Chapter 2: Exchange Server as a Platform for Collaboration

Overview

A builder is only as good as his tools. This adage holds true for software developers as much as for carpenters. Microsoft Exchange Server is one of the most solid tools you can use. It provides robust messaging functionality, an industrial-strength object database, support for Internet protocols, and an open directory structure. These capabilities, which I'll cover in this chapter, make it an ideal platform for your collaborative applications.

Exchange 2003 also has development features such as ADO/OLEDB and WebDAV support, new event architecture, a new workflow engine and designer, Microsoft FrontPage development tools, enhanced real-time collaboration (including a conferencing server) and a new version of the Collaboration Data Objects (CDO) model. We'll look at all the new features in Exchange 2003 in detail in Part III of this book.