All about Unified Communications : Exchange

Want to try Exchange Server 2007 yourself?

markdea — Thu, 15 Feb 2007 17:27:24 GMT

I am the first to admit there is nothing like trying something out before you buy it and I am glad to say you can now do this for Exchange 2007.

By clicking here you can get an email account for 5 days on a hosted Exchange 2007 server. During this time you can fiddle about with the setting and send/receive email via Outlook, Outlook Web Access and even Outlook Voice Access.

Great if you are looking to play with Exchange Server 2007 before buying and also great as a demo tool

Exchange 2007 taking its ideas from Star Trek?

markdea — Thu, 15 Feb 2007 11:48:15 GMT

Well not quite but it got you wondering didn't it ?

Hot of the heels of Exchange 2007 is the Microsoft Transporter for Lotus Domino.

This comes in a 32bit and a 64bit flavor, depending on your preference and in the words of the Exchange product team the "Microsoft Transporter for Lotus Domino configures Directory synchronization and Free/Busy lookups between Lotus Domino 6 or 7 and Exchange Server 2007 and Windows Server 2003 Active Directory. SMTP is used as the mail routing transport between Lotus Domino 6 or 7 and Exchange Server 2007.

Transporter also migrates users, mail databases and applications from Lotus Domino 5, 6 or 7 to Windows Server 2003 Active Directory, Exchange Server 2007 and Windows SharePoint Services 3.0."

I don't think it's technical requirement but while using this tool feel free to say beam me up Scotty' at important moments. It only seems right given its unusual name!

A picture paints a thousand words

markdea — Mon, 15 Jan 2007 15:02:30 GMT

I like to think of messaging systems as living entities rather than a random collection of servers passing round email. Proof of this is that while working in Microsoft Consulting Services, we had a client run Exmap only to discover that his 'simple messaging infrastructure had sprouted children in the background. He then remembered adding a number of servers in the past but forgotten about, says something positive about how low maintenance Exchange can be.

It appears over the holidays we released a stencil for Visio to include shapes for Exchange Server 2007. Next time the boss pops round to your desk and demands to know more about the companies messaging infrastructure, you can divert his attention to a detailed diagram up on your wall and ask him to come back with questions once he has finished absorbing the information ... by which time you would have slinked off to get yourself a coffee :-)

Want to get your hands on Exchange Server 2007 now?

markdea — Fri, 12 Jan 2007 21:11:25 GMT

It occurs to me that most of you have probably already left work for the weekend now, for the few of you that are still in the office, I wanted to let you know that Exchange Server 2007 evaluation is now available for download.

If you want to have a play, both the 32bit and 64bit versions are available for download here

Have a great weekend!

Everything you wanted to know about Exchange 2007 but were afraid to ask

markdea — Fri, 05 Jan 2007 12:00:44 GMT

Well, at least the basics are on this blog post for a start :-)

Scott Schnoll spent new year's eve putting together this excellent post on

Exchange 2007 editions - What's the difference?
Licensing - What different licenses are available now?
32bit vs 64bit - Why have we done this?
Virtualisation - Will we support Exchange 2007 in a virtual environment?
Evals and Product Keys - Can I move from trial to retail?
What's missing from the 32bit version of Exchange?
Final Build Number - What was it in the end?
Downloading - ISOs and EXEs

Excellent post Scott!, all the information is probably out there already but this sums it up nicely!

Let Santa know your last minute present requests!

markdea — Fri, 22 Dec 2006 13:20:31 GMT

I spotted this on someone's blog today and wanted to share this with you :-)

It appears that in order to communicate with a new younger generation of kids, Santa has had a meeting with the Windows Live Messenger guys at Microsoft and has signed up for Windows Live Messenger. As you can see, I had a quick word with him myself to see if I can get a Zune and an XBOX 360, lets see what comes down the chimney !

If you want to have a quick chat with Santa then add northpole@live.com to your Windows Live Messenger list and as long as you have been good then you should find he talks back to you.

Safe in the fact that I have been a 'good boy' this year, I will be tracking my imminent Zune/XBOX 360 combination on the Santa Tracker and hopefully I should find a large Zune/XBOX 360 shaped box at the end of my bed :-)

I am now off work until the 2nd of Jan during which time I will be eating mince pies, playing with the toys/gadgets that I hope to get for xmas and generally chilling and reflecting on the busy 2006 we have all had and the exciting 2007 to come.

2006 has seen a number of events including the launch of Exchange Server 2007, Unified Communications disclosure day in June, a first look at Office Roundtable, Office Communications Server 2007 beta, Nortel & Microsoft alliance, Office Communicator Phone Experience, details on PC Peripheral devices and a number of other partnerships with organisations like Motorola, Siemens and HP and finally me getting my new job (not important for most people but a really big event for me).

That said, I think 2007 is going to be even more exciting as it will see all of this years announcements become a reality as the code is finished, the CDs start to get burnt and we actually have these technologies available to everyone and not just the beta testers. For me, 2007 is going to be the year when changes started to happen in the way people communicate and possibly how the telecoms and IT industry work together, because of the products we have coming out in 2007. I don't doubt for a minute that its going to take time for things to change but I think in years to come we will look at 2007 as the year when it all started to happen.

Finally, this week will be the last week I use my deskphone at work. In order to prove a theory I have, I plan not to use my deskphone in 2007. I will rely solely on my mobile and Communicator 2007 to make calls. Will let you know how I get on :-)

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year !

Exchange 2007 and Forefront for Exchange has RTM'd!

markdea — Fri, 08 Dec 2006 21:18:00 GMT

At about 11am (PST) on December 8th we released Exchange Server 2007 to manufacturing.

Exchange 2003 was on general availability on the 28th of September 2003. Its been 1167 days since the launch of Exchange 2003 and as always the internet has changed a lot during that time with everyone getting more email, more spam and more virus' than before. In order to cope with this we have made changes in three important areas of Exchange 2007.

Over the past months, we have also been working with a number of organisations in the UK to deploy Exchange 2007 into their environment and the results have been really positive. Some of the customers are included below and we have more to come.

Today also sees the launch of Forefront for Exchange which further protects the end users from virus', worms and spam. You may remember this as 'Antigen' which is a product we took on when we aquired Sybari. Forefront, like Exchange 2007, focuses on three key areas

Comprehensive Protection: Microsoft Forefront Security for Exchange Server includes multiple scan engines from industry-leading security firms integrated in a single solution to help businesses protect their Exchange messaging environments from viruses, worms, and spam.
Optimized Performance: Through deep integration with Exchange Server, scanning innovations and performance controls, Forefront Security for Exchange Server helps protect messaging environments while maintaining uptime and optimizing server performance.
Simplified Management: Forefront Security for Exchange Server also enables administrators to easily manage configuration and operation, automated scan engine signature updates and reporting at the server and enterprise level.

This has been my first product launch, an interesting and great experience, my thanks goes out to a number of people at Microsoft in the UK for their help over the last few months (you know who you are) and next on the to-do list is Office Communications Server 2007 .... and then Exchange 14 :-)

Exchange 2007 and Outlook 2007 ... better together?

markdea — Mon, 04 Dec 2006 12:57:30 GMT

I get asked this question from time to time so I thought it might be a good idea to post something on my blog.

The answer to this question is of course YES!. There are a number of features in Exchange 2007 that you just wont get if you don't have Outlook 2007 also.

With that in mind, take a look at the two following links

Moral of the story, if you want the best experience then you will need to deploy Exchange 2007 and Outlook 2007.

I run this combination at work and I wouldn't go back!

Exchange 2007 on the 'price list'

markdea — Sat, 02 Dec 2006 00:01:10 GMT

Microsoft UK has now entered its 'season of launch' and this started yesterday with the press launch of Exchange 2007, Windows Vista and Office 2007.

More importantly for Exchange people, Exchange 2007 is now on the price list so its only a while until we RTM (release to manufacturing) followed by availability of media. I will keep you updated as we progress :-)

On the price list, you will now see we have added the following

Exchange Server 2007 Enterprise CAL with services Promo 2007
Exchange Server 2007 Enterprise CAL with services
Exchange Server 2007 Enterprise CAL without services
Exchange Server 2007 Enterprise Edititon
Exchange Server 2007 External Connector
Exchange Server 2007 Standard CAL
Exchange Sercer 2007 Standard Edition
Forefront Security Exchange Server

Also worth noting are the following promotions

Exchange Server 2007 CAL and Windows Server 2003 CAL Promotion for Select Customers - As a limited time offer from November 1, 2005 to June 30, 2007, Select customers are eligible to acquire L&SA for Exchange Server 2007 CAL and Windows Server 2003 CAL together and benefit from potential savings compared to acquiring L&SA for the individual CALs.
Step-up license available from Exchange Server Standard to Exchange Server Enterprise - Organisations with Software Assurence, Upgrade Advantage or Enterprise Agreement can upgrade from their current standard server license to enterprise.

Enjoy!

Fancy taking Exchange 2007 for a test drive?

markdea — Wed, 08 Nov 2006 11:39:46 GMT

A lot of the time I a recommending to IT Pros that they should go ahead and download a copy of Exchange 2007 in their 'spare time'. Although this sounds like a great idea in principal, I can imagine that not everyone wants to spend their evenings and weekend a) downloading Exchange 2007 and b) installing it into a virtual machine.

Bearing that in mind, I came across a post on Steve Claytons blog that links to pre-configured virtual machines for Exchange as well as Vista and Office.

Pop along here and download the Exchange 2007 VHD which includes Office Live Communication Server 2005 .... bargain!

Want to trial Exchange Unified Messaging?

markdea — Tue, 03 Oct 2006 23:08:00 GMT

While reading the Exchange product group blog, I noticed this post which I wanted to share with you all :-)

For anyone that would like to trial Exchange Unified Messaging, its now possible to obtain a $1000 starter from Neil May at POST CTI, our UM specialist partner in the UK.

There is a lot more information on the Exchange product group blog but to cut a long story short, for $1000 your get a voice-over-ip gateway and 2 hours of phone support from POST CTI to help you implement Exchange 2007 UM into your environment.

I spoke to Neil recently and he tells me that he is already getting a fair few calls per day asking about this offer so if he doesnt reply instantly you will know why :-)

Take a quick look at the blog posting by the product team and if you want to know more then give Neil May a shout and tell him I sent you ;-)

Partner Exchange-Vista-Office (EVO) site goes live!

markdea — Tue, 26 Sep 2006 23:45:00 GMT

One of the things I get asked from time to time is can a partner go if they want to find out more information on EVO ... especially the E part i.e. Exchange 2007.

Up until now, the answer has been www.microsoft.com/exchange/ which although has lot of information on Exchange 2007, it isn’t targeted towards partners. I am pleased to say thought that the guys over in 'partner land' have put together this excellent site that not only provides some great information on Exchange, Vista and Office but also looks 'Vista-eske' ... brilliant!

Any partners reading this post should pop over to http://www.microsoft.com/uk/partner/evo/ where they can find more information on Exchange 2007 as well as the V and O part :-). As time goes by I am sure this site will grow so certainly add it to your favourites!

Happy reading people :-)

Exchange 2007 Beta 2 - Now available for download

markdea — Mon, 31 Jul 2006 17:04:00 GMT

A little late I know but I wanted to post something just in case you missed it!

Exchange Server 2007 Beta 2 is now available here where you can either download the latest beta or order a DVD

Enjoy!

Exchange 2007 with extras !

markdea — Tue, 06 Jun 2006 19:17:00 GMT

Microsoft Corporate Vice President, Dave Thompson, recently suggested that an ‘enterprise’ version of Exchange 2007 could come with hygiene services from both former FrontBridge and Sybari as part of the all in price.

Although the name suggests this would be relevant to enterprises only, it’s should be of interest to anyone looking to install Exchange 2007 as well as having a solution in place for compliance and hygiene (spam and virus’) i.e. pretty much everyone.

Will let you know if I hear anymore on this!

Have you patched your Exchange server

markdea — Wed, 10 May 2006 17:48:00 GMT

This months security patches include a patch for Exchange 2000 (post SP3) and Exchange 2003 (SP1 and SP2). We have discovered a vulnerability where Microsoft Exchange could allow remote code execution.

There is some more information here but the best course of action is to go to Microsoft Update and download the patch