Microsoft Exchange Server is the server side of a client–server, collaborative application product developed by Microsoft. It is part of the Microsoft Servers line of server products and is used by enterprises using Microsoft infrastructure products. Exchange's major features consist of electronic mail, calendaring, contacts and tasks; that work with Microsoft Outlook on PC and Mac, wireless synchronization of email, calendar, contacts with major mobile devices and browser-based access to information; and support for data storage.
Microsoft Exchange Server can also be purchased as a hosted service from a number of providers. Though Microsoft Exchange Server Hosting has been around for more than 10 years, it is only recently that many providers have been marketing the service as “Cloud Computing” or Software-as-a-Service. Microsoft Exchange Server Hosting allows for Microsoft Exchange Server to be running in the Internet also called the Cloud and managed by a “Hosted Exchange Server provider” instead of building and deploying the system in-house.
Cloud computing refers to the delivery of computing and storage capacity as a service to a heterogeneous community of end-recipients. The name comes from the use of a cloud-shaped symbol as an abstraction for the complex infrastructure it contains in system diagrams. Cloud computing entrusts services with a user's data, software and computation over a network.
Microsoft Exchange Server Hosting is designed to reduce the total cost of ownership (TCO) for your business' messaging system.
Microsoft Exchange Server Hosting provides the advanced protection that a company demands, and the anywhere access their people want. Access e-mail, voice mail, calendar, and contacts from virtually anywhere, anytime.
For most businesses today, e-mail is the mission-critical communications tool that allows their people to produce the best results. This greater reliance on e-mail has increased the number of messages sent and received, the variety of work getting done, and even the speed of business itself. Amid this change, employee expectations have also evolved. Today, employees look for rich, efficient access—to e-mail, calendars, attachments, contacts, and more—no matter where they are or what type of device they are using.
Microsoft Exchange has been designed specifically to meet these challenges and address the needs of the different groups who have a stake in the messaging system. The new capabilities of Microsoft Exchange Server deliver the advanced protection that a company demands, and the anywhere access their people want, and the operational efficiency they need.
With Microsoft Exchange Server Hosting, everything in Outlook can now become “group enabled”. Your calendar, task list, inbox, etc. can all be viewed or modified by other users that you specify. The extent to which those users can interact or modify your information is entirely up to your control.
Microsoft Exchange has proven to be the world's most popular business messaging platform, with an estimated 34% installed base market share; over 10% more than its nearest competitor.
It boosts company productivity through advanced features like always-synced email, files, calendars and contacts; mobile access on devices such as the iPhone, iPad, Android, BlackBerry, advanced Web-mail; shared calendars that let employees see colleagues availability to schedule or rearrange meetings, book conference rooms and plan projects; shared task lists that allow ‘to do' lists to be created and assigned, then shared with team members; and shared contacts which guarantee that customers' contact details will never be lost or misplaced.