Businesses now rely on Microsoft Exchange, Google Mail, and others to manage their email infrastructure.
Microsoft Exchange Online market share is 36.88% with more than 3318781 companies using this software with 10,067,505 live websites using Microsoft Exchange Online
Microsoft Exchange uses different protocols for communication, such as Exchange Web Services (EWS), Outlook Web App (OWA), MAPI over HTTP, and ActiveSync (EAS). Briefly explained, EWS is a SOAP over HTTP used across different applications.
Microsoft Exchange services/components:
| Service (Components) | Description |
|---|---|
| AutoDiscover | Enables connection to an Exchange server using only a username and password. |
| Outlook Web App | Web-based email client for accessing Exchange mailboxes. |
| Global Address List (GAL) | A catalog of the email addresses of users stored in Active Directory. |
| Outlook Rules | A set of automated triggers that execute based on specified criteria. |
Most organizations will have a public-facing service to log into Exchange, such as Outlook Web App, which is usually found at mail.company.org or company.org/owa . This allows for interacting with Exchange without having the application installed locally.