Features of MS Exchange

MS Exchange is the World’s   Messaging Platform . Far too many people look at MS Exchange as a Email Platform using which you can send and receive emails. The fact is that MS Exchange goes way beyond simple Emailing. Given below are some of the features of MS Exchange which have made it the World’s Leading Messaging Platform:

A)    Basic MS Exchange Implementation

This covers the following features

·         Create mailboxes as per Windows Active Directory

·         Create Global Address List which will have list of internal Users

·         Setup Internal Messaging

·         Setup External Messaging

·         Setup Outlook as Email Client

·         Setup Outlook Web Access as Email Client on the browser

B)    Advanced MS Exchange Features

1. Shared Contacts:

Every Organization , large or Small , has Contacts Lists.   Based on our interactions with cross section of Customers , we find that Contacts lists are not  given the priority  they deserve . Within a single Organization , contacts are stored in multiple formats like:

·         Excel sheet

·         Access Database

·         Outlook Contact list

·         Outlook Express Address Book

·         Digital Diary

·         Visiting cards folder

Disadvantages:

·         The above leads to islands of information.

·         It leads to absence of information sharing

·         Too often , the contact information is incomplete in terms of details since a defined structure is absent

·         For any change in contact information eg. tel. no., email id, multiple people have to update information leading to immense productivity loss

·         With messaging becoming more and more important ,  people are sending emails from their PC . If individuals are to maintain their contacts records, this means huge waste of time

Using  Shared Contacts Lists , the  advantages are:

·         A single defined Database for storage of Contacts Information

·         Structured field like name, Company, designation, office address, home address , telephone   nos, mobile nos, pager no., fax no, email address , website address

·         Information relevant to the contact can be put .eg. his likes/dislikes, birthday , payment procedure in a Company , Nature of business of the Contact's Company

·         Direct email address by clicking on send mail

·         Launch into website of the contact by clicking on   the web address

·         Security , since the data cannot be easily copied and taken out (like in .xls, .dbf, etc)

·         Creation of various email lists eg. Suppliers, Top Customers , Prospects can be done which immensely help in doing direct mailing exercise

·         Immediate view  of Contacts category wise

Most importantly , data once entered  is immediately available to everyone (based on permissions given) . Customers who use Shared Contacts  have mentioned that SHARED Contacts has become the MOST USEFUL application for the Customer since Company specific Contacts are the most crucial data for any Organization.  

 2.  Calendaring:

    a)   Calendar Attendant

The Calendar Attendant reduces scheduling conflicts by limiting calendar items (request, declines, accepts) in the inbox to the latest version. The Calendar Attendant also marks meeting requests as tentative on recipient calendars until users can act on the request and relies on the Exchange Server  free/busy Web service for always up-to-date availability information

   b)    Resource Booking Attendant

The Resource Booking Attendant enables resources, including meeting rooms or other equipment, to be automatically managed. Resources can auto-accept requests when available or decline and provide details explaining the decline. Administrators can set granular policies on resources, including available hours or scheduling permissions.

   c)    Scheduling Assistant

The Scheduling Assistant helps users efficiently schedule meetings by providing visual guidance on the best and worst dates and times to meet based on meeting invitees and required resources.

   d)    Schedulable Out of Office

Out of Office (OOF) messages can now be scheduled to begin and end on specific dates and times, reducing the likelihood of a user’s out of OOF not being set. A separate out of office message can be sent to external recipients, a capability the administrator can enable or disable. Out of Office messages can also be set or unset from a mobile device

  e)    Calendar Sharing

If a person’s schedule is required to be made available to others, his Calendar can be published so that all can view the same.

This would also be useful if a Team is working on a project. A Team Calendar with access rights only for a Team can be published.

This enables electronic allocation of a Task to anyone who is a part of Global Address List.

Using Task Allocation, a Manager can easily save 30 to 60 minutes a day as compared to one to one task allocation.

4. Meeting Planner:

Using a meeting planner, one can schedule a meeting within members of Global Address List simply by finding the time most suitable to all for a meeting. Saves a lot of time traditionally spent on coordinating a meeting .

5. Distribution Lists:

A Distribution List enable users to group various Contacts together within a Contacts Folder.

Some of the uses of Distribution Lists are

·         “Customers in South Mumbai” . These could be say 50. While sending a mail, the name of Distribution list will appear i.e. Customers in South Mumbai. If this is selected, all the people in this list will get the mail.

·         On Company website , one can create email alias like “sales” , “info” , etc. Internally , one can create a Distribution List called “sales” ; “info” . Within the Distribution List, we can add members belonging to the Group. So if someone sends email to sales, automatically all people in the Distribution List will get the email. 

6. Rules & Junk Mail:

You can set Outlook to automatically file away certain messages as soon as they arrive. This nifty approach to message management is called a rule. Basically, you define characteristics for Outlook to look for in all incoming messages and tell the program what to do with messages that match those criteria.

7. Setting Calendars for resources

Important resources like Conference room, Company Car , Guest house, etc. can be assigned a Calendar . The booking of these resources can be done very efficiently .

8. Spam Control

MS Exchange has a very effective Spam filter . Once the setup is done at the Exchange Server  the updates to the Worldwide Spammers list happens in real time giving you a very efficient anti spamming solution.

Content is analyzed using the Intelligent Message Filter (IMF), Exchange Server's implementation of Microsoft SmartScreen content filtering technology. SmartScreen is based on Microsoft Research's patented machine-learning technology. Anti-phishing capabilities are also built-in to the IMF to help detect fraudulent links or spoofed domains and protect users from these types of online scams. When used with Outlook , a phishing warning or block appears in the user interface. Customers are protected from emerging spam attacks through the automatic filter updates for Exchange Server , which are published on a frequent basis

This when combined with the SPAM control features  of MS Outlook gives a very good Anti Spam Solution.

9.Mobility Solution

Today’s workforce is mobile . In any office , there are individuals who are on the move . Since emails are the preferred way of communication, these  mobile executives are cut off from emails while they are away from office. To address this problem , MS Exchange offers a Comprehensive suite of email solution designed for the mobile worker.

a) Outlook Web Access

Using any Internet connected PC, a mobile worker can now access his Corporate email account using a simple Internet browser . He will get access to his mails, calendar, tasks & Contacts .

b) Outlook Anywhere

If the mobile worker carries a laptop, then his Outlook can be configured in such a manner that as soon as he connects to Internet , all his Corporate emails , tasks, calendar get synchronized with his Outlook . This is a truly fantastic solution for laptop carrying mobile worker.  

c) Active Sync

MS Exchange has a great Technology called Active Sync. So if you use any Mobile Phone which has Active Sync ( Windows Mobile, I phone, Nokia E Series, etc) you can get your mails delivered to your Mobile  . So imagine that a mobile worker is travelling to his office and the travel time is 60 minutes. Instead of this time being wasted, now the mails can be read, replied, forwarded using nothing more than a Mobile Phone supporting Active Sync.

Check the demo of Active sync at the link below:

11. Mobile Messaging

      1)    Search

Information can be quickly found from a mobile device using the search capability of Exchange ActiveSync. When executing a search from a mobile device, both the local device store and the user’s entire Exchange mailbox are queried. Results found through the over-the-air search of the Exchange mailbox can be rapidly retrieved to the device. This capability enables access to information sent or received days, weeks, or even months before, regardless of the storage limitations of the mobile device.

      2)    Direct Push

Mobile devices incorporating Exchange ActiveSync maintain a secure connection with Exchange Server , receiving new or updated e-mail, calendar, contacts, and tasks as soon as they arrive on the server. This push method optimizes bandwidth usage while keeping users up-to-date .

     3)    Device Security and Management

Administrators may choose to enforce policies on devices used in their organizations including requiring PINs of varying length and strength and enforcing a device wipe of data and applications, should the device be lost or stolen. These controls become granular with Exchange Server 2007, allowing per-user policies. Device usage can be tracked and managed centrally within the Exchange Server environment. Service Pack 1 (SP1) includes 28 new policies across device, network, application, and security control.

     4)    LinkAccess

When a user receives a link to a Windows SharePoint Services site or file share while using a mobile device, Exchange Server  uses LinkAccess to retrieve and display the document, no VPN or tunnel required.

     5)    Calendaring and Out of Office

With Exchange Server , users have many new options when accessing their calendar from a mobile device using Exchange ActiveSync. They can reply to a meeting invitation with a message, forward the invitation to another person, and view acceptance tracking for meeting attendees. Out of Office messages can also be set from the mobile device.

12. Web Based Messaging

     1)    Outlook  Experience

Outlook Web Access  provides a rich, Outlook like experience in a browser.

New features in Outlook Web Access  enable users to:

·         Schedule Out of Office messages and send to internal and/or external recipients

·         Use the Scheduling Assistant to efficiently book meetings

·         Access SharePoint documents without a VPN or tunnel using LinkAccess

·         Use WebReady Document Viewing to read attachments in HTML even if the application that created the document is not installed locally

·         Access RSS subscriptions

·         View content in Managed E-mail Folders

·         Retrieve voice mail or fax messages through Unified Messaging integration

·         Search the Global Address List

·         Edit and manage server-side mailbox rules

·         Access to Public Folder items

    2)    Access Security

Outlook Web Access 2007 security is improved. Two-factor authentication is supported, and administrators can enforce HTML-only document viewing to avoid information being left behind on public kiosks.

    3)    Self-Service Support

The Outlook Web Access 2007 Options menu allows users to quickly and easily resolve many of the most common sources of helpdesk calls on their own. OWA users can request a Unified Messaging voice mail PIN reset, issue a remote wipe request to their mobile device should it be lost or stolen, and add senders to their safe or block list all within Outlook Web Access. Service Pack 1 (SP1) includes a confirmation from Exchange when the remote wipe request is successfully completed.

    4)    Outlook Web Access Light

Outlook Web Access Light provides a rich Outlook Web Access experience over slow connections and enables many of the new features in Outlook Web Access 2007, including schedulable Out of Office messages (internal and external), Really Simple Syndication (RSS) subscriptions, and Managed E-Mail Folder access.

    5)    Search

Exchange Server 2007 mailboxes are fully indexed by default, allowing users to quickly search for information from Outlook Web Access. Re-indexing is significantly faster than Exchange Server 2003, and search spans both content within the e-mail itself and data contained in attachments.

     6)    Remote Document Access: LinkAccess

When a user receives a link to a Windows SharePoint Services site or file share while working remotely using Outlook Web Access, Exchange Server 2007 uses LinkAccess to retrieve and display the document, no virtual private network (VPN) or tunnel required.

     7)    Remote Document Access: Web Ready Document Viewing

Outlook Web Access 2007 can transcode a variety of document types – including Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft PowerPoint, and PDF files – from their native format into HTML so that they can be viewed in a client browser even if the application that created the document is not installed on the client. This allows users to be productive from almost any machine and keeps viewed documents safe, even on kiosk machines, since HTML documents are purged by Outlook Web Access at logoff or session timeout. Service Pack 1 (SP1) includes support for Microsoft Office 2007 file formats.

Also Visit:

• MS Exchange Resources
• Availability of MS Exchange
• MS Exchange Migration on Microsoft Solution Profiler
• Email Solutions from Techgyan
• MS Exchange Vs Google Apps
•  
  Services

If you want expert advice on how MS Exchange can benefit your Company , please call us at 91- 022-24134530/39 or click on the Submit button and send your inquiry.