Earlier this year, Microsoft announced Exchange Edge Services, a set of technologies designed for e-mail protection, enhanced security and management of junk email for Exchange customers. Since that time, Microsoft received extensive input from customers requesting that Edge Services be broader than its initial scope to include messaging policy capabilities that organizations need to help meet regulatory compliance requirements. To meet this customer need, Microsoft required additional development time which placed the delivery date of Edge Services close to the release date of the next version of Exchange Server. To ease planning, testing and deployment for customers, the company has decided to ship most Edge Services components, including the new messaging policy functionality, as part of the next version of Exchange Server.  Although there will not be a standalone version of Edge Services, the vision for Edge remains intact and will provide customers with the additional functionality they requested as well as one deployment schedule. 

Microsoft will release some elements of Edge Services with Exchange Server 2003 Service Pack 2 (SP2), scheduled for release in the second half of 2005. Exchange Server 2003 SP2 will include the SenderID framework, an e-mail-authentication technology that helps address the problem of spoofing and phishing by verifying the domain name from which the mail is sent.  In addition, for customers requiring spam protection today, Microsoft offers an effective solution with Intelligent Message Filter (IMF). To help IMF remain effective against the ever-changing attacks from spammers, Microsoft will be providing customers with an update to IMF early next year. Customers can use one of many anti-spam solutions available today from Microsoft’s Exchange partners. In addition, Microsoft's Internet Security and Acceleration (ISA) Server 2004 and Exchange Server 2003 are designed to work closely together in a network environment to provide a secure messaging environment.

- Exchange Team