jail broken.

The app has yet to be optimised for the iPhone 6 & 6 Plus so it's a bit zoomed at the moment.
 
No it's not. Those people are complaining about the lack of iOS8 / iPhone optimisations.....which is fair enough but it doesn't warrant 1 star.

The core functionality works very well. My only really complaint is that it doesn't fetch email in the background. You have to open the app for new email.
 
That's a good question. We were told it had to be GOOD if we were to use iOS or droid. Other option would be BB because I can do all of the above pain free.
 
Former good user here. Absolutely hated it. But if your company requires it, it's probably your only option. Sorry.
 
deeddawg said:
Why is that your "other option"? Is there a reason the stock Mail app won't work with your company's email?
Click to expand...


The company most likely disabled ActiveSync which is what the native iOS mail client needs, Good uses a proprietary server/application like Blackberry does which integrates with Exchange, Good isn't user friendly and the one biggest complaint already mentioned was the lack of background refreshing. From a security perspective, it's good win for the IT department as it sandboxes the app from the rest of the phone allowing you to separate work vs personal easily.
 
Another former user here. Former for a reason, absolutely terrible application. If you can avoid it then I would.
 
My company used to use Good. It was pretty awful. The IT people set the policies so attachments couldn't leave the Good app -- so you could view (barely) most attachments but couldn't save, edit or attach from another app.

And the server crashed constanly, preventing people from getting their email until enough people complained for them to reboot it.

After two years and tons of complaints, they updated their mail server back end to support the iOS native email app. Night and day difference, though it does enforce a 15-minute pin code lock policy on the iPhone (which I would have anyway).
 
Have not tried Touchdown on Apple, but on android it was a very good app. Been debating buying it for Apple.
 
Good is an absolutely horrendous app. Awful.

Ugly and clunky interface, I can get over that. Incredibly slow development pace, so features like TouchID or iPhone 6 resolution either never come or take months/years. Even the slow syncing. All a nuisance, but not a killer. But the Contacts functionality is far and away its most irritating weakness.

If you sync with Good, you can't back up with iCloud or any other syncing option (I use Outlook.com) to work across devices (ie home computer). I understand the security requirements of the encrypted email service, but not being able to sync my Mum's email address and phone number seems to be a solution to a non-problem. If you make the choice to sync with Good in order to have your contacts available to your Phone app, then you face a number of issues.

The labels for the contacts don't work properly in many cases (mobile, Company, etc.) across your Exchange contacts and device. And, contact pictures don't work. Ever. However, the biggest issue? Duplicates. The app seems utterly incapable of not duplicating contacts when changes are made to contact details.

All in all, a great idea that fulfils the needs of the IT function and infosec requirements, But dreadfully executed from a users perspective.
 
Last edited:
Damn. You just made me want to delete the app... I do miss my blackberry for its functionality around outlook
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back