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Microsoft Exchange: the power behind Microsoft Outlook
A lot of talk lately about Microsoft Exchange. Some of it only makes sense to people who are intimate with the product. I’ve heard people say, “if you’re serious about your business you’ll get Exchange’. But what does that mean? Why do I need to get an Exchange server? What is an Exchange server?
In simple terms, Microsoft Exchange is the engine that powers Microsoft Outlook. A lot of people use Microsoft Outlook to manage a basic email account - a vanilla email account you might get for free, from your ISP or included with a hosting plan - technically referred to as POP3 or IMAP4.
These are not Exchange accounts and if this is what you use you are not getting the full messaging experience.
An Exchange powered Outlook account does much more. Our website can explain the individual benefits but if you want to share, collaborate, manage your time and messaging better, get it.
Email has become as important to businesses as a phone but if you don’t have a good email account, it won’t seem like a good communications tool.
A good communications tool is always in sync. If I accept a meeting request through my mobile device, it will appear in my calendar on my desktop. If I change the time of the meeting on my desktop it will be reflected when I use the web-based interface for Outlook. Email that doesn’t do that creates more work than it solves.
So it’s not just the desktop client you get with the complete Outlook solution. Sign up for an account and you get a copy of Outlook 2003, a web-based interface (OWA) that looks and behaves almost exactly the same and a light mobile interface (OMA) for when you’re on a weak connection. Use ActiveSync or enable the Blackberry service and you’re as efficient at your desk as you are on the golf course (and nobody needs to know).
If you agree Microsoft Exchange is one of the best messaging solutions in the market, the question remains, how do I get it? Some try to host it themselves, others now out-source.
If your business has a highly trained, 24/7 operations staff, 24/7 physical security, experienced Exchange administrators on staff, an amazing connection to the internet, fully-redundant hardware, sophisticated backup . . . and tons of money, then you should host it yourself.
Otherwise, the out-source model makes the most sense. Who you choose to out-source is another matter. Whoever you use, make sure they have all the above, have automatic provisioning (add / upgrade accounts only as you need them), and provide free upgrades to the lastest versions as they become available.
If you’re serious about your business you’ll focus on your business. You didn’t try to setup your own phone system - why try and manage the rest of your communications. And finally, if you’re serious about your business, don’t use a hotmail account. Use another Microsoft product - Exchange.
Sincerely,
John Carthy
V.P. Sales and Marketing
Softcom Technology Consulting Inc.
Discussion
6 comments for “Microsoft Exchange: the power behind Microsoft Outlook”
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I am interested in exchange and want to know what you plan to do about the new version of office?
Should I wait until exchange 2007 before I signup?
Thanks
Mike
Sorry I wasn’t explicit about this point. Yes, upgrades are included and automatic as the next release of a particular software becomes available. Exchange 2003 customers will automatically be upgraded to Exchange 2007 and get an upgrade copy of Outlook 2007 with no associated cost. Same with Windows Sharepoint Services, where any customers running on the current version will be entitled to an automatic upgrade as the new version becomes available.
I just assumed with the SaaS model (Software as a Service) that this was obvious. Or at least the concept that software is licensed on-demand and includes an upgrade path as long as you are a subscriber.
But I shouldn’t make any assumptions. Thanks for the comment.
Do you guys know if this applies to me?
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?path=AddressBook/4.0/en/ad58.html
I am on a Mac and would like to Sync my Address Book in Mac OS X with my mail2web Live Account.
Thank you in advance
Hi Richard,
Yes, this definately does work with our Exchange environment, be it a Free mail2web LIVE account or a paid Exchange account.
The URL would be like: http://exchange.mail2web.com/exchange/your-name@mail2web.com
However, I noticed that the article you referenced is a little out of date depending on what version of Mac OS X you’re using. iSync is no longer used to sync data across computers, so you may have to use the .Mac pane from your System Preferences to set up the Synchronization. So in some cases, a .Mac account is required for this to work.
Thanks for your comment!
Is there an upgrade date set yet?
Hi Filip,
Thanks for your comment. Unfortunately, there’s no real easy answer for your question yet. In terms of the user-experience, Professional Exchange users should see improvements as of mid-February. This is when we hope to provide Outlook 2007, which is of course dependant on delivery from Microsoft.
However, for new and upgraded Exchange 2007 accounts, there are a number of dependencies that still need to be released, decided upon and tested before we can even set a firm date. For starters, although Exchange 2007 has already been released, the hosted multi-tenant version still hasn’t been released. We’re expecting more development and information from Microsoft in the coming weeks and months, and are planning more blog posts on this exact topic in the near future, so we can keep you updated with our projected Exchange 2007 Roadmap.
Hope this helps!