Lesson 2: Benefits of Exchange 2000 Server for the Enterprise | MCSE Training Kit (Exam 70-225): Microsoft Exchange 2000 Server Design and Deployment (Pro-Certification)

Exchange 2000 Server’s technical features are impressive, but there is a fair chance that your users will not share your excitement about SMTP, WSS, WebDAV, EXIPC, MAPI, and the like. To win the support of your organization, you need to explain how you intend to use the technology of Exchange 2000 to realize measurable business benefits for management and employees. This may require an analysis of your organization’s current situation to identify relevant objectives. You may also need to compare the features of Exchange 2000 Server to any existing messaging systems to identify which system best meets the needs of your organization.

This lesson demonstrates how the features of Exchange 2000 can be mapped to achievable business objectives. You can use the explanations from this lesson as guidelines to compare the features of Exchange 2000 Server to any other messaging system, allowing you to determine whether it would be advantageous for your organization to implement Exchange 2000 Server.

After this lesson, you will be able to

Rate the suitability of Exchange 2000 Server for your organization
Identify general business benefits that your organization can achieve through an implementation of Exchange 2000 Server

Estimated time to complete this lesson: 90 minutes

General Business Benefits of Exchange 2000 Server

It is not uncommon for political considerations to drive the decision to implement a specific messaging system. Your organization may decide to deploy Exchange 2000 Server, for instance, simply because of the fact that it is a Microsoft product. Other times, you may have to use it because of a business merger. It is hard to decommission a functioning environment just because management intends to standardize on a different system if system administrators and end users do not support the decision. Is it helpful to hear constantly that everything worked better with the old system? The great challenge is to educate your colleagues about the opportunities that Exchange 2000 Server offers. This is by far the better choice than pushing Exchange 2000 into production with the power of management.

User-Related Business Objectives

Most organizations have a very diverse user base ranging from beginners, who have never touched a messaging client before, through computer experts, who prefer to work with a rich set of client functionality. However, all users generally appreciate uncomplicated access to communication services and prefer a reliable environment where personal messages and other information are protected. Interview your supervisors and users to gather information about required functionality and available technical skills. This information can help you determine the best messaging client for your users and plan necessary end-user training.

Exchange 2000 Server gives you the ability to achieve the user-related business benefits listed below:

User-friendly work environment The merger of Windows 2000 account and Exchange mailbox information simplifies access to messaging resources (enterprise-wide directory) and Exchange 2000 Server does not force your users to use a particular client for messaging. You can deploy Outlook 2000 (enhanced client functionality) and OWA as well as Internet mail clients, such as Outlook Express (seamless Internet connectivity) to provide exactly the client functionality your users require. Knowledge management solutions (enhanced information management), instant workgroup applications (instant collaboration), and Web-based groupware systems (Web-based workgroup computing) are the means to create a modern and future-oriented workplace. In addition, real-time services (online discussions, multimedia messaging, data and videoconferencing) can open new communication channels.
Secure messaging environment The seamless integration of Exchange 2000 with Windows 2000 security mechanisms (enterprise-wide directory) and public key encryption technology for message signing and sealing (advanced messaging security) are the basis for establishing a secure messaging environment. Exchange 2000 Server supports S/MIME and CTLs to allow your users to exchange secure information with users in other organizations and foreign messaging systems, such as business partners and customers.

Table 1.2 shows a detailed mapping of these technology-to-business benefits.

Table 1.2 Mapping of Technological to User-Related Business Benefits

	User-Friendly Work Environment	Secure Messaging Environment
Messaging
Enhanced Client Functionality	Possible	Unlikely
Enterprise-Wide Directory	Possible	Possible
Flexible System Administration	Unlikely	Unlikely
High-End Information Store Architecture	Unlikely	Unlikely
Seamless Internet Connectivity	Possible	Unlikely
Interoperability with Foreign Messaging Systems	Unlikely	Unlikely
Collaboration
Advanced Messaging Security	Unlikely	Possible
Resource Management Solutions	Unlikely	Unlikely
Enhanced Information Management	Possible	Unlikely
Instant Collaboration	Possible	Unlikely
Web-Based Collaboration	Possible	Unlikely
Development of Workflow Solutions	Unlikely	Unlikely
Development of Workgroup Solutions	Unlikely	Unlikely
Real-Time Communication
Enhanced Communication Through Online Discussions	Possible	Unlikely
Multimedia Messaging	Possible	Unlikely
Data and Videoconferencing	Possible	Unlikely

Information Technology-Related Business Objectives

The ability to work in a modern environment while providing stable and reliable computing services to end users is a common desire among system administrators and information technology (IT) decision makers. Unwanted conditions include unstable systems continuously causing headaches, end-user complaints, and an overwhelming number of support calls. Complicated systems are also undesirable. Windows-based solutions are easy to install and straightforward to maintain.

You can achieve the following IT-related business objectives with Exchange 2000 Server:

Provide reliable communication services The bases of reliable communication services are stable client programs, such as Outlook 2000 (enhanced client functionality), and dependable server systems that support configurations for fault tolerance and resilience (high-end Information Store architecture). Reliable communication services may also require a high level of computer security to ensure the system’s permanent availability and integrity as well as data confidentiality (advanced messaging security), which is especially important when connecting to the Internet. Of course, the messaging system must be easy to deploy and administer (enterprise-wide directory, flexible system administration), and connectivity to foreign messaging systems should be available at no extra cost (seamless Internet connectivity, interoperability with foreign messaging systems).
Reduced system administration overhead Exchange 2000 reduces administrative overhead through a combination of network and messaging management based on Active Directory (enterprise-wide directory) and integration with MMC. It is possible to manage all resources centrally via policies and administrative groups (flexible system administration). System monitoring features and the online maintenance of Information Store databases (high-end Information Store architecture) can make the job of the administrator easier. When connecting to foreign messaging systems, automatic directory synchronization facilitates the management of server-based address lists (interoperability with foreign messaging systems). Furthermore, you can develop CDO-based administration tools (resource management solutions) to automate administrative routines.

Table 1.3 shows a detailed mapping of these technology-to-business benefits.

Table 1.3 Mapping of Technological to IT-Related Business Benefits

	Provides Reliable Communication Services	Reduces System Administration Overhead
Messaging
Enhanced Client Functionality	Possible	Unlikely
Enterprise-Wide Directory	Possible	Possible
Flexible System Administration	Possible	Possible
High-End Information Store Architecture	Possible	Possible
Seamless Internet Connectivity	Possible	Unlikely
Interoperability with Foreign Messaging Systems	Possible	Possible
Advanced Messaging Security	Possible	Unlikely
Collaboration
Resource Management Solutions	Unlikely	Possible
Enhanced Information Management	Unlikely	Unlikely
Instant Collaboration	Unlikely	Unlikely
Web-Based Collaboration	Unlikely	Unlikely
Development of Workflow Solutions	Unlikely	Unlikely
Development of Workgroup Solutions	Unlikely	Unlikely
Real-Time Communication
Enhanced Communication Through Online Discussions	Unlikely	Unlikely
Multimedia Messaging	Unlikely	Unlikely
Data and Videoconferencing	Unlikely	Unlikely

Management-Related Business Objectives

The most compelling business objectives are often related to management issues, such as cost reduction and increased productivity. Another very important objective is increased competitiveness, which can be achieved through collaboration with customers, suppliers, and business partners over the Web. Wireless access to information and Web-based communication in real time are also gaining importance.

You can achieve the following management-related business objectives with Exchange 2000 Server:

Lower total cost of ownership (TCO) Based on the integration of Exchange 2000 Server with Active Directory (enterprise-wide directory), you can unify the network and messaging administration (flexible system administration), which can help your organization lower system maintenance and administrator training costs. Furthermore, Exchange 2000 allows you to place more users on fewer servers to reduce hardware and software costs (high-end Information Store architecture). For maximum scalability, you can partition Internet services across FE/BE systems (seamless Internet connectivity).
Increased productivity Perhaps with one exception (advanced messaging security), every technological benefit of Exchange 2000 Server is geared toward increased productivity (see Lesson 1). Exchange 2000 Server is a good choice if you want to standardize your organization’s messaging and groupware environment on a single platform.
Increased competitiveness Your organization can increase its competitiveness through the use of workgroup features available in Outlook 2000, such as for contact or task management (enhanced client functionality, instant groupware), as well as OWA and WSS (seamless Internet connectivity, Web-based collaboration). You can use a rich set of object-oriented technologies to develop custom business solutions (enhanced information management development of workflow solutions, development of workgroup solutions). It is possible to add real-time communication features to existing business applications and Web sites to achieve entirely new capabilities and gain a new competitive edge (enhanced communication through online discussions, multimedia messaging, data and videoconferencing).

Table 1.4 shows a detailed mapping of these technology-to-business benefits.

Table 1.4 Mapping of Technological to Management-Related Business Benefits

	Lowers TCO	Increases Productivity	Increases Competitiveness
Messaging
Enhanced Client Functionality	Unlikely	Possible	Possible
Enterprise-Wide Directory	Possible	Possible	Unlikely
Flexible System Administration	Possible	Possible	Unlikely
High-End Information Store Architecture	Possible	Possible	Unlikely
Seamless Internet Connectivity	Possible	Possible	Possible
Interoperability with Foreign Messaging Systems	Unlikely	Possible	Unlikely
Advanced Messaging Security	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely
Collaboration
Resource Management Solutions	Unlikely	Possible	Unlikely
Enhanced Information Management	Unlikely	Possible	Possible
Instant Collaboration	Unlikely	Possible	Possible
Web-Based Collaboration	Unlikely	Possible	Possible
Development of Workflow Solutions	Unlikely	Possible	Possible
Development of Workgroup Solutions	Unlikely	Possible	Possible
Real-Time Communication
Enhanced Communication Through Online Discussions	Unlikely	Possible	Possible
Multimedia Messaging	Unlikely	Possible	Possible
Data and Videoconferencing	Unlikely	Possible	Possible

Assessing the Current Environment

Do you need to migrate to Exchange 2000 Server to realize the desired improvements or can you achieve the same results using the systems that your organization is already using? What are the key features that the current system does not support? Only an assessment of the existing environment can deliver the right answers to these important questions.

Performing a Functional Gap Analysis

Technical advantages result in business benefits; it is as simple as that. Therefore, it is a good idea to review the technical features of your existing messaging system in comparison to those of Exchange 2000 Server. The comparison of weaknesses in one product to the strengths of another is often called a functional gap analysis. Whether you determine weaknesses in the existing system or in Exchange 2000 Server, a functional gap analysis is a useful way to find the best messaging platform for your organization.

Note

If your organization is using more than one messaging system, perform a gap analysis for each system separately.

Superiority Rating

A realistic product comparison requires you to rate the level of superiority of one system over another. Yet, this can be a puzzling undertaking. Product comparisons, of which you can find plenty on the Internet, often compare apples to oranges. As usual, it is better to perform your own analysis.

The only way to compare two complex products is to consider each feature that either product offers. For example, flexible system administration can be achieved with Exchange Server 5.5 as well as Exchange 2000 Server; hence, you need to estimate to which extent the latter can perform better than the former. A rating scale from –5 through 5 is sufficient. To complete the example, Exchange 2000 Server supports slightly more flexible system administration than its predecessor; thus, a rating of 2 for Exchange 2000 Server’s superiority might seem appropriate (Table 1.5).

On a scale from –5 through 5, the values –5, 0, and 5 have the following meaning:

–5 Exchange 2000 Server cannot provide the benefits of the existing sytem.
0 Both systems provide similar features and achieve the same level of benefits.
5 Exhange 2000 Server offers benefits that the existing system cannot provide.

Table 1.5 A Comparison of Exchange 2000 Server and Exchange Server 5.5 for Flexible System Administration

Technological Benefit	Assumptions and Comments	Superiority of Exchange 2000
Flexible system administration	Exchange 2000 Server eliminates the need for a separate directory replication topology. Exchange Server 5.5 does not support the option of recovering deleted mailboxes without the need for backups. For seamless integration of Exchange Server 5.5 with Active Directory, AD must be configured. Other important administration features are similarly available in both versions.	2

Tip

You can find a basic worksheet to perform a functional gap analysis in the \Chapter01\Worksheets directory on the Supplemental Course Materials CD. The filename is GAPANALYSIS.DOC.

A Functional Gap Analysis for Consolidated Messenger

Consolidated Messenger, a local broadcasting company in Portland, Oregon, plans to migrate their messaging environment from MS Mail 3.5 to Exchange 2000 Server. "We have been considering a move to Exchange Server for a very long time," says Gregory J. Erickson, Senior IT Administrator at Consolidated Messenger. "In autumn 2000, in preparation for our migration, we completed our Outlook 2000 rollout to all desktops. Our 1500 users greatly appreciate this application, yet often they complain about slow message transfer. It’s actually not the transfer between the postoffices, but the constant polling for new mail that decreases the performance in our environment. With Exchange 2000 Server, we believe that we have found the right platform to modernize our infrastructure and lower the maintenance costs." Erickson’s conclusions are shown in Table 1.6. (This table uses the same -5 through 5 scale that is used for Table 1.5.)

Tip

You can find the complete worksheet, including an evaluation of workgroup and real-time communication features, in the \Chapter01\Examples directory on the Supplemental Course Materials CD. The filename is CONSOLIDATED_MESSENGER.XLS.

Table 1.6 A Comparison of Messaging-Related Features Between MS Mail and Exchange 2000 Server

Technological Benefit	Assumptions and Comments	Superiority of Exchange 2000
Enhanced client functionality	We are already using Outlook 2000 for messaging, calendaring, task management, and simple discussion groups. It would be nice, however, if we could use server-based rules for automatic message processing and out-of-office notifications.	1
Enterprise-wide directory	MS Mail is not integrated with any network operating system and requires us to maintain separate mailbox accounts and passwords in the old MS DOS-based Administrator pro- gram. With Exchange 2000 Server, we can manage user account and mailbox information in one place.	5
Flexible system administration	MS Mail forces us to manage each of our five postoffices separately. With Exchange 2000 Server, we can replace them all with just one server.	5
High-end Information Store architecture	MS Mail is a shared-file system that requires us to give our users full access permissions on the \Maildata share. Users can misuse their postoffices as repositories for Office docu- ments, and there is always a high risk that someone could destroy a postoffice. Exchange 2000 Server, as a client/server system, does not require direct access to Information Store databases.	5
Seamless Internet connectivity	MS Mail does not support Internet mail standards, apart from the gateway to SMTP. Exchange 2000 Server enables us to use OWA and Internet mail clients, which is particularly important for our numerous UNIX users.	5
Interoperability with foreign messaging systems	We have installed the gateway to SMTP, and the message transfer works well, but we cannot filter for spam messages. Exchange 2000 Server gives us greater control over outgoing and incoming Internet messages.	3
Advanced messaging security	MS Mail does not support advanced security features. We don’t intend to deploy encryption technologies, but we should never say never. Exchange 2000 Server supports advanced messaging security.	5

Determining Business Benefits

The results of the functional gap analysis allow you to estimate to what extent Exchange 2000 Server can help you improve the messaging services in your organization. At Consolidated Messenger, for instance, Gregory J. Erickson believes that he has found the right platform to modernize the messaging infrastructure and lower maintenance costs. Yet, what is really available for Consolidated Messenger or any other company?

Mapping Technical Advantages to Business Benefits

Tables 1.2 through 1.4 clarify which benefits the technical features of Exchange 2000 provide. A comparison of Exchange 2000 Server to your existing messaging system, on the other hand, indicates the functionality that Exchange 2000 can provide in addition to those features that already exist. This is the net available functionality that actually can help achieve improvements. On the other hand, if your product comparison does not indicate areas where Exchange 2000 Server has more to offer than your existing platform, you probably won’t have a deployment project to handle.

With the results from the functional gap analysis (the rating of Exchange 2000 Server’s superiority from –5 through 5 for each technical benefit), it is easy to determine which improvements are indeed achievable. You only need to replace each occurrence of Possible in the matrixes from Tables 1.2 through 1.4 with the corresponding score values, and then count the numbers in each row together. Every category with a result higher than zero shows a realistic potential for improvements. GAPANDBENEFITS.XLS automates the task of filling in the superiority values for you. Table 1.7 shows an analysis of messaging features for Consolidated Messenger (see CONSOLIDATED_MESSENGER.XLS on the Supplemental Course Materials CD).

Table 1.7 Mapping the Results of a Gap Analysis to Messaging-Related Business Benefits

Management	Increases Competitiveness	Increases Productivity	Lowers TCO
Enhanced Client Functionality	1	1	Unlikely
Enterprise-Wide Directory	Unlikely	5	5
Flexible System Administration	Unlikely	5	5
High-End Information Store Architecture	Unlikely	5	5
Seamless Internet Connectivity	5	5	5
Interoperability with Foreign Messaging Systems	Unlikely	3	Unlikely
Advanced Messaging Security	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely

IT	Provides Reliable Communication Services	Reduces System Administration Overhead
Enhanced Client Functionality	Unlikely	1
Enterprise-Wide Directory	5	5
Flexible System Administration	5	5
High-End Information Store Architecture	5	5
Seamless Internet Connectivity	Unlikely	5
Interoperability with Foreign Messaging Systems	3	3
Advanced Messaging Security	Unlikely	5

End User	User-Friendly Work Environment	Secure Messaging Environment
Enhanced Client Functionality	1	Unlikely
Enterprise-Wide Directory	5	5
Flexible System	Unlikely	Unlikely
High-End Information Store Architecture	Unlikely	Unlikely
Seamless Internet Connectivity	5	Unlikely
Interoperability with Foreign Messaging Systems	Unlikely	Unlikely
Advanced Messaging Security	Unlikely	5

Finalizing the Evaluation of Business Advantages

The tables in this lesson highlight the benefits of Exchange 2000 Server from a technical point of view. Without a doubt, this platform is a superior messaging and groupware system, yet this does not imply that the benefits outweigh the costs of migration in every case. First, complete the functional gap analysis, and if you find that Exchange 2000 Server is an interesting solution for your enterprise, consider the costs, such as for additional hardware, manpower, administrator and end-user training, as well as the risks for system downtime during the migration, licensing costs, and increased demand for end-user support during the deployment of new messaging clients (such as Outlook 2000).

The challenge is to evaluate the degree to which your organization can realize improvements with Exchange 2000 Server. This entails a short statistical calculation (done automatically in GAPANDBENEFITS.XLS). The resulting percentages do not correlate to any return on investment factors, but you can consider them success indicators. The formula is simple: Potential of Exchange 2000 Server for improvements [in percentages] = Sum of score values * 100 / Sum of maximum possible score values. The higher the calculated potential, the more likely it is that your organization will profit from Exchange 2000 Server.

As an example, let’s calculate the potential for increased competitiveness that Consolidated Messenger may gain with Exchange 2000 Server according to Table 1.7: With a sum of score values = 6 and a sum of maximum possible score values = 10, the resulting potential for improvements is 6 * 100 / 10 = 60%. However, this does not mean that deployment of Exchange 2000 Server will result in an immediate 60% increase in competitiveness. It means only that 60% of the functionality geared toward increased competitiveness can be utilized to achieve improvements. In other words, Consolidated Messenger has vast opportunities at hand, but an increase in competitiveness depends on the actual utilization of the product features.

According to the information from Table 1.7, the potential for improvements for Consolidated Messenger is calculated quickly. As it turns out, Erickson has good reasons to be optimistic in looking forward to beginning the migration preparations (Table 1.8).

Table 1.8 Finalizing Evaluation Results for Consolidated Messenger

Business Benefit	Maximum Possible Score	Effective Score	Potential for Improvements
Increased competitiveness	10	6	60%
Increased productivity	30	24	80%
Lower TCO	20	20	100%
Reduced system administration overhead	20	18	90%
Provide reliable communication services	35	29	83%
User-friendly work environment	15	11	73%
Secured messaging environment	10	10	100%

Note

GAPANDBENEFITS.XLS is a Microsoft Excel workspace with several spreadsheets to calculate the full potential of Exchange 2000 Server in comparison to any other messaging system, yet without taking migration costs into consideration. You only need to complete the functional gap analysis on the first worksheet. The remaining tasks, such as the mapping of technological to business benefits and calculation of improvement potential, are accomplished automatically. You can find GAPANDBENEFITS.XLS in the \Chapter01\Worksheets directory on the Supplemental Course Materials CD.

Activity: Evaluating the Business Benefits of Exchange 2000 Server

In this activity, you are introduced to a fictitious company called Wide World Importers, Inc., that is currently operating an Exchange Server 5.5 organization in a worldwide communications network. Your task is to identify options for Wide World Importers to increase their productivity, reduce system administration overhead, and achieve other important business objectives by deploying Exchange 2000 Server.

Tip

For this activity, you can find the completed workspace in the \Chapter01\Examples directory on the Supplemental Course Materials CD. The filename is WIDE_WORLD_IMPORTERS.XLS. If you are not familiar with Exchange Server 5.5, you may use GAPANDBENEFITS.XLS from the \Worksheets directory to perform an assessment for your own environment, or change the data in WIDE_WORLD_IMPORTERS.XLS to calculate the potential of Exchange 2000 Server for improvements according to different assumptions.

Scenario: Wide World Importers

Established more than 60 years ago, Wide World Importers is one of the world’s leading steel importers. The company owns a fleet of cargo vessels and airplanes and imports goods from all continents. With their headquarters in New York, 400 offices and agencies in 60 countries, and numerous partnerships, smooth information flow is vital to the company’s business and their 45,000 employees.

"Communication is essential to us," says Barbara Hoffman, Senior Manager of the Information Systems Department. "Because of the volume of information we have to handle, we focus on Microsoft platforms for our long-range strategy for e-mail. Microsoft’s Exchange Server product was selected and formally approved by our planning group in spring of 1997. We currently synchronize our messaging system with Active Directory and find that Active Directory greatly simplifies network administration. Our system administration task force, supervised by Peter Waxman, Head of Communications Technology, is well prepared for Exchange 2000 Server."

It is your task to prepare Wide World Importers to implement Exchange 2000 Server.

Which messaging-related benefits can Wide World Importers better achieve with Exchange 2000 Server compared with Exchange Server 5.5?
Summarizing the situation for Wide World Importers, what is the total potential for improvements with Exchange 2000 Server in this environment?
Is it reasonable for Wide World Importers to engage in project planning? Why?

Lesson Summary

Without taking real-world constraints into consideration, it is hard to imagine any environment where Exchange 2000 Server would not provide technical advantages. Exchange 2000 Server is a very good choice to build or enhance a messaging infrastructure. You can use this platform to establish a user-friendly and secure work environment that provides reliable communications services to its users while reducing the overhead for system administration, lowering TCO, and increasing the productivity of your organization. To determine a realistic level of possible improvement, compare Exchange 2000 to any of your existing messaging systems.