What are the benefits of Exchange Server? Exchange enables you to see and edit another user's email, tasks, and calendar instantly (if they've granted you permission to do so). Having the ability to view others' calendars means you are able to plan around meetings people in your office have already scheduled. You are able to create master contact lists and global calendars for your company so teams are always on the same page. You can also set the famous "Out Of Office Auto-Response" feature before you leave town with Exchange Server so those who email you know you are not in the office without calling. Best of all, you'll have the option to view all of your email, tasks, and calendars by logging into your account over the Internet with a standard web browser (aka: Internet Explorer or Netscape Navigator) while you are out of the office in the event that you need to access your email quickly and don't have your laptop with you. This feature is great if you need to get to your email in a pinch. best of all, it comes free with Exchange Server!

Can you use Microsoft Outlook WITHOUT Exchange Server? It is possible to use a program called Microsoft Outlook to receive email on the user's computer without using Exchange on a server. This type of setup dramatically limits the functionality to the Outlook program however. This setup is called POP email. POP email presents challenges with backing up email messages. It also becomes a problem if users move from computer to computer because the messages do not move with them. You are also unable to share user's email, tasks, and calendar instantly with others at your company. Public folders are not available as well for group calendars without Exchange.

It's only a matter of time… When companies are ready to go to the Exchange setup, the employees are already familiar with how to get around Microsoft Outlook if you're running in POP mode now. This makes the training process a whole lot easier when companies make the switch. Remember, if you're a growing company and are already using Microsoft Outlook for your email, it's not a question of if you'll use Exchange Server…it's a question of when.
About the Author

Anthony Licate is the President of Spidernet Technical Consulting, LLC (http://www.spidernetconsulting.com). Spidernet Technical Consulting helps companies operate more effectively by means of reducing their computer support issues and streamlining how they work. He has worked with multiple types of businesses to strategize, re-align and implement technology. Anthony can be reached at aj@spidernetconsulting.com