Outlook Web Access

Outlook Web Access (OWA) is a way of accessing e-mail and scheduling information from an Exchange server, just as you would from Outlook, through a standard Web browser such as Microsoft Internet Explorer or Netscape Navigator. OWA is present in two versions:

• Rich Experience Outlook Web Access, which takes advantage of features in Internet Explorer 5 (or later) to provide features such as secure messaging, rules, spell-checking, and reminders

• Basic Outlook Web Access, which can be used with any Web browser but does not support all the features of the Rich Experience Outlook Web Access

OWA is really just a way to access e-mail over port 80 from a browser (or whatever port your browser and network are set to use). OWA support is configured when you install Exchange Server 2003. Thereafter, a user can use his browser to access many of the functions ordinarily available through Outlook. Users have access to basic e-mail, calendar and group scheduling, basic public folders, and collaborative applications. OWA is more powerful than it ever has been and could certainly be used as a primary Exchange client by someone who didn’t need access to advanced features. However, some features are not available when using either the Rich Experience or the Basic version of OWA, including the following:

• Personal address books (because they are stored on your workstation)

• Searching for messages

• WordMail and Microsoft Office integration

• Viewing free/busy details of others

• Outlook forms

• Synchronizing local offline folders with server folders

• Access to your .PST file

The universality of the browser client makes OWA an attractive choice in environments with diverse clients (such as Windows, Macintosh, and UNIX) and that require a shared messaging client. OWA is extremely beneficial for users, such as information systems staff, who move around to different workstations frequently during the day. They can simply check their e-mail using OWA instead of creating an e-mail profile on each workstation. You’ll learn more about supporting and using OWA in Chapter 19.