OIT understands interest from our community to access Google Addons or Microsoft Add-ins that provide additional functionality within their documents. When attempting to install an addon/add-in, you'll notice that most addons/add-ins are blocked by default. This is to ensure the protection of your and Brown’s Cloud data as it could become vulnerable to unauthorized access through an addon/add-in.

Google addons or Microsoft add-ins could be used to maliciously access data either through its own code or through inherent vulnerabilities that could be abused by others. To ensure that Brown data is protected, we require a full understanding of an addon’s/add-in's access and functionality. This requires detailed information from the developer. However, it’s often the case that questions sent to developers go unanswered or, if we do receive answers, they often lack a satisfactory response or other vagueries that prevent us from proceeding with a proper review. This is most often true with “free” addons/add-ins as there is no incentive for the developer to make the extra effort to provide accurate information.

However, if you believe that your addon/add-in is already included as part of an existing security-approved contract with Brown University, we can verify this and possibly enable it. Or if you are working with a vendor/developer directly and require this addon/add-in in order to forward Brown University's business, you may be more likely to acquire the information required to proceed with our security review process. We can connect you with contract managers to complete required documentation. If either of these cases applies to you, you may submit a request here: brown.edu/go/addon-request. You’ll be asked to provide some required information, including direct vendor contact information that can answer our security questions.

If, however, you want to plainly request an addon/add-in that is openly available online, OIT will deny your request. Unfortunately, there are no existing pathways for successful approval for these addons/add-ins. Our alternative suggestions for:

Google Addons:

• There is a list of approved addons that may have something that satisfies your needs. “Approved for you”.
• If there are no available options, consider using a personal @gmail.com email address to accomplish your task.

Microsoft Add-ins:

• If you’re a Brown staff/faculty member using a Brown-managed computer, you may be able to get the add-in with a differently licensed version of Office. As long as your add-in does not require Office 365 access to function properly, you can follow the steps outlined here.
• Alternatively, if you have purchased your own Office 365 license, you can use your own personal Office account to access and use the add-in.