Exchange 2007 Marketing Taps New Technologies

Exchange Server 2007 boasts many new features and improved performance, and to make its case for the product, the company’s marketing will home in on current messaging hot buttons, such as keeping mobile workers connected, easing the burden of regulatory compliance, and reducing server management costs. While Exchange 2007 will put Microsoft in competition with some partners, the company expects to create many opportunities for others. Partners who understand how the product is marketed will be in the best position to piggyback on Microsoft’s marketing resources.

Target Markets for Exchange

Exchange 2007 aims at virtually every Microsoft market segment, and some of its most advanced features could appeal to small customers—for instance, the unified messaging component that puts e-mail, faxes, and voice mail in a single inbox may appeal to small organizations that lack or need to upgrade a voice-mail system.

In addition, numerous features aimed at mobile users could attract a significant audience in a fast-growing market. The number of enterprise mobile e-mail users was expected to double in 2006, and the worldwide population of mobile workers is expected to increase about 25% between 2006 and 2009, according to Strategy Analytics.