Do terms like Microsoft hosted exchange email and Microsoft outlook Email confuse you?
The differences between Microsoft hosted exchange email and Microsoft outlook Email are so subtle to notice at first glance. Both are Microsoft’s flagship email services and seem the same. However, the trained eyes see vast differences. No matter, both offer the same functionality of email hosting and calendaring services.
Keep reading to have the feel for the lines that separate both services. This article will clarify the differences between both and help readers choose the one they really need.
Difference Between Email Client & Mail Server
This difference is the prerequisite to developing an understanding of what separates Microsoft Exchange from Microsoft Outlook.
A system that manages and stores your sent and received emails over a network on the Internet is called a mail server. It is your friendly neighborhood delivery man.
He receives emails from local users and reroutes them for delivery. It uses standard email protocols such as IMAP and POP3 to send and receive emails.
On the other hand, an email client is used for sending and receiving emails. Let’s take the example of webmail. It is an email client installed on a server. It can function in almost any web browser.
We can conclude that Microsoft Outlook is an email client by thinking through the example. On the other hand, Microsoft Exchange is Microsoft’s proprietary email server.
What is Microsoft Outlook Email?
Microsoft Outlook is a widely used email client that allows you to send and receive electronic messages using conventional email protocols over a network. However, Microsoft Outlook is much more than just an email management application.
Microsoft Outlook is one of the parts of a complete Microsoft Office suite that consists of different programs. You can easily manage your emails, contacts, address book, tasks, and calendar, all from one place. The primary use of this desktop email client is email management. Developers have designed to work as independent personal information managers.
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What is Microsoft Hosted Exchange Email?
It is a Windows-based email server application as well as a personal information management server. Microsoft has designed this to make emailing super fast and more efficient than ever.
You may think of Microsoft Exchange as a collection of applications that allow digital messaging and collaboration in an enterprise IT environment.
It is a Microsoft-owned product that includes Microsoft Exchange Server and Microsoft Outlook. Simply put, it’s an email server solution developed by Microsoft.
Microsoft Exchange is a mail and calendar server. You may think of Microsoft Exchange as a dedicated network resource management program. It uses transmission control protocols such as SMTP, IMAP, and POP to communicate with email clients. In addition, Microsoft hosted Exchange email is connected with your domain name, while Microsoft Outlook is integrated with your email.
Making it simple, the responsibility of Microsoft Exchange is sending and receiving emails to and from client computers. You can pair it with any email client. However, it is commonly used in conjunction with Microsoft Outlook.
Microsoft Exchange is part of Microsoft Office 365 for Business, the company’s collaboration and productivity suite.
What Are The Differences?
As we stated earlier, there are many differences between Outlook and email. Let’s explain some of them in detail.
The Purpose
They work together, one on the server-side and the other on the client side. Exchange is a software suite offering a backend to a centralized system for your emails, messages, tasks, and calendars.
While Outlook is a desktop email client, it is an application you install on your computer to communicate and sync with Exchange. In addition, you can use it to retrieve emails from the Exchange Server, and for that, the POP (Post Office Protocol) is commonly used.
Features
Get an exchange online subscription to access a number of features that are absent in the free Outlook email client. For example, you can store 50 GB with Plan 1 or 100 GB and unlimited archive storage with Plan 2. On the other hand, Plan 2 users can store their complete email history without fearing insufficient storage.
Outlook lets you create and manage groups, but Exchange online comes with much more comprehensive tools for team organization and collaboration. Admins can not only create and share resources but also contacts and subgroups. In addition, admins have complete authority and control over the team and individual permissions.
Organization & Management
Microsoft Exchange requires maintenance and upgrading because you host it on the server. In fact, it can be a hassle, a really time-consuming and frustrating task. The good thing is that emails are less vulnerable to security threats, making emails confidential. But Microsoft Outlook is an email management program. It syncs all your emails directly into your calendar or your contacts.
It also has an inbuilt search function that allows you to sift through thousands of emails, contacts, and dates using specified keywords.
Access
Since Outlook is a web-based email client, you can access Microsoft Outlook from the web browser via Outlook on the web. The older outlook web app provides the same interface as Office suite’s Microsoft Outlook.
There is not much difference between the interfaces of the former outlook web app and Office suite’s Microsoft Outlook. So you can use the web app without installing a complete software suite of applications. There you can access your emails, contacts, calendars, and tasks from Microsoft’s cloud-based Exchange Online and the Microsoft Exchange Server.
Microsoft Exchange Server is nothing but a server application that must be used along with the Windows Server operating system.
The Final Verdict
By now, we hope you have grasped the core functionalities of both programs. When you know this, you can decide which one you need in the light of your business requirements.
If you think Microsoft Exchange is your go, The Email Shop provides cutting-edge hosted exchange servers for your business. Reach out today to get versatile services with the same standard and quality and the most affordable prices.
