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Overview
The Dimensions of ROI.
Key Exchange 2003 Features.
What’s the Real Deal?
The Dimensions of ROIROI is multi-dimensional
There’s the investment itself…• Initial investment (licenses, hardware, training…)• Ongoing investment (including maintenance, support)• Platform/infrastructure investment• What comes in the box? (Training, add-ons, support…)
And then there’s the return• % / size of return (we’d like this to be > 100%)• Speed of return
Time to deploy Time to realize productivity increases Time to integrate as platform
• Additional functionality• Process improvement / leverage
Maximizing ROI
Maximization is a complex problem• What should you optimize for?
• Do you have to spend money to make money?
• Can you trust {vendors, ISVs, analysts, the press} for good advice?
We’re not exploring those questions here!
0/0 Cross-Tab Label
30% 30%
20% 20%
A B C D
Who’s Using What?
A. We’re currently using Exchange 5.5
B. We’re currently using Exchange 2000
C. We’re currently using Exchange 2003
D. We’re using another messaging system
Key Exchange 2003 Benefits
Improved tools for Exchange 5.5 upgrades• More improvements coming in Service Pack 1
• Lowers cost, risk of upgrades
Better support for HA / DR• Eight-node clustering (including majority node set)
• Geoclustering support
• Support for FC and iSCSI SANs, some NAS devices
• Point-in-time copies with Volume Shadowcopy Service (VSS)
• Recovery Storage Group allows quick restore to dissimilar machines
Key Exchange 2003 BenefitsBetter performance• Faster cluster failovers• RPC packing / shaping (with Outlook 2003)• Core transport performance improvements
Better mobility support• Seamless sync / wireless access for Pocket PC devices• Outlook Mobile Access (OMA) for WAP/xHTML devices• Very rich Outlook Web Access client• RPC over HTTP for easier Outlook access
Better security• Greatly improved spam filtering• Support for cross-forest Kerberos• Support for IPsec in clusters• Improved hooks for AV scanners
Includes CALs for Outlook 2003• And Entourage 2004!
Key Exchange 2003 Benefits Better manageability
• Highly scriptable• Better queue viewing and management (plus a queuing API)• More control over replication and public folder behavior• Support for using Exchange from managed .NET code
“Better together”• Site consolidation powered by Outlook 2003/Exchange 2003• Rich overlap between SharePoint, Live Communications Server, Exchange
Presence everywhere Embed Exchange data in portal pages via Exchange web parts Expose RSS, XML data from Exchange store to SharePoint
Rich ecosystem / community• Wide range of partners and ISVs• More choices for antivirus, anti spam, security, backup/restore, content
management, compliance, archiving…
Do These Features Matter?
All vendors love laundry lists
Key features are ones that improve ROI• By making it happen faster
• By providing a better total return
Separate technical coolness from actual quantifiable benefit
What Microsoft Says About Exchange 2003
Highest uptake rate of any Exchange version• 330K seats deployed by official launch
• X seats currently deployed
What’s so great about Exchange 2003?• Lower total hardware cost
• Higher productivity for employees
• Higher productivity for mobile users
• Reduced administrative costs
• Reduced downtime
Let’s see whether these claims hold water
Lower Total Hardware Cost
VERDICT: Yes, for most customers
WHY?• Extremely powerful site consolidation can lead to drastic
reduction in server counts
• Individual servers may be larger and cost more to acquire
• Requires careful analysis of impact on DR, bandwidth usage, client access
ROI Impact: medium-term
Higher Productivity for Employees
VERDICT: Yes
WHY?• Outlook 2003 cached mode
• Support for RPC over HTTPS
• Multi-tier spam filtering
• OWA provides rich experience when Outlook not available
ROI Impact: immediate• Requires client deployment
• No additional licensing required for Outlook 2003
Higher Productivity for Mobile UsersVERDICT: Maybe
WHY?• OWA, RPC-over-HTTPS on the desktop: two thumbs up• Exchange ActiveSync, Always-Up-To-Date: great but…
They require PocketPC / Windows Mobile devices Other devices require their own separate solutions
• Outlook Mobile Access provides basic functionality Useful for small-form-factor phone devices Not a very rich experience
ROI Impact: depends• “Road warriors” will immediately benefit from OWA and Outlook
2003 (RPC and caching) changes• Orgs with many deployed mobile devices will see more immediate
return for wireless technology• Jury is still out on ROI of combined Exchange 2003 + wireless
deployments
Reduced Administrative CostsVERDICT: Yes
WHY?• Better built-in management tools (new queue viewer, Mailbox
Recovery Center)• Better interfaces to external management tools (MOM, NetIQ,
OpenView, etc)• Better scripting and control interfaces (CDOEXM, WMI, MXO)• Site and server consolidation fewer servers lower costs• Better DR capability (VSS copies, recovery storage groups)
ROI Impact: immediate• For maximum impact, make sure your administrators get training
Reduced DowntimeVERDICT: Yes and no
WHY?• Pro: more robust than the already-stable earlier versions• Pro: Faster recovery through VSS and RSGs• Pro: Better clustering (including asymmetric clustering)• Pro: supports geoclustering, iSCSI, NAS devices• Neutral: largest cause of downtime is still administrator error!• Con: Consolidation bigger servers possibly longer recovery
times
ROI Impact: Medium- to long-term• Best DR story requires deployment of VSS with appropriate HW• Maintenance costs add up over time• For maximum impact, train your admins
What Else is Microsoft Saying?Exchange part of a comprehensive platform• LiveComm Server for IM / presence, with SIMPLE/SIP support• SharePoint Portal Services• .NET Framework as app dev environment• Superior client performance, functionality, usability
Platform delivers better integration• IM-enable your LOB applications• Use Exchange and LCS transports instead of rolling your own• Centralize directory management• Maintain legal compliance where necessary across lots of apps, not
just e-mail
Better platform value proposition• ISVs developing some compelling stories• For religious arguments, see another session
What’s Microsoft Not Saying?
Acquisition cost of server / client licenses• Software Assurance (SA) allows spreading cost over 3 year
period
• Bundled support, maintenance, add-on products
• Difficult to estimate platform licensing cost
• Outlook 2003 CAL included with Exchange CAL
Interplay between Exchange Edge Services and Exchange• Edge to offer robust set of perimeter security/filtering tools
• No word yet on how it will be licensed
What About “Good Enough” Mail?
To improve ROI, you can spend less• Emergence of “just good enough” mail systems
• Promise lower messaging TCO, often on Linux
But you get less, too!• Security, scalability, robustness, continuance
• Ecosystem, support (vendor and ISV), platform functionality
Most efforts targeted at 5.5 customers• Exchange 2000+ customers don’t want to move backwards
• Lots of FUD surrounding Active Directory
What About “Good Enough” Mail?
Don’t believe the hype• Carefully consider whether “good enough” is good enough for you
• Dispassionately evaluate vendor claims for License costs (including OS, maintenance, support) Hardware costs (and server counts) Cost of maintaining your service-level agreements Cost of migration
Microsoft’s claim is that these systems generally don’t end up saving any money• No comprehensive public data exists to back this up
• Anecdotal experience suggests that this is probably true in many cases
• Experience suggests that these trade functionality for cost
The Bottom Line
Exchange 2003 is a valuable upgrade• Terrific opportunity for service, server, site consolidation
• Vastly improved DR story (particularly with VSS)
• Users love Outlook 2003 combination
Specific ROI in your organization depends on• What you’re running now
• What architectural/infrastructure changes you need to make
• How, when you deploy client changes
Questions?
