The Exchange user database, for example, links to the Windows NT user directory. This allows a user to have a single account name and password for both Windows NT and Exchange Server. Exchange Server also interfaces with the Windows NT Performance Monitor and Event Log. Exchange's wizard-guided installation takes about 30 minutes. The Exchange Administrator features a complete and comprehensible set of tools to help the system administrator fine-tune every configuration and performance aspect.
Exchange provides a complete suite of Internet connectivity standards to support any e-mail client.
An HTTP interface gives users access to their Exchange mail and calendars from a Web browser. But Exchange lacks a Web-based administration interface. Bundled Outlook 98 provides e-mail and a calendar, contact manager, task list, and notepad. All these functions result in a more complicated user interface than the other products in our roundup have, but the customizable Outlook View lets you select only the items you want to see when you first start the program. Outlook 98's rules wizard makes it easy to categorize incoming mail based on plain-English rules.