Microsoft Exchange – Corporate tech for private use

Posted on July 20, 2008 at 5:01 am

Many people are unaware of the incredible benefits to be had by using a proper email service, I come from a corporate environment, so have had access to corporate email systems all of my working life. Because of this I am fully aware of the immense benefits to be had by using something like Microsoft Exchange as a mail host. Especially when you use it with a client such as Microsoft Outlook. Quite frankly I could never consider using POP3 mail, and local mail folders ever again.

I see many posts on many sites, including this one, talking about how to sync this calendar with that email client and so forth. Well let me say right here, I have no such problems. All of my mail items, calendar entries, tasks, contacts, notes and files are stored in my exchange mailbox. No matter which of the PC’s I switch on in my home, everything is exactly the same, all of the data is held on the server.

I can also access this email account from my smartphone, which also has exactly the same content as my desktop mail client. Notice I do not speak about syncing, there is no syncing, everything is updated in real time using push technology. If I have two PC’s switched on, both with outlook open, and I send an email from one of them, within seconds the second PC will have the email in its sent items folder, everything is updated fully in real time.

Every single change I make in my mail client is reflected across the entire account, including mail rules, quite simply awesome. If I happen to be somewhere without my laptop, I can access everything through the Outlook Web Access client via any browser.

When I left corporate life a couple of years back, to pursue a freelance career, I was horrified by the thought of losing my exchange mailbox, a quick Google found several companies offering exchange services pretty cheaply, I signed up with 1and1 and they have been great so far.

They say a picture paints a thousand words, so I am going to give you a screenshot of every feature of outlook which is managed by my exchange account, everything you will see is accessible from any PC anywhere, no need for syncing, I never have the situation where I have left a document I need on another PC.

Main View

Inbox and File Storage

Calendar

Contacts

Tasks

Notes

Mail Rules

Now I ask you a question, can your current email setup come anywhere close to providing this level of functionality? Imagine how easy things would be if you never had to worry about where you could access your mailbox or files from again?

If you are the kind of person who needs a centralised nerve centre, then you should consider trying out a Microsoft Exchange account, for a fully portable and robust service. No sync problems, no need for a web based file storage facility, and complete peace of mind in the knowledge that you will never find yourself in a situation whereby that important email you need, is at home in your local mail folder on you PC.

Technorati Tags: Microsoft Exchange,Microsoft Outlook

» Filed Under MS Office Tips

Comments

2 Responses to “Microsoft Exchange – Corporate tech for private use”

Blake said on : July 20th, 2008 at 1:55 pm

“Now I ask you a question, can your current email setup come anywhere close to providing this level of functionality? Imagine how easy things would be if you never had to worry about where you could access your mailbox or files from again?”

Yes…Gmail + Google Calendar seems like it can do all of that…full featured interface, accessible from any browser, anywhere, everything stored online on Google’s servers. And if you need it in Outlook, there’s IMAP access for email (which keeps everything in sync) and google’s calendar sync for google calendar access in Outlook.