This week I wrote a great article on Practical 365 on Renaming a Tenant’s SharePoint URL.  This process is a preview program and the article reviews what it is, what it isn’t, and guidance on if you should use it.  You can check the article out here: https://practical365.com/renaming-your-sharepoint-online-url/

Let’s review the issue at a more basic level, specifically the issue with Office 365 tenant names.  When you are creating a tenant, you give the tenant an initial name.  Although there are some options coming out to rename aspects of the tenant, as mentioned in the article above, the tenant name is a very key identifier.  When you create your tenant, you are making a name decision based on what you know about your business on that day.  But while we celebrate ten years of Office 365, we must acknowledge that our organizations change significantly over time.  These changes include:

1. Merger, Acquisition, or Divestiture
2. Rebranding
3. Multi-brand companies
4. Some bankruptcy scenarios

All of these changes are regular business events.  All of them could change what name you want for your tenant and in turn, the URLs for SharePoint online / One Drive For Business.  In this article, I want to explore what you should name a new tenant and the pros & cons of using a code name.

Code Names

The concept of using a code name for the tenant is to prevent issues with branding down the line.  Where names cannot be changed easily, outside of this SPO URL Rename Preview, it can be a good option.  You should seriously consider a code name if you are creating a new tenant.  This choice can future-proof some of these naming and branding issues that can arise from an inflexible name. 

For example, if your company is called Contoso, and you provide Technology Services, you may choose the name “ReallyReallyCoolIT.onmicrosoft.com” for your tenant name.  This way if you ever decide to change the name of the company, you can continue using “ReallyReallyCoolIT.onmicrosoft.com.”  Simply put, if you buy a company or change your name, a code name ensures you are future-proofed. 

Another example where a code name can help is if you are brand-name manufacturer that also manufactures generics.  Your users may try to pitch generic subsidiary businesses under the generic sub-brands and not want to see the parent brand in the URL. 

When deciding to use a code name, here are some items to consider:

Arguments For Code Names

1. It prevents the need to rename because of MAD Activity
2. Supports rebranding and growth
3. Can hide branding when you operate as several brands

Arguments Against Code Names

1. False comfort with the company name in the URL
2. What do you pick?
3. A code name just feels wrong

I admit I am pretty opinionated on using code names.  I feel that in most situations, the arguments against using code names are not based on business, but rather on preference.  Although I can respect the “InfoSec” reason for using your company name in the URL, I can easily make the argument that I can get a bad-acting tenant with a similar name.  If your company name is “taken,” then there really isn’t an argument, in my opinion, to the InfoSec argument.  I would instead suggest that not using a code name is a default decision, not necessarily the decision for growing and changing companies. 

Conclusion

Name standards in IT are always a challenge.  We all certainly have opinions on it.  The SPO URL Rename Preview Program is a great step in the right direction for tenants that wish to change their name as their business changes.  However, in the article referenced above, you will see that the program does not handle everything and has sizeable risk.  We are years away from a full rename process with lower risk, if ever. 

If you find yourself naming a new Office 365 Tenant,  it is crucial to take a pause, review these options, and make the right decision for you.