Microsoft is betting that Exchange Server 2010 will be the catalyst that compels upgrades for organizations still running Exchange Server 2003. New features for Exchange 2010 are practical for existing Exchange 2003 environments, but companies need to be aware of the massive changes that Exchange 2010 brings to the existing infrastructure, specifically:
- Server roles.
- New features.
- Availability options.
- Challenges to adoption.
Given the substantial infrastructure changes and similarities between Exchange 2003 and newer versions, Exchange 2003 shops should upgrade directly to Exchange 2010. IT shops running Exchange 2007 will not likely find much benefit in upgrading to Exchange 2010 and the switching costs likely favor waiting for Exchange 2013.