How to use Exchange Server 2007 to improve mobility
The latest version of Microsoft Exchange Server offers new features to improve productivity for both employees and the technical support team.
The natural symbiosis of e-mail, calendars, to-do lists, and other collaborative activities linked Microsoft Office Outlook with Microsoft Exchange Server a long time ago. Employees' activities also evolved to include work outside the office, where they needed access to their communication tools. This led to an equally natural link between Exchange Server and mobility. Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 offers a variety of capabilities, grouped together as "Anywhere Access," for mobile workers.
Technical support staff at midsize companies can use these capabilities to help employee productivity and to save themselves time. Here's a look at four key tools for mobile management and worker productivity in Exchange Server 2007.
Document access over the Web
For workers who need to access their e-mail through a Web client (which is more lightweight and easier to access than an Office Outlook client), Microsoft Office Outlook Web Access offers some useful tools. In Exchange 2007, Outlook Web Access now includes a feature called WebReady Document Viewing. This converts documents automatically into HTML, so that you can easily view files, without downloading the files (which introduces security and bandwidth concerns).
Encrypted synchronization
ActiveSync is a way to synchronize Office Outlook between handheld devices and desktops. Exchange ActiveSync provides a protocol to synchronize e-mail messages, schedules, contacts, tasks lists, and other Exchange Server mailbox data over a wireless connection. It establishes an encrypted HTTPS connection between the device and the server, and uses data compression to speed data exchange.
For technical support staff, the Exchange ActiveSync protocol also provides the ability to provision and enforce device security policies. Through Exchange Server 2007, IT can control which devices can synchronize with Exchange Server and can monitor those that do to ensure that employees synchronize on a regular basis. At the same time, IT can set security policies on the Exchange Server that propagate to the mobile device each time synchronization begins. System administrators can also define multiple sets of security policies and apply them to individual employees or different groups based on their entries in Active Directory.
Effective password protection
Exchange ActiveSync gives IT workers numerous options for password protection. You can set up mobile devices with multiple parameters:
| • | Minimum password length. The default is four characters, but you can require as many as 18. |
| • | Alphanumeric requirements. So-called strong passwords include letters, numbers, and other keyboard characters; you can require that passwords contain at least one of these elements. |
| • | Inactivity time. To avoid unauthorized use, you can lock the device after a certain amount of inactivity and require a password to unlock it. |
Remote wipe
As part of Exchange ActiveSync, both administrators and employees have control over the process of remotely erasing lost, stolen, or otherwise compromised mobile devices. For IT workers, the Exchange Server Management Console integrates mobile device management; mobile workers can access self-service remote-wipe capabilities through Office Outlook Web Access. This way, if the device is lost or stolen, employees can wipe data from the device themselves, rather than calling the corporate help desk.
 | Silicon Valley-based freelancer Howard Baldwin writes regularly for the Microsoft Midsize Business Center. His work has also appeared on AllBusiness.com and in CIO. |
