Components Added to Exchange Roadmap

More Exchange components will be sold separately under Microsoft’s latest plan for its messaging and collaboration server. Breaking Exchange into smaller components could make it easier to scale and more secure, while selling the components separately could enable Microsoft and its partners to move Exchange into new market niches. Nevertheless, Microsoft’s Exchange roadmap remains vague beyond 2005 and the company has not made clear how it will update Exchange to take advantage of new technologies such as 64-bit processors. In the meantime, customers can expect Exchange’s current versions and capabilities to remain stable through 2008.

Exchange Server 2003 Near-Term Focus

The Exchange roadmap announced at Microsoft’s Tech Ed conference in May 2004, begins with the current version, Exchange Server 2003, which shipped in Sept. 2003. Originally code-named Titanium, this version improves support for remote and mobile users, adds antispam capabilities, and enhances scalability, availability, and backup and restore. Some features (such as support for networked storage) depend on Windows Server 2003, but Exchange Server 2003 can also run on Windows 2000. Like Exchange Server 2000, Exchange Server 2003 requires Active Directory. Mainstream support for Exchange 2003 ends Sept. 30, 2008, with Extended support (which includes paid support and free security hotfixes) continuing through Sept. 30, 2013.