Summary

In a Microsoft-centric environment, administrators of networks often focus solely on Windows-based connections to Exchange and spend little time on options for non “Windows-based users. There are many options for non-Windows users, including a whole suite of clients for the Macintosh ”such as Entourage, Outlook Express, Outlook for the Mac, and the Remote Desktop Connection. Additionally, Outlook Express is available on other non-Windows platforms, and Exchange can be accessed using industry-standard POP3 and IMAP protocols.

By choosing any of a variety of client applications to access Exchange, an organization can leverage the capabilities of Exchange beyond Windows users and provide messaging communications throughout an enterprise. Depending on the client application selected, some options provide just email communications and others provide the full suite of Outlook and Exchange business productivity functions, such as calendaring, contacts, notes, to-do lists, journals, public folders, and more.

An organization should not be limited in its ability to extend Exchange 2003 to all users within an enterprise, and with the leveraging of new client access capabilities, an organization can greatly improve its reach to all users in an organization.