Exchange SP for Devices, Security

Service Pack 2 for Exchange Server 2003 is now available and introduces a host of new or enhanced features, primarily in the areas of mobile e-mail, security, antispam, and performance, in addition to the typical bug fixes. However, mobile users will not benefit from the e-mail improvements unless they buy new Windows Mobile (WM) 5.0 phones, which are just beginning to ship, and install the Messaging and Security Feature Pack (MSFP)—which won’t ship until the first half of 2006—on them.

Mobile E-Mail Improvements

The combination of the MSFP and Exchange Server 2003 SP2 will significantly improve Microsoft’s e-mail solution for WM devices. This duo will finally give Microsoft a true e-mail push solution on par with Research in Motion’s (RIM’s) market-leading mobile e-mail solution for its BlackBerry phones.

The new Direct Push Technology (DPT) feature maintains a continuous data connection between the mobile phone and Exchange Server, offering up-to-the-minute synchronization of Exchange e-mail, contact, and calendar items with users’ mobile devices. Microsoft says its solution requires less hardware and software infrastructure, thereby making it cheaper and less complex than RIM’s. (For more information about DPT, see “Improved Mobile E-Mail on the Horizon” on page 16 of the Aug. 2005 Update.)