Configure Microsoft 365 with Black Pearl Mail

Configure Microsoft 365 with Black Pearl Mail

These steps will route all of your users through the Black Pearl Mail platform. If you would prefer to start with a test/pilot group before rolling out with all of your users, follow these instructions.

The following steps will need to be done within your organization's M365 Global Administrator dashboard. 

STEP 1 – Log in to M365 Exchange Admin Console

1. Open the Microsoft 365 Exchange admin console - https://admin.exchange.microsoft.com
2. Sign in with your M365 global admin credentials.

STEP 2 - Setup Inbound Connector

1. Select Mail flow from the right-hand side menu.




2. Select Connectors.
  1.  Click  +Add a Connector



4. In the pop-up window make the following changes: 
  1. Connection From: Your organization's email server
  2. Connection To:  Office 365 (This may auto-fill after selecting, "Your organization's email server")
  3. Click Next



5. Make the following changes:
  1. Name: Black Pearl Mail Inbound.
  2. Ensure Turn it on is checked.
  3. Ensure Retain internal Exchange email Headers (recommended) is checked.
  4. Click Next.



6. Select By verifying that the subject name on the certificate that the sending server uses to authenticate with Office 365 match the domain name (recommended).
  1. Enter *.blackpearlmail.com
  2. Click Next.



7. Click Create Connector.




8. Click Add another connector.



STEP 3 - Setup Outbound Connector

1. Select the following: 
  1. From: Office 365.
  2. To:  Your organization's email server. ( This may auto-fill after selecting "Office 365")
  3. Click Next.



2. Proceed with the following: 
  1. Enter the name: Black Pearl Mail Outbound
  2. Ensure the following settings are both checked:
    1. Turn it on
    2. Retain internal Exchange email headers (recommended)



3. Select Only when I have a transport rule set up that redirects messages to this connector.
  1. Click Next



4. Enter smtp-global.blackpearlmail.com.
  1. Click the + button to the right of the text box.


  1. Click Next.


Ensure the following options are selected:
  1. Always use Transport Layer Security (TLS) to secure the connection.
  2. Issued by a trusted certificate authority (CA).

5. Check the box: And the subject name or subject alternative name (SAN) matches this domain name:
  1. Enter the following in the text field: *.blackpearlmail.com
  2. Click Next.



7. Enter the following: Office365@blackpearlmail.com 
  1. Click the + to the right of the text field. 



9. Click Validate.




10. Ensure that "Check connectivity to smtp-global.blackpearlmail.com" succeeds.
“Send test email” may fail, this is not an issue. Microsoft sends the test email from an unvalidated domain which doesn’t pass security criteria sometimes. If this field fails please click "Yes" above the +
  1. Click Next


  1. Click Create Connector.

STEP 4 - Setup Mail Flow Rules

1. Under Mail Flow select Rules.




2. Click + and select Create a new rule.


If you would prefer to set up a test group and have specific users test the system before deploying for your entire organization, follow the steps here.

3. Under Name type the following: Black Pearl Mail




4. Under Apply the Rule if...
  1. In the first box, click on the dropdown and select The sender... and in the second box, select is external/internal.
                
                  
5. In the next window, ensure that Inside the organization is selected and click Save.
This option may be selected by default. If so, just click Save.
      
     
6. Under Do the following...
  1. In first box, select Redirect the message to... then in the second box, select the following connector.
                                         

7. Ensure that Black Pearl Mail Outbound is selected and click OK.
This option may be selected by default. If so, just click OK
      
     


8. Under Except if...
  1. In the first drop-down, select The message properties... then in the second drop-down, select include the message type.
        


9. In the next drop-down, select Calendaring.
      
                                                      
10. Click on the + symbol next to the exception you have just created to add an additional exception.


11. In the first drop-down for the next exception, select The message header… and then in the second drop-down, select matches these text patterns.
   
12. Click on Enter text...

13. Enter the following: X-BP 
  1. Click Save.


14. Click on Enter words...


15. Enter the following: ^*$ 
  1. Click Add.

  1. Place a tick next to the word that was just added.
  2. Click Save.

 
16. Click on the + next to the original exception you created to add another exception.

17. In the first drop-down box for the new exception, select The Sender... and in the second drop-down, select Domain is.

18. Enter the following: onmicrosoft.com
  1. Click Add.
   
                 
  1. Enter the following:
    microsoft.com
  2. Click Add.

  1. Click Save.


                                  
19. Click Next.

20. Scroll down the page and tick the box that says Stop processing more rules.


21. Click on the drop-down under Match sender address in message and select Envelope. Click Next.



22. By default, the rule will be disabled. To enable, click on the Black Pearl Mail rule you just created.

           
23. Click on the toggle under Enable or disable rule to set it to Enabled. Please was around 30 seconds for the status to change to Enabled. Please do not leave this screen until the status has changed.


24. Once the status has updated to Enabled, click on Edit rule settings.


25. Ensure that the priority is set to 0 and click Save.


26. Click Done.


That completes the settings needed in O365. You are now configured to route with Black Pearl Mail. Please note these settings can take up to an hour to complete. 

Next, you'll want to create signature templates, add user details, and lastly, turn on signatures for your users. We have provided some helpful resources below.
  1. Getting Started: Use the Same Branded Email Template for all Users
  2. Getting Started: Use Different Branded Email Templates for Different Groups of Users