I'm asked regularly by customers,  "What do we receive with Exchange Online?"  There is some confusion around what the offering is and what it is that you pay for.  Simply put, it is a great service for 5GB per person AGGREGATED up to 25GB per mailbox per user!  In March, it is road mapped to go up to a whopping 25GB per user.  I've attached the Microsoft Data on Exchange online below.

Exchange Online:

Messaging is now a mission-critical application for business―but delivering a feature-rich messaging service is challenging. Regulatory requirements are becoming increasingly complex. Merger and divestiture activities require rapid adjustment of service capacity. Good technical expertise is in high demand. And the “buy versus build” economics are changing.

A compelling solution to this challenge is Microsoft_® Exchange Online, ¹ a Microsoft-hosted enterprise messaging service based on Microsoft Exchange Server 2007. Exchange Online helps deliver the messaging protection your company demands and the anywhere ² access employees want. Exchange Online leverages our knowledge of Microsoft products, best practices developed with customers and partners, and experience operating Microsoft internal corporate messaging to deliver a world-class, mission-critical service. Microsoft handles setup, provisioning, ongoing maintenance and upgrades of your Exchange Server infrastructure, reducing your team’s IT workload and freeing IT resources to focus on core strategic initiatives that move your business forward.

How It Works

Exchange Online leverages geographically dispersed data centers. Each data center houses a reliable redundant infrastructure needed to support the service. Exchange Online helps simplify IT management by removing customers’ need to deploy, configure, monitor and update/upgrade an e-mail solution on premises. For customers with on-premises Active Directory_®, the Directory Synchronization tool helps keep your on- premises and online Active Directories in sync. This enables IT departments to support a mix of users from both the on-premises e-mail server and those using the online service. Microsoft provides migration tools that help move your company mailbox data into the Microsoft Online environment, which means your enterprise can be up and running with Exchange Online quickly.

Microsoft offers a comprehensive messaging solution with a simple per-user monthly fee. Key features include:

• ·          5-gigabyte (GB) mailbox allocated for each user; mailbox size configurable to 25 GB
• ·          Shared calendar, contacts, and tasks
• ·          Microsoft Office Outlook_® 2007 and Outlook 2003 connectivity, including Outlook Anywhere
• ·          Browser-based Outlook Web Access
• ·          Cost-saving "deskless worker" licensing for employees who use a company PC on a limited basis 
• ·          Virus/spam filtering via Microsoft Forefront™ Online Security for Exchange
• ·         
• ·          Multiple support options for BlackBerry users
• ·          Built-in business continuity and disaster recovery capabilities
• ·         
• ·          HTTPS connections to help keep Internet access more secure
• ·          24/7 Web form and phone-based Tier-2 support for IT administrators
• ·          Sign In application for single sign-on capability
• ·          Directory Synchronization tool to synchronize on-premise and Microsoft Online Active Directory directory service
• ·         
• ·          Migration tools to help move your current mailbox data into the online environment
• ·          Available in 20 countries

¹ This document describes the Microsoft Exchange Online Standard offering only.

² Wherever an Internet connection is available.