Microsoft published a couple of documents that describe its offering of the Exchange Online services:
- Microsoft Exchange Online Standard – Microsoft® Exchange Online is a hosted enterprise messaging solution based on Microsoft Exchange Server 2007. Exchange Online helps give your business the e-mail security it demands, your employees the e-mail access want, and your IT staff the operational efficiency it needs. The service uses the knowledge of Microsoft products, best practices developed with customers and partners, and our global infrastructure to deliver a world-class, mission-critical service.
Exchange Online services include advanced e-mail features as well as calendaring, contact, and task management capabilities. Exchange Online also provides built-in spam control and virus scanning to reduce common security risks that are associated with e-mail files.
This white paper is intended for company decision-makers and describes the services and features that are included with the Standard offering of Exchange Online. - Microsoft Online Dedicated Service Descriptions – Microsoft® Online Services offers dedicated hosting services for Microsoft productivity applications that are widely used by enterprise customers today. This set of documents provides service descriptions for the Microsoft® Exchange Online Dedicated messaging service, the Microsoft® SharePoint® Online Dedicated collaboration service, the Microsoft® Office Communications Online Dedicated instant messaging and communications service, and the Microsoft Office Live Meeting Web conferencing service. Other documents in the set describe Microsoft Online components related to these services.
Microsoft Online Services: What’s New in Version 9.1—This document describes the new features and capabilities available in the current version 9.1 release of Microsoft Online services and products.
Microsoft Exchange Online Dedicated Service Description—Microsoft® Exchange Online Dedicated is a hosted enterprise messaging solution based on Microsoft Exchange Server 2007. The Exchange Online service provides a secure, reliable messaging environment that includes e-mail, shared calendar and Microsoft® Office Outlook® Web Access.
Microsoft SharePoint Online Dedicated Service Description—Microsoft® SharePoint® Online Dedicated offers flexible, Web-based tools and services to help users manage information and collaborate effectively with others. SharePoint Online is built on the rich capabilities of Microsoft® Office SharePoint® Server 2007.
Microsoft Office Communications Online Dedicated Service Description—Microsoft® Office Communications Online is a hosted, enterprise-class communications solution based on Microsoft® Office Communications Server 2007. Office Communications Online provides organizations with real-time communications services, including instant messaging and audio and video conferencing. It also powers “presence” functionality.
Microsoft Office Live Meeting Service Description—Microsoft® Office Live Meeting is an enterprise-class Web conferencing service that enables companies to engage customers through real-time meetings, training sessions and events presented over the Internet. Live Meeting operates on shared infrastructure, separate from Microsoft Online dedicated services. However, Microsoft Online provides consulting services to help companies efficiently adopt and begin using the Live Meeting service.
Microsoft SharePoint Online Custom Solutions Support—Microsoft Online supports custom and third-party solution deployment on the Microsoft® SharePoint® Online Dedicated platform. Organizations can develop and deploy SharePoint line-of-business applications to extend the functionality of SharePoint Online.
Microsoft Online Support Service Description—The Microsoft Online Support Services team helps customers set up Help Desk operations for its Microsoft Online services users. In addition, the support team provides a managed process for escalating user issues to Microsoft support teams.
Microsoft Online Service Continuity Management—Service continuity management focuses on the ability to restore subscribed services for Microsoft Online Services customers during a significant service outage. This document describes the common approach to service continuity management taken by Microsoft Online across all dedicated services.
Microsoft Online Service Level Management—Microsoft has established service level management processes that monitor service delivery metrics and proactively engage customers to resolve operational and performance issues with Microsoft Online services. In developing its approach to service level management, Microsoft Online has closely followed the Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) concepts and techniques.
Microsoft Online Shared Services Description—The dedicated products from Microsoft Online run on an underlying common infrastructure and shared set of hosted services that provide high reliability, exceptional performance and enhanced security. This document describes the network architecture, directory model, Active Directory® authentication services, security management services and other system features and processes.