FULL MS Exchange support coming to iPhone!?

[macguitarman]

OK, a few things

1) on the Treo, VersaMail, there is a setting I believe in the VersaMail app and it says Exchange Server and you input your companies OWA (Outlook Web Access Server's name / public ip address). Is this Active Sync, I am not sure, I don't think so.

Treo's running Windows Mobile, use Active Sync and it works just fine, input your companies OWA (Outlook Web Access Server's name, public ip address).

2) I think the Mossberg reference to the iPhone working with Exchange, by having IT flip a setting, is the turning on of IMAP thing we have been hearing.

This is most cases will not be sufficient or happen, many IT depts. will not do it, you will have to use OWA WebMail in Safari, not a great solution at all

I don't think Mossberg's reference to Exchange functionality is referring to this Active Sync licensing news we are hearing about.

Also, the way I have seen Active Sync used is in conjunction with the OWA server, a public server, so these users don't ever have to hit the actual Exchange server, internally, a security measure, etc.

 

[tuter00]

Perfect Sense

This makes perfect sense. Look at all the videos they have released about setting it up and using it. It did not say anything about the email support. So obviously there is a step that they missed when telling the customer how to set up the email on the iphone.

-BRANDT

 

[pengu]

Don't flame me

But Exchange is like the one good product that M$ makes. I'm eagerly waiting to toss my blackjack for the iphone, but I was going to miss the benefits of Exchange.

Darwen, Exchange in this implementation would sync your email, calendar, and contacts over the air. So I can be at my work computer, open Outlook and make an appointment for "iPhone @ 6pm" on my calendar and it would automagically appear on my Exchange enabled iPhone inside ical (i hope). That and all my email would sync too...a lot like IMAP.

you're ******** me right? Exchange is NOT a good product.

and. how in hell did this get to three pages before someone realised ZDNet is full of crap and Mossberg was talking about IMAP?

 

[Squuiid]

you're ******** me right? Exchange is NOT a good product.

and. how in hell did this get to three pages before someone realised ZDNet is full of crap and Mossberg was talking about IMAP?

I agree. But can you point to where Mossberg was specifically referring to IMAP?

I thought it was still ambiguous at this stage. Do we know for sure it is not PUSH?

Let's clear this up.

 

[travishill]

I thought it was still ambiguous at this stage. Do we know for sure it is not PUSH?

Let's clear this up.

It can be configured to do push email via Exchange, since the iPhone mail client has IMAP w/ IDLE support.

However, it does not currently support instant two way syncing of calendar/contacts. That is the big potential news / separate rumor here. The Mossberg comment is referring to Exchange's built in support for IMAP.

 

[Squuiid]

It can be configured to do push email via Exchange, since the iPhone mail client has IMAP w/ IDLE support.

However, it does not currently support instant two way syncing of calendar/contacts. That is the big potential news / separate rumor here. The Mossberg comment is referring to Exchange's built in support for IMAP.

Thanks buddy. I think we knew that. I would read the thread.
As I said, ambiguous as to whether it is IMAP or Full PUSH

 

[travishill]

As I said, ambiguous as to whether it is IMAP or Full PUSH

...and I'm saying it is not ambiguous. All Mossberg is referring to is IMAP support in the iPhone. That gives you push email support (since Exchange supports IMAP w/ IDLE) but it does not give you instant calendar/contacts syncing.

 

[mikesilv]

Mossberg Doesn't Confirm What You Say He Does

Enabling IMAP is a setting on Exchange. This doesn't mean ActiveSync is on the way. Maybe it is, but you're taking a giant leap of cluelessness by using the Mossberg quote to claim that it is.

 

[loudog40]

...and I'm saying it is not ambiguous. All Mossberg is referring to is IMAP support in the iPhone. That gives you push email support (since Exchange supports IMAP w/ IDLE) but it does not give you instant calendar/contacts syncing.

Exchange does support IMAP IDLE, but that doesn't mean your IT department will enable such access. Such a request will likely get shot down due to security concerns or simple stubbornness for which most IT "professionals" are famous.

As mentioned above, true ActiveSync would also enable calendar syncing which would be INCREDIBLY COOL.

 

[kcmac]

Our IT department will not be enabling IMAP access.

 

[travishill]

Our IT department will not be enabling IMAP access.

We need an education campaign here... IMAP over SSL is not somehow insecure, or less secure than Exchange's closed / proprietary protocol...!

I am lucky enough that my IT groups will work with me- I'm a part of some small businesses so that does make things a bit easier.

 

[clevin]

hopefully this save some reputation for M$ among Mac users.

 

[Project]

The IMAP via IDLE (as announced at Macworld and alluded to by Mossberg) is a separate issue to what Mary Jo is speculating in her column.

 

[Greg McBride]

Best Exchange Server Solution?

Hi. This is a bit off topic, but I am wondering if someone can make a recommendation for an Exchange Server solution for my advertising agency. I have ten employees, all on a Mac network. I have never considered setting up Exchange but, if the iPhone supports it, I will definitely look into it. Do I get a box and license it myself, or is there a good company out there that I can get a plan through?

Also, I have heard that Leopard may have some sort of Exchange Server-style solution with calendar syncing, etc. Does anybody know anything about this? If so, it would probably make sense to hold off and just set it up on our Leopard server.

I must admit that I am don't know anything about Exchange server and how it works. Is it true that I can send and receive on my iPhone and it would sync everything with my desktop computer? I rely on my sent items extensively as a digital track record of client communications and I really don't want to have to remember what was sent from my computer and what was sent from my phone.

Thanks in advance for any advice that you all may have. Even if you could direct me to some good articles to educate me, that would be great.

-Greg

 

[mickeymikey]

As current Mac, Entourage/Exchange, and Cingular 8525 user, this is great news, but I just can't bring myself to fully trust this source. This is the same idiot that gave the most error rampant review of Leopard I have read, stating junk like "Leopord's 'new' feature, Dashboard with Widgets, copies Vista" while all of us know that these have been around since Tiger's release. Checking facts does not seem to be part of her check list prior to publishing. I guess for once, I hope the ignorant are correct.

 

[Hmac]

Can someone clear up what this means for us non-bis people. I am curious what this allows others to do.

Corporate email. In most businesses, that email is handled by an email server using Microsoft Exhange. It means that at work, I can access my work email and calendar from any computer on the network. My Motorola Q will periodically or manually dial up the network, log on and sync its email and calendar with that same email server so I get my updated email and calendar every time I sync. IOW the ability to use Microsoft Exchange and ActiveSync allows me to send and receive my corporate email and calendar from anywhere I have a cell phone connection.

 

[Twinkie]

We need an education campaign here... IMAP over SSL is not somehow insecure, or less secure than Exchange's closed / proprietary protocol...!

Speaking as an IT manager (who runs an Exchange '07 server) and playing Devil's Advocate a bit, it isn't so much the security concerns as it is support.

I don't think turning on IMAP/S is inherently less secure than having OWA answering to the world. However, OWA is a no-brainer (especially in Exchange '07).

On the form you get with your username and password, it tells you how to get to OWA. And that's all people who want to get their mail from the outside world need from my staff.

Want to connect your Windows Mobile device or Palm device (with the ActiveSync add-in) to it? Be my guest. The setup is identical to OWA.

I suspect the resistance to POP/IMAP has much more to do with a flurry of less-than-technical people descending upon the IT department, expecting support for their personal devices -- not to mention the complaints from people who can't grasp that AT&T's signal isn't ubiquitously perfect, or that IMAP idling isn't necessarily as "instant" as push mail.

You want me to turn on IMAP? No problemo. You can support everybody who uses it.

 

[travishill]

You want me to turn on IMAP? No problemo. You can support everybody who uses it.

You just need the IP / name of the server to connect to + username and password. The info form you give out wouldn't change much, just list the IMAP server address separately...

But I grant you that I'd hate to have users coming up to me asking why New Email Client Super Deluxe v3.0 (that absolutely no one else uses or has heard of) doesn't work with those settings. I just think that supporting the iPhone w/ IMAP specifically might be worthwhile- if there is a lot of demand for it in the workplace.

 

[YourHippocampus]

All is not as rosy as it seems at first blush. First, it's Exchange 2003 or 2007. Exchange 2000 users are SOL (and there are still quite a few out there). Second, your IT group has to enable ActiveSync - it's not automatic. Third, you still require specific AS settings from your device to gain access - IT may not want to give those out based on the device connecting (such is the case I have with Palm devices. They won't allow it). Silly, but corporate IT groups can be like that.

I'm not holding out much hope for the iPhone in my own (corporate) case...

I certainly agree with your impressions, but that is a YOU problem, not on Apple problem. Paranoid IT folks may be justified, but they are not always smart.

 

[liberty4all]

Where's 3G iPhone -- more importantly!

'nuff said.

 

[Twinkie]

You just need the IP / name of the server to connect to + username and password. The info form you give out wouldn't change much, just list the IMAP server address separately...

Aaaah... but then what happens when John Doe is upset because the IMAP setup on his Motorola Q isn't nearly as "good" as Mary Smith's ActiveSync functionality on her Blackjack? They both got the same form, but took completely different info from it.

But I grant you that I'd hate to have users coming up to me asking why New Email Client Super Deluxe v3.0 (that absolutely no one else uses or has heard of) doesn't work with those settings.

That's another biggie. When you have people who are just technical enough to understand that Outlook isn't necessarily the end-all-be-all, but not technical enough to understand that forgetting to uncheck that "Delete From Server" box just blew away everything they expected to be in OWA.

I just think that supporting the iPhone w/ IMAP specifically might be worthwhile- if there is a lot of demand for it in the workplace.

Demand doesn't mean a thing.

People can ask all they want, but you need a legitimate business case before you decide you want to start driving policy.

Immediate responses to "TURN ON IMAP SO I CAN USE MY PHONE!!" would be:

1) Why do you need to use corporate e-mail on your personal phone?
2) How does that benefit the company?
3) Why can't you accomplish the same thing on a device we support?
4) If your goal is to sync e-mail to us, and this is now a business need, why didn't you consult us first?
5) How does using an unsupported device benefit the company?
6) Who will support the devices, when we don't have any for testing?
7) How will we ensure that people aren't able to carry around potentially sensitive information after they've left? (Various methods notwithstanding, click-and-brick is built in to BES and Mobile ActiveSync)

 

[diamond.g]

Aaaah... but then what happens when John Doe is upset because the IMAP setup on his Motorola Q isn't nearly as "good" as Mary Smith's ActiveSync functionality on her Blackjack? They both got the same form, but took completely different info from it.

That's another biggie. When you have people who are just technical enough to understand that Outlook isn't necessarily the end-all-be-all, but not technical enough to understand that forgetting to uncheck that "Delete From Server" box just blew away everything they expected to be in OWA.

Demand doesn't mean a thing.

People can ask all they want, but you need a legitimate business case before you decide you want to start driving policy.

Immediate responses to "TURN ON IMAP SO I CAN USE MY PHONE!!" would be:

1) Why do you need to use corporate e-mail on your personal phone?
2) How does that benefit the company?
3) Why can't you accomplish the same thing on a device we support?
4) If your goal is to sync e-mail to us, and this is now a business need, why didn't you consult us first?
5) How does using an unsupported device benefit the company?
6) Who will support the devices, when we don't have any for testing?
7) How will we ensure that people aren't able to carry around potentially sensitive information after they've left? (Various methods notwithstanding, click-and-brick is built in to BES and Mobile ActiveSync)

Number 7 is the huge fly in the ointment. Businesses that have sensitive data (varies depending on the business, I imagine some emails floating around Apple could be deemed sensitive) like to be reassured there is a way to remotely remove access and delete emails. Typically that is done through the unlock device stage, type username/pasword in wrong x amount of times and it nukes the device. Also they can check a flag and the next time the device syncs it get nuked.

 

[rhg247]

you're ******** me right? Exchange is NOT a good product.

and. how in hell did this get to three pages before someone realised ZDNet is full of crap and Mossberg was talking about IMAP?

Well no, I'm forced to use it at work and it's always worked perfectly. Would I rather see some sort of open solution? Sure i would, but exchange has yet to let me down. I use 4 computers at work in 3 different buildings and it's a lifesaver. And when I'm away from my desk I'm still productive on my blackjack. Of course, my university is fully in bed with MS and we use the AD for just about everything.

But I'd leave it all behind for an iPhone...especially if it doesn't have to be rebooted twice a day and its battery lasts longer than a day if I dare to make a phone call

 

[travishill]

7) How will we ensure that people aren't able to carry around potentially sensitive information after they've left? (Various methods notwithstanding, click-and-brick is built in to BES and Mobile ActiveSync)

Agreed with earlier poster- this is probably the biggest hurdle. I think the other things can be tackled- i.e. an IT group can actually test an iPhone soon enough if it is deemed an important enough device to support (by whatever criteria that is established in various businesses)

Perhaps at first the only business folk with iPhones will be using iPhones provided by their company, that are turned in with any other secured item upon termination/leaving the company.

Twinkie: nice to see a *real* IT guy on the boards who acknowledges that the IMAP protocol itself is not a security problem- and has the foresight to see beyond that. My earlier (rather simplistic) point was out of frustration that many people seem to be criticizing IMAP w/ SSL as "insecure" when it certainly is not.

Now having devices cache copies of critical business emails is a separate, but still important, issue that you've raised...

 

[sixth]

This has turned into a great post. I also get to be responsible for my wonderful newly migrated exchange 2007 server in my organization. The biggest question I have is why is Apple not letting business customers purchase the phone if they want this thing to be accepted in the business atmosphere? What am I missing. I called my rep and he said the same thing that was post back about 10 posts, not permitted for sales to business customers. We really wanted to get a unit here and test it out, just in case someone 'high up' decides he or she wants one and drops the ball on us wanting to know if it works...I want to have an answer.