Exchange Server 2003 OWA Overview

Today's mobile information workers might not always have access to the traditional Microsoft Outlook client. Therefore, providing a smart browser-based client has been a primary goal for Microsoft. With the release of Exchange Server 2003 comes an updated version of Outlook Web Access (OWA). The most recent version of the OWA browser client is based on the same architecture as earlier versions but provides significantly enhanced functionality and addresses the major concerns customers have voiced with respect to the earlier OWA implementations. Security is typically the major concern when you consider granting users Web access to your company's Exchange systems. When you let users access Exchange in this way, you have little control over the devices they use or their security practices, so providing a secure client was one design goal for OWA developers. Performance, richness of features, and compatibility with Outlook 2003 were also prime concerns. Exchange 2003 OWA's compatibility with Outlook 2003 means that a user's physical environment will have a minimal effect on how he or she uses email. Let's examine some basic changes to the OWA UI and some of OWA's new security and spam-fighting functionality. . . .