Microsoft is offering upgrades to Exchange Server 2003
with a new software pack that stresses better mobile messaging, improved
spam blockers and increased e-mail and mailbox storage capacity.
New mobile messaging tools in the Exchange Server Service Pack 2 (SP2) will
help hardware partners and content providers deliver a device that
“meets the demands of the end user for a rich mobile messaging experience.”
For example, new direct push technology eliminates the need for SMS to
notify and ensure that a mobile device automatically retrieves new e-mail
from an Exchange server. SP2 uses an HTTP connection to push new e-mail
messages to the device.
The new version also provides greater control over mobile device security,
including policy settings that let a user unlock a device with a password;
local wipe, which dictates how many incorrect log-on attempts are permitted
before your data might be at risk; and remote wipe, which allows
administrators to remotely delete information from lost or stolen mobile
devices.
Such features are big because research firms say business users are
increasingly taking their work with them on the road in the form of handheld
computers and smartphones. Such policies help to ensure that corporate data and
applications are not compromised when devices are lost or get into the wrong
hands.
Some partners have already announced plans to deliver devices that support
SP2.
For example, Palm’s Treo and Motorola’s Q Windows Mobile 5.0 devices will be
available in early 2006 and will include the MS Windows 5.0 Messaging and
Security Feature Pack (MSFP) and support for SP2.
Also, DataViz’ mobile Microsoft Exchange Server ActiveSync-enabled client,
RoadSync, will offer support for key mobility features of SP2, including
Direct Push and Remote Wipe on Symbian OS.
Customers are hip to the benefits of the new mobile technologies in SP2,
too. HP plans a company-wide rollout of SP2 in the near future, Microsoft said.
On the security front, Exchange Server 2003 Service Pack 2 adds Sender ID
support and updates the Exchange Instant Message Filter to help businesses
thwart spam, spoofing schemes and phishing.
Sender ID helps prevent unwanted mailbox phishing and spoofing schemes by
verifying the IP address of the e-mail sender against the purported owner of
the sending domain.
The result of the Sender ID check is used as input to the Exchange
Intelligent Message Filter, which is based on the same SmartScreen filtering
technology now used in Microsoft Office Outlook 2003, MSN Internet Software
and Services, and Hotmail.
To fortify the Exchange mailbox in the face of the growing glut of data that
users are creating, Exchange Server 2003 SP2 Standard Edition will increase
the mailbox storage size limit to 75 gigabytes.
A new offline address book offers significantly improved performance when
Outlook clients are operating in cached mode. Users can also now force
clients into cached mode to help improve performance and increase the number
of active users per server.
Customers who already have Exchange Server 2003 can download SP2 for free.
The release comes as Microsoft is prepping for its largest launch of the year:
the Nov. 7 release of SQL Server 2005, Visual Studio 2005 and BizTalk Server
2006.
Microsoft Looks to Mobilize With Exchange SP2
