Exchange Online from the Microsoft Office 365 suite is a fully featured version of Microsoft Exchange Server as a service in the Cloud serviced by Microsoft. Exchange Online offers services like any on-premises server, including emails, calendars, contacts, tasks, public folders, etc. Online Exchange is accessible via web apps, Microsoft Outlook, or almost any portable device, including mobile, with the help of a mobile app. Native integration of Azure AD with Exchange means seamless collaboration with the rest of the Office 365 services.
The Exchange admin Center allows Exchange admins to manage Users’ Mailboxes, groups, Shared mailboxes, and room mailboxes. It also allows public folders and the flexibility to customise spam/malware settings.
Why Exchange Online
Due to various disasters, business continuity and data loss have been significant challenges that cost businesses millions worldwide. Some of the advantages of implementing Exchange are:
- No maintenance—Microsoft provides managed service. This means you never have to worry about server hardware, software, or maintaining the servers on-premises.
- Ease of Access: This feature helps the user stay connected from almost any device, including desktops, laptops, mobiles, and tablets, in today’s technology-enabled world.
- Cost Savings: You no longer need expensive server hardware, software licenses, labour, and infrastructure to support servers like VPN appliances, firewalls, UPS, and SSL certificates.
- Always up to date—Microsoft updates the servers automatically as and when new features and services are released. By regularly updating without additional cost, Microsoft enhances exchange features and services, allowing you to have the latest benefits as long as you have an active online subscription.
- Always available – with an SLA of 99.9%, services are available without downtime.
- Data Loss Prevention – DLP allows you to protect the sensitive information you send via email. DLP in Exchange Online monitor identifies and protects the sensitive data of an organisation
- Security and Compliance – Microsoft security and compliance offer several new features against compliance and security, including GDPR, eDiscovery, Auto Labelling, email tracing, Auditing, Arching and Active Email Protection capabilities in Exchange online to protect emails against phishing and spam threats.
- Shared Mailboxes—One of the significant features is shared mailboxes, which allow one or more users to access a generic mailbox without buying a user license. This is mainly used for a generic email account or as a backup of users’ mailboxes who left the job.
- Migration Made Easy – Microsoft made it easy to migrate existing on-premises exchange servers to exchange or any other mailboxes, including pop / SMTP or IMAP. Built-in tools allow you to migrate your emails to Microsoft 365 in simple steps.
- Flexibility and Scalability—Exchange Online offers excellent flexibility and Scalability. You can scale up and down the number of users and type of plan and mix and match the online exchange plans for users with different subscriptions. You can also associate users with additional subscriptions. The following are the Exchange Online with Office 365 subscriptions.
Exchange Online Plans Comparision
| Office 365 Exchange Online Plan 1 | Exchange Online Plan 2 License |
| 50 GB Mailbox storage | Everything in Exchange Online Plan 1 plus |
| 150 MB attachment support | 100 GB Mailbox Storage |
| Integration with Microsoft Outlook. Users can use Microsoft Outlook or Native Apps to connect | plus unlimited in-place archive storage for each licensed user. |
| Outlook Web Access with Focused Inbox | built-in data loss prevention (DLP) policies |
| By default, protection for Anti-Spam and Malware via Exchange Online Protection | |
| Reliable and Secure access from anywhere | |
| Most Business Subscriptions include plan 1, including Business Basic, Business Standard, Business Premium, and E1. | Most Microsoft 365 Enterprise Subscriptions include plan 2, including Microsoft 365 E3, Office 365 E3, Microsoft 365 E5, and Office 365 E5. |
How can we help you?
Server Consultancy has been a Microsoft partner for decades. We have gained extensive knowledge and experience with Microsoft Exchange by migrating hundreds of users across various industries, including construction, properties, maritime, and Retail. Suppose you want to migrate to Exchange Online or learn about Exchange Online vs. Microsoft 365, along with the online exchange kiosk or Exchange Online plan2. Get in touch.
Are you looking to start with Exchange Email services or want to migrate the on-premises servers to Microsoft 365?
What is Exchange Online used for?
Exchange Online, a part of Microsoft’s Office 365 suite, is primarily used for professional email services. It allows users to access their emails, calendars, and contacts from any location, using any device with an internet connection. Beyond basic email capabilities, Exchange Online provides comprehensive mailbox services like scheduling, task management, and advanced threat protection. It’s a powerful tool for businesses, with features designed to enhance collaboration and communication efficiency.
What is the difference between Exchange Online and Office 365?
Microsoft offers an Online Version of Exchange and Office 365 products, but they serve different purposes and offer varying features.
Exchange Online is a standalone product primarily providing cloud-based email services. It offers features like email, calendar, and contacts that can be accessed anywhere on any device with internet connectivity. It also includes capabilities such as task management, scheduling, and advanced threat protection for mailboxes.
Office 365, on the other hand, is a suite of productivity tools and services, including Exchange Online and other services like SharePoint Online, Microsoft Teams, and OneDrive. In addition to email services provided by Exchange Online, Office 365 also provides tools for document creation (Word, Excel, PowerPoint), collaboration (Teams), and file storage and sharing (OneDrive, SharePoint).
In essence, Exchange Online is a component of Office 365. When you subscribe to Office 365, you can access Exchange Online and other productivity and collaboration tools. However, you can also subscribe to Exchange Online independently if your primary requirement is a robust, cloud-based email service.
What is Exchange vs Outlook?
Microsoft Exchange and Microsoft Outlook are communication-focused tools, but they serve different functions and are used in various contexts.
Microsoft Exchange is a mail server, a dedicated system for sending, receiving, and storing emails. It’s designed for businesses and other large organisations, providing a central location for email communication, calendars, contact management, and tasks. Exchange can be hosted on-premises in your organisation’s data centres or in the Cloud with Exchange Online as part of Microsoft’s Office 365 suite.
Microsoft Outlook, on the other hand, is an email client. This means it’s a tool for individuals to access their email. Outlook connects to a mail server like Exchange to send and receive email messages. In addition to email, Outlook also provides features for managing calendars, tasks, and contacts. It can be used as a standalone application on your desktop or mobile device or accessed through a web browser with Outlook on the web (formerly known as Outlook Web App).
In short, Exchange is the system that manages and stores emails, while Outlook is the application that allows you to view, send, and organise those emails. In many organisations, Outlook and Exchange are used together, with Outlook serving as the user interface for the email system managed by Exchange.
