To email and beyond: Microsoft Exchange 2007

NHS staff need to become more mobile and more connected. Microsoft Exchange 2007 can help by enabling them to communicate where, when and how they need to.

Even better, it can help busy IT teams to control those communications, make sure they are secure, and combine with other Microsoft applications to deliver whole new ways of working. 


Communication within the NHS has undergone something of a revolution in the last decade. Today’s NHS professionals are increasingly replacing paper forms with computer-based healthcare applications and letters with email messages.

Moreover, information isn’t just shared inside the walls of GP surgeries or hospitals. Community-based staff need access to practice and patient information when they’re on the move, while professionals from other agencies often need to collaborate with NHS colleagues.

For this type of communication to be effective, the NHS needs to provide reliable, secure and flexible communication tools to its staff. Microsoft Exchange 2007 is one tool that helps people to communicate where, when and how they need to.

It’s good to talk, email, message…

“Exchange 2007 is all about unified communication,” says Nick Umney, technical strategist with Microsoft’s UK healthcare team. “It’s about enabling people to communicate in the best possible way, whether that’s through email, voicemail or instant messaging, for example.” "This kind of application could have powerful benefits for mobile healthcare workers such as community nurses."

Exchange Server 2007 provides NHS organisations with a secure platform to manage electronic communication for users. Essentially, it is like a virtual traffic warden, directing communications as they pass in, out and through an organisation. It can make sure that unauthorised users don’t get in, and help direct users to information they can’t find.

Supporting mobile and flexible working

With Exchange Server 2007, Microsoft has also included some new functionality that could significantly improve productivity for the NHS. “You can now phone the server using a mobile phone,” says Mr Umney. “Once you’ve entered your password, you can listen to your messages, check your calendar appointments - even tell colleagues you will be late to a meeting.”

This kind of application could have powerful benefits for mobile healthcare workers such as community nurses. “With this technology, nurses don’t need to come into the office to get appointments,” Mr Umney says. “If an appointment is cancelled, they can find out about it, as well as picking up any urgent messages.” “If you’re working remotely, you can now access email through a web browser on a laptop just as easily as you can on your PC in the office.”

Healthcare professionals should also be able to work more flexibly, because information on an organisation’s servers can be accessed through any number of devices or interfaces. “If you’re working remotely, you can now access email through a web browser on a laptop just as easily as you can on your PC in the office,” Mr Umney says.

Security matters

As NHS workers begin to access and share information in new ways, and through new devices, security and confidentiality are obvious concerns. Exchange 2007 provides industry-leading content encryption to ensure sensitive data is protected.

In addition, remote access to Exchange servers can be centrally administrated, so that IT staff can set policies on PIN numbers, passwords and other authentication processes, as required.

Community-based staff are also protected in the event that a mobile device that connects to Exchange 2007 is lost or stolen. “Either the user themselves, or the IT department, can simply call up Exchange 2007 and wipe the device,” says Mr Umney. “The server will then connect to the device and remove any messages or content stored on it, so that it can’t be read.”

Fry spam

Another advantage of Exchange 2007 over many communication platforms is that it offers integrated message filtering and control.

“This is an optional service, where Microsoft can filter out messages before they hit the server,” explains Mr Umney. “If you can remove spam at this level, it drastically reduces the workload for local IT staff, which is a bonus if you are a relatively small team or have limited IT resources.”

Beyond email

Exchange 2007 can also integrate closely with other Microsoft applications such as Office Communication Server to provide enterprise-class instant messaging service. This is likely to become increasingly important as NHS trusts begin to suffer from email overload.

“Email is a great communication tool, but many trusts are finding that they simply have too many emails flying back and forth because it isn’t used appropriately,” Mr Umney says. “People treat email as though it’s like having a conversation, but it’s not.” “If a device is lost or stolen, the server can connect to the device and remove any messages or content stored on it, so that it can’t be read.”

With Exchange 2007 and Office Communication Server combined, users can see before sending an email whether the recipient of their message is online – if not, it may be more appropriate to have a voice or instant messaging conversation.

If a user attaches a document to an email to be sent to several recipients, they can also be asked whether they would prefer to store the document in a Microsoft Sharepoint workspace, where everyone can access it.

“Potentially, that’s very powerful, because you’re avoiding having 20 different copies of that file sitting on the system, going back and forth over email,” Mr Umney says.

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