Updated Exchange Deployment Assistant Available!

Last week, we released an updated version of the Exchange Deployment Assistant (EDA).  In case you haven’t heard of this tool, EDA is a Web-based deployment tool that asks you a few questions about your environment and then generates customized instructions for migrating to Exchange 2010.  EDA was designed to make upgrading to Exchange 2010 or deploying a new Exchange 2010 organization as easy as following a checklist. Not only does the tool provide you with step-by-step instructions, but it also helps you verify that each step was completed successfully before moving on to the next step.

The version we released last week includes new cloud-based scenarios, such as cross-premises co-existence (where Exchange 2010 is deployed on-premises and in the cloud), and cloud-only deployments. The first co-existence scenario handles upgrading from Exchange 2003 to a cross-premises Exchange 2010 deployment.  Cross-premises scenarios for Exchange 2007 and Exchange 2010 are coming soon.  With coexistence, you get directory synchronization, single sign-on, Transport Layer Security (TLS) for transport, Free/Busy and calendar sharing, and more!

The cloud scenario involves migrating to Microsoft Office 365 for Enterprises. A cloud-only deployment is most often used when you want to migrate from your existing on-premises e-mail system to Exchange Online.

For more information, or to use EDA, visit https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/exdeploy2010/default.aspx.  We welcome your feedback, too, so if you have any comments, concerns, questions or praise, please send them to the EDA team.