Exchange and Outlook Overview

Exchange Server 2010 became generally available in Nov. 2009. Exchange Server 2010 includes archiving, compliance, high availability, and performance improvements, and support for new client features such as a new conversation thread view and speech-to-text conversion for voice-mail previews. It requires 64-bit editions of Windows Server 2008 or later and will not run on Windows Server 2003 or Windows Server 2003 R2.

Exchange Server 2007 was updated with SP2 in Aug. 2009, which includes several administration improvements and must be installed on Exchange 2007 servers that will interoperate with Exchange 2010 servers.

Outlook 2010 became generally available in June 2010. When used with Exchange 2010, Outlook 2010 provides new capabilities for managing mail threads and previewing voice mail, among other features.

Microsoft hosts Exchange on dedicated hardware, a service called Exchange Online Dedicated, which now runs on Exchange 2010. Microsoft also hosts Exchange in multitenant installations with a service called Exchange Online Standard, however, it runs on Exchange 2007. Both Exchange Online services rely on Exchange Hosted Services, a collection of Microsoft-hosted services for e-mail archiving and security. Exchange Hosted Services continues to be available separately.