Getting Started with Exchange 2007 UM

Executive Summary:

Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 makes implementing unified messaging (UM) easy. You can create the UM server role during installation, but you need to have the telephony aspects in place before you configure it. Configuration can be done through Exchange Management Console, where you establish dial plans, gateway connections, auto attendant settings, and enable users for UM.

Interact! To view the screen casts that accompany this article, click here.

Disjointed services are common in network environments: email servers, fax services, voicemail services, and so forth. Unified messaging (UM) is compelling because it eliminates these services as separate systems and combines the methods of access to them. Exchange Server 2007 enables UM by letting your email messages, incoming faxes, and voicemail messages come through the Exchange server and be accessible through one Inbox—with Microsoft Office Outlook 2007 and OWA already available as UM clients. The benefits to users are obvious, but they're even greater for IT professionals because all the messaging components are manageable in a single infrastructure. So, let's take a look at the features Exchange 2007 UM offers and see how to implement them in your environment. I've also created screencasts showing the procedures described here, which you can access in the Interact! box on the right side of this page. . . .