Exchange 2007 provides a significant improvement in the mobile messaging capabilities that were found in Exchange 2003. I'll be the first to admit that I've gotten a little too used to carrying my e-mail on my hip! While Exchange 2007's features may not quite match those of Good Messaging Server, they are definitely adequate for most organizations. Exchange 2007 has a number of features that make it appealing to enterprise customers, including the following:
- Administrator- or user-initiated remote device wipe: In Exchange 2007, as in Exchange 2003 SP2, an administrator can remotely initiate a device wipe or password reset. This is extraordinarily useful in the event that a device is stolen as sensitive information can be kept out of the wrong hands. In Exchange 2007, however, a user can initiate a device wipe from within Outlook Web Access. This is handy if a device is lost in the wee hours, when IT staff may not be available to initiate a wipe.
- Enhanced security policies: In Exchange 2007, mobile security policies can be organized per-group and per-user. The security policies include requiring data encryption, deletion of data after a PIN is entered incorrectly too many times, limiting the size of attachments, and more.
- Over-the-air search: A server-based mailbox can be searched from the local device and the results sent to the device. This means that a user can search a full inbox that includes months-old items, and get complete search results.
- Unified messaging integration: A mobile device can also be synchronized with a user's unified messaging items so that voice mails and faxes can be received on the road.
- There are a number of other improvements as well that are not discussed here, but these are the most significant and worthy of attention.
