EWS API deprecation FAQ

Microsoft has announced EOL for EWS APIs that are used to connect to Exchange Online. This deprecation might impact automations (bots) that use the Email package or Email trigger with EWS option. Review the FAQ for details about the EWS API deprecation.

What is EWS API deprecation?
Microsoft has deprecated 25 least used EWS APIs since March 31, 2022. This is an ongoing deprecation and Microsoft will continue deprecating additional EWS APIs as and when the equivalent Graph APIs are available.

To know more about EWS API deprecation, see Upcoming API Deprecations in Exchange Web Services for Exchange Online.

Why this change?
EWS is a legacy API, which is less secure and does not meet the security and manageability needs of modern application development. Per Microsoft, you are requested to switch from SOAP-based EWS APIs to REST-based Graph API if your clients or applications are using EWS APIs to connect to Exchange server via Exchange Online.
Microsoft Graph offers the following advantages compared to EWS:
  • Security: Microsoft Graph is more secure and has stricter governance policies with OAuth and enables you to limit data access in a mailbox compared to the all or none access model in EWS.
  • Simplicity: Microsoft Graph provides Graph Explorer to discover and test APIs easily and quickly, SDKs in different programming languages, and an active developer community.
  • Efficiency: Microsoft Graph APIs are REST-based, where EWS APIs are SOAP-based. The advantage of using REST-based protocols include faster JSON serialization and lower network usage.
Note: The EWS API deprecation applies to Exchange Online only and not the Exchange on-premises version.
How will this deprecation impact me?
For now you will not be impacted because Automation 360 does not use any of the EWS APIs that were deprecated by Microsoft. Per Microsoft, the non-deprecated EWS APIs will continue to be supported for use in production environments and we do not have a fixed timeline when these APIs will get deprecated in future.

In case, specific EWS APIs which are used in Automation 360 gets deprecated in future, and if you have automated email using Email package and Email Trigger actions with EWS option then such automations will break due to connection failure with Exchange Online.

Where does Automation 360 use EWS API?
Automation 360 uses EWS API in Email package and Email trigger for EWS option, which allows you to connect to Exchange Online hosted on Azure Cloud and access emails from Microsoft 365.
How can I identify impacted bots which uses Email EWS option?
You can use the Automation 360 Bot Scanner utility for EOL feature to scan and identify the impacted bots that use EWS. See Scan bots for Basic authentication.
What is the guidance for Automation 360 customers to switch from EWS API to Graph API?
We have released a new Microsoft 365 Outlook package with Automation 360 v.29 release which is based on the latest version of Graph API. You can use this package to automate Outlook emails for Exchange Online. This package contains all actions similar to those available in the Email package. You can use the Microsoft 365 Outlook package instead of the Email package with EWS option to switch from EWS API to Graph API.
How do I update my existing bots to Microsoft 365 Outlook package?
To update your existing impacted bots to Microsoft 365 Outlook package, see Deprecation of EWS APIs in Exchange Online.
Will Automation Anywhere provide any tool for Automation 360 customers to update their bots from EWS API to Graph API?
No. You must manually update your impacted bots to switch to Graph API (Microsoft 365 Outlook package).
Is there a one to one mapping between Email and Microsoft 365 Outlook packages or are there any differences?
All the actions available in the Email package are also available in the Microsoft 365 Outlook package. However you must consider the following differences when you build a bot with the new Microsoft 365 Outlook package:
  • In the Email package, the Send, Forward, Reply, and Reply All actions have connection parameters and therefore when you create an automation, you can use these actions independent of the Connect action. However, in case of Microsoft 365 Outlook package, you must use the Connect action before each of these actions since they refer to the session created by the Connect action, see Microsoft 365 Outlook package
  • The new Microsoft 365 Outlook package supports two authentication modes: Authorization code with PKCE and Client Credentials. The Email package with EWS option supports four authentication modes: ROPC, Implicit, authorization code with PKCE, and Client Credentials.
    Note: ROPC and Implicit authentication modes are deprecated and hence not supported in Microsoft 365 Outlook package. You must use the more secure authorization code with PKCE flow for attended automation and Client Credentials flow for unattended automation.