Understanding Microsoft Exchange Server 2010

Exchange Server 2010 is the evolution of a product that has been continuously improved well over a decade of development. It provides for robust messaging capabilities, in addition to a dizzying array of new functionality. The one area of development that has always been missing in Exchange, however, has been the collaboration and document management capabilities. Attempts to build this functionality in Exchange public folders were short-lived, and Microsoft shifted development of this aspect of Exchange to the SharePoint Products and Technologies line, the subject of this book.

Taking the history of development with Exchange into account, SharePoint 2010 is the collaboration piece of Exchange that has always been missing in the platform. Because of this codependence between the platforms, many Exchange environments are considering deploying SharePoint 2010, and vice versa. Subsequently, an in-depth knowledge of Exchange 2010 is highly useful for SharePoint administrators. This section of this chapter focuses on a high-level overview of what Exchange 2010 is and how it fits in within a SharePoint 2010 environment.