I decided to share my experience with AfW, based on my usage as a user in a corporate environment.
My setup is a Nexus 6P running Nougat (7.1.1 and currently on the January security update). The work setup is managed through MobileIron Go, the email is hosted in a Microsoft-hosted Exchange Online environment (well, I've been migrated, there are still some on-prem users).
When I registered my device (process for this will vary by how the company has decided to manage devices), there was then an automated download of all the suggested apps. In my case, I got additional Gmail, contacts, calendar, Chrome and Play Store apps as well as Jabber, Box, Webex, Docs@Work and a Tunnel app. The work-managed apps are identified by a briefcase on one corner of the app icon (see screenshot).
These work-managed apps are "sandboxed", you can't merge your personal calendar to your work calendar so you can see them together. However, you can use the split-screen feature of Nougat to show both calendar apps.
If I get a call from someone that appears in my work contacts, that person's name shows in the dialer with a briefcase to indicate it's a work contact. In my case, it seems the contacts list populates both from my contacts on the mail server and from the list Outlook builds when I send an email to a new contact.
The work profile can be turned on and off (see screenshot), so if you want to stop mail but not de-register your device you can do that.
You may be wondering how this works with Android Wear. I must say, it's just like having any other Google account. You can expand mail notifications and read as much of an email as you could with any other incoming Gmail. Android Wear even includes the red briefcase on the app icon when you get a notification. Samsung Tizen-based watches do NOT get notifications from managed apps, this is apparently by design - Google hasn't approved the app that syncs things to those device to read the secured environment for AfW.
In fact - notifications on the phone itself work just as they do with the non-managed Gmail app, you can expand the notification to preview message subjects, including expanding each message to preview a few lines of the message and then decide if you want to delete or respond to the message.
All of the mail folders available to me in Outlook (those on the server anyway) are available in the Gmail app, either at the top of my message list (subfolders of my Inbox) or from the slide-in menu on the left.
The tunnel app seen in the first screenshot allows me to make a "VPN" connection to the company and allows me to browse using Chrome as though I'm sitting at the facility.
The only apps the company "monitors" are the ones the company has installed as managed, those in the work profile.
Here's Google's page on AfW: https://www.android.com/work/
Now - I have an interesting change coming up. I actually work as a sub-contractor to the company that has deployed AfW, my actual employer is moving to Google Apps for mail/collaboration, so it'll be interesting to see how my mail gets set up on my phone and if it will end up interfering with the AfW setup. I do have a Google Apps account connected already - my family has mail hosted through Google with our own domain name.
If there are other questions, ask away. However, I'm not on the admin/design side of the setup, I'm just a user.
My setup is a Nexus 6P running Nougat (7.1.1 and currently on the January security update). The work setup is managed through MobileIron Go, the email is hosted in a Microsoft-hosted Exchange Online environment (well, I've been migrated, there are still some on-prem users).
When I registered my device (process for this will vary by how the company has decided to manage devices), there was then an automated download of all the suggested apps. In my case, I got additional Gmail, contacts, calendar, Chrome and Play Store apps as well as Jabber, Box, Webex, Docs@Work and a Tunnel app. The work-managed apps are identified by a briefcase on one corner of the app icon (see screenshot).
These work-managed apps are "sandboxed", you can't merge your personal calendar to your work calendar so you can see them together. However, you can use the split-screen feature of Nougat to show both calendar apps.
If I get a call from someone that appears in my work contacts, that person's name shows in the dialer with a briefcase to indicate it's a work contact. In my case, it seems the contacts list populates both from my contacts on the mail server and from the list Outlook builds when I send an email to a new contact.
The work profile can be turned on and off (see screenshot), so if you want to stop mail but not de-register your device you can do that.
You may be wondering how this works with Android Wear. I must say, it's just like having any other Google account. You can expand mail notifications and read as much of an email as you could with any other incoming Gmail. Android Wear even includes the red briefcase on the app icon when you get a notification. Samsung Tizen-based watches do NOT get notifications from managed apps, this is apparently by design - Google hasn't approved the app that syncs things to those device to read the secured environment for AfW.
In fact - notifications on the phone itself work just as they do with the non-managed Gmail app, you can expand the notification to preview message subjects, including expanding each message to preview a few lines of the message and then decide if you want to delete or respond to the message.
All of the mail folders available to me in Outlook (those on the server anyway) are available in the Gmail app, either at the top of my message list (subfolders of my Inbox) or from the slide-in menu on the left.
The tunnel app seen in the first screenshot allows me to make a "VPN" connection to the company and allows me to browse using Chrome as though I'm sitting at the facility.
The only apps the company "monitors" are the ones the company has installed as managed, those in the work profile.
Here's Google's page on AfW: https://www.android.com/work/
Now - I have an interesting change coming up. I actually work as a sub-contractor to the company that has deployed AfW, my actual employer is moving to Google Apps for mail/collaboration, so it'll be interesting to see how my mail gets set up on my phone and if it will end up interfering with the AfW setup. I do have a Google Apps account connected already - my family has mail hosted through Google with our own domain name.
If there are other questions, ask away. However, I'm not on the admin/design side of the setup, I'm just a user.
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