Problem
For organisations using Kobo Teams or Enterprise subscriptions, administrators currently have limited control over accounts created with organisational email addresses.
Users can create individual Kobo accounts outside the organisation’s managed workspace using their work email address. This can result in organisational forms, projects, and data being managed outside organisational governance processes.
This creates challenges around:
- Data ownership and governance
- User onboarding and offboarding
- Visibility of organisational Kobo usage
- Security and compliance requirements
- Business continuity when staff leave
As NGOs and other large organisations increasingly rely on Kobo for critical data collection, stronger administrative controls are becoming more important.
User story
- As a Kobo Teams/Enterprise administrator, I want to create, manage, and disable user accounts on behalf of staff members so that user lifecycle management is aligned with organisational onboarding and offboarding processes.
- As an end user, when I create a Kobo account using my organisational email address, I want my account to be automatically associated with my organisation’s Kobo workspace so that I can collaborate with colleagues and comply with organisational governance requirements. My administrator is automatically notified of this, so he/she maintains visibility and control over my account.
Proposal
- Introduce domain-based account management for Teams and Enterprise customers.
Suggested workflow:
- An organisation verifies ownership of its email domain.
- Organisation administrators can create user accounts on behalf of staff members.
- When a user self-registers using an email address from a verified domain:
- The account is automatically linked to the organisation’s workspace, or
- The user is prompted to join the existing organisational workspace.
- Administrators receive a notification when a new user account is created using the verified domain.
- Administrators can view, manage, disable, and transfer ownership of organisational accounts and assets.
Other background
Expected outcome:
- Improved governance and oversight.
- Centralised onboarding and offboarding.
- Better protection of organisational data.
- Reduced risk of unmanaged accounts.
- Improved visibility of Kobo usage within the organisation.
Alternative solutions:
- Domain claiming for existing accounts.
- Administrator approval workflow for domain-based registrations.
- SSO-based enforcement for Enterprise customers.
Other background:
This feature would primarily benefit NGOs, research institutions, and other organisations using Kobo Teams or Enterprise plans where governance, compliance, and continuity of organisational data are important.
Question: Is domain-based account governance and administrator-managed user provisioning currently on Kobo’s roadmap for Teams and Enterprise customers?
