Exchange Server 2003 delivers advances in system performance over previous versions. Who benefits from these advances?

Knowledge Worker Benefits

Because Microsoft Office Outlook^® 2003 works together with Exchange Server to deliver consistently efficient access to personal business information independent of network characteristics, knowledge workers can get their work done more quickly. Mobile device users find it easier than ever to stay up-to-date with the information flowing into their office mailboxes.

* Optimized experience with Outlook 2003.
The new Outlook 2003 user interface makes it faster and easier for knowledge workers to optimize their e-mail messages. Enhancements in the way Exchange Server 2003 and Outlook work together dramatically improve the performance of Outlook over low or fluctuating bandwidth conditions. Checking e-mail messages in a hotel room over a dial-up connection now can feel much more like working in the office. Adding Windows Server 2003 enables Outlook 2003 to connect to Exchange Server without a virtual private network (VPN) when outside the corporate firewall.

* Outlook Web Access feels more like Outlook.
Knowledge workers rely on Outlook Web Access to reach their personal business information from any computer connected to the Internet. With Exchange Server 2003, Microsoft Office Outlook Web Access features the same new interface as Outlook 2003, providing users with a consistent experience whether they are connecting from their desktop computers or a kiosk at an airport. In addition to improvements in the areas of security and performance, Outlook Web Access supports more Outlook functionality, including checking spelling, task management, and protection against junk e-mail messages.

* More options for mobile access and synchronization.
Mobile users can gain access to their information from a greatly expanded set of mobile devices, thanks to support for iMode, cHTML, and WAP 2.0 microbrowsers.
In addition, Exchange Server 2003 includes a new set of services that use Short Message Service (SMS) to alert always-on mobile devices, such as the
T-Mobile Pocket PC Phone Edition, when new information arrives in the Inbox and is available for synchronization.

IT Manager Benefits

Advances in security, scalability, and reliability both lower the costs of managing an Exchange Server–based communications infrastructure and make it easier for information technology (IT) managers to deliver mission-critical messaging and collaboration services.

* Next wave of server consolidation.
Exchange 2000 Server enabled an initial wave of server consolidation through more intelligent use of server and storage resources. Exchange Server 2003 initiates a second wave of server consolidation based on:
- Microsoft Windows Server™ 2003 services that support Volume Shadow Copy service.
- Instantaneous backup and restore removes one of the practical limits to the number of users supported on a single server—the time it takes to back up the mail storage.
- Volume Shadow Copy service enables online backup of Exchange Server Storage Groups, so there's no need to take systems offline.
- Faster and more reliable synchronization. The client-to-server communication protocol has been rewritten and optimized for an impressive gain in efficiency. These efficiency gains help to deliver faster and more consistent client performance without the expense of equipping remote offices with additional servers to run Exchange Server.
- Outlook 2003 cache mode. Because Outlook 2003 operates primarily on its own cached copy of a user's mailbox, fewer requests are made to the server, thereby reducing the server load per user and enabling more users to be supported per server.

* Security.
A number of important improvements have been made to help increase the security of your Exchange Server system across several different fronts.
- Default settings for all system variables are selected to maximize system security.
- Outlook Web Access now uses cookie authentication and connection time-out processes to help eliminate the likelihood of security breaches through unattended browsers. Additionally, Outlook Web Access supports sending e-mail messages by using the S/MIME security protocol.
- VSAPI, the virus-scanning API, has been improved to give administrators more deployment options. New junk e-mail message protection capabilities, including support for connection filtering based on real-time blacklists, inbound recipient filtering, and beacon-blocking provide greater protection from unsolicited messages. In addition, VSAPI doesn't just run on mail servers—antivirus software can now run on Exchange Server gateway and bridgehead servers as well.
- Support for Internet Protocol security (IPSec) for securing front-end and back-end servers.
- By adding Windows Server 2003, remote procedure calls (RPC) over HTTPS tunneling securely connect Outlook 2003 clients with Exchange Server 2003 without the need for a VPN.
- Server-side filtering with the Microsoft Exchange Server Intelligent Message Filter, designed to combat the influx of unsolicited junk e-mail messages, also known as spam or junk e-mail messages. The Exchange Server Intelligent Message Filter is installed on the Exchange Server 2003 gateway servers to filter incoming Internet e-mail messages before they are sent to a user's Inbox.

* Availability and manageability.
Exchange Server 2003 supports up to eight-node clustering when running on Windows Server 2003, Enterprise Edition or Windows Server 2003, Datacenter Edition, helping to ensure outstanding availability.

* Server integration.
Exchange Server 2003 includes the Exchange Server 2003 Management Pack for Microsoft Operations Manager. In combination with Microsoft Operations Manager (MOM) and the instrumentation built into Exchange Server 2003 and Outlook 2003, the Management Pack automates system monitoring. Together, these components enable better delivery against service level agreements while lowering costs.

* Easy upgrades.
New tools for moving from Microsoft Windows NT® and Exchange Server 5.5 to Windows Server 2003 and Exchange Server 2003 include Active Directory® directory service validation tools.