Microsoft Exchange licensing

Microsoft's mail server was introduced back in 1996 with the release of Exchange Server 4.0, bringing to market a platform that streamlines communication and collaboration across the enterprise. Exchange Server is undoubtedly one of the most popular messaging services.

What can Exchange do?

Exchange Server is a platform that improves business communication. In particular, it makes it easy to receive or send email messages that users can access not only from the desktop interface, but also from their mobile devices.

Other important features include:

Data storage and easy data handling - Important data is in one place, so employees have a local archive of collected contacts.
Document Sharing - The platform provides document storage and security features that enable organisations to archive content, search for data or solve tasks.
Calendar - The shared calendar in Exchange Server allows you to create events, invitations to meetings, add reminders or customize your schedule according to your plans. Comparing calendars with colleagues can save a lot of time to find the right time to hold meetings. With set reminders, nothing will be forgotten and everything important will be done on time.
Delegation of rights - Within Exchange Server, you can delegate a specific person to manage mail and calendar. Other delegable tasks include accepting appointment requests, reading, or creating items in the mailbox. This gives the delegate full control over the manager's schedules.

Licensing Exchange Server Online

It is a cloud service that is available as a standalone service in two plans (Exchange Online Plan 1 and Exchange Online Plan 2) or as part of Office 365 and Microsoft 365.

In a cloud-based solution, Exchange Online is hosted externally on the service provider's servers and users of this service may feel a lack of control over their data. In addition to being stored on Microsoft servers, whose location is usually unknown, the data may be subject to the legal system of the country in question.

Exchange Server Licensing (On-premise)

Within the on-premise solution, the user gains full control over his own data and its protection. At the same time, they decide on the use of software updates and configure the hardware according to the needs of the organisation. In the long run, Exchange Server in an on-premise solution is more cost-effective for larger companies. Once set up, the customer pays no recurring subscription fees.

Exchange Server can be purchased in several versions. Version 2016 and earlier can only be purchased from the open market. The latest version, 2019, can be purchased from the manufacturer's distribution or at a more affordable price from the open market. Each instance of Exchange Server installed on a physical or virtual server requires a separate license.

For on-premise licensing, there are two editions to choose from, Standard and Enterprise. The biggest difference is the number of mailbox databases you can host. The Standard edition is more suitable for smaller or medium-sized organizations, as it is limited to only five connected standalone databases per server. The goal of spreading mailboxes across databases is to improve performance, minimize failures, and make management easy.

The Exchange Server edition determines how many databases you can install

Access licenses for Exchange Server

You must also purchase access licenses for the Exchange Server, which are required for each user (User) or device (Device) that accesses the Exchange Server. If an organization has multiple employees accessing the server from a shared device, an Exchange Server Device CAL is probably a good choice. User CALs are licenses that allow access to a specific person from different devices.

Microsoft offers two types of access licenses: Standard and Enterprise. There are four types of CALs to choose from: Exchange Standard User CAL, Exchange Standard Device CAL, Exchange Enterprise User CAL, Exchange Enterprise Device CAL.

Did you know?

Both Standard and Enterprise editions of access licenses can be used with both Standard and Enterprise editions of Server.

Unlike other Microsoft software, the Access License Edition (CAL) name does not have to be paired with the same Server License Edition name. The difference between CALs is in functionality. The Standard access license provides basic functionality, while the Enterprise license provides features for unified messaging or advanced archiving as well. Example: if an Exchange Server Enterprise is purchased that contains advanced features but only Standard CALs are used to access it, the user will not be able to access the advanced features of the server.

The type of CAL license determines what features the Exchange Server user gets access to.

Exchange Server licensing peculiarities

If the Exchange Server instance is hosted on a Windows Server computer, all users need not only Exchange Server CALs but also Windows Server CALs. For this need, it is most advantageous to purchase so-called Core CALs.

Ask Core CAL from the open market

If you use Exchange Server in a virtual machine and plan to migrate it within a server farm more often than once every 90 days, you need to purchase Exchange Server with Software Assurance.

Ask the Exchange Server