Updated: July 23, 2020 (November 21, 2018)

Exchange Server Roadmap Update

As managing vice president, Rob Helm covers Microsoft collaboration and content management. His 25-plus years of experience analyzing Microsoft’s technology... more

Most Exchange Server 2010 and 2013 customers will migrate to Exchange Server 2019 if they keep e-mail on-premises.
Exchange Server 2016 customers have little reason to migrate.
Exchange Server 2019 could be the last version of the product.

The Exchange Server software provides e-mail communication and manages calendars, contacts, and tasks. It delivers a browser interface (Outlook on the Web, formerly Outlook Web App [OWA]) and works with a variety of Microsoft and third-party clients.

Historically, the major Exchange Server competitors were IBM Domino and Notes. More recently, principal competitors have been Gmail and the Microsoft-hosted Exchange Online service, which shares code with the on-premises server software but receives new features and other updates before the on-premises software does. Exchange Server installations can coexist with Exchange Online in a hybrid configuration, with some users hosted on-premises and others online.

Servicing and Support

Exchange Server has received a major new version approximately every three years. It follows Microsoft’s legacy support policy, which offers five years of Mainstream support. Previous versions offered five years of Extended support after Mainstream, but Exchange Server 2019, the latest, offers only two. (See the illustration “Exchange Server Timeline“.)

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