Microsoft’s launch of Exchange Server 2007 on November 30th is being met with both high expectations and lots of questions.
While Microsoft says Exchange Server 2007 is a step forward in security, mobility and reliability for corporate networks, the software is not without potential roadblocks to mass adoption, according to an industry observer.
Nauman Haque, research analyst at Info-Tech Research Group, says that aside from migration costs and hardware compliance issues, he’s also concerned about Exchange Server 2007’s use of applications that have traditionally been deployed by third-party enterprises.
“Exchange includes a lot of things that weren’t included before. How far does Exchange go? It’s encroaching on a lot of these things vendors offer. Is it going to be good enough or are enterprises going to want to stick with a third-party?
“Of all three products launched, Exchange is going to pack the biggest punch, but it’s also going to cause the most pain in terms of implementation.”
The server technology, released along with Windows Vista and Office 2007, is being built around three guiding principles, according to Bryan Rusche, product manager for Exchange Server at Microsoft Canada. Built-in protection, ‘anywhere access’ and operational efficiency are, Rusche says, essential aspects of Exchange Server’s applicability to a network enterprise.
“It really comes down to an IT clich