Most people access the internet from around the world, without thinking much about it. However, to get easy web access, special technology is required. Outlook Web Access, which is also known as “OWA” is a web mail service. This service is provided by Microsoft Exchange Server (versions 5.0 and later).
When learning about OWA, people get confused about the differences between OWA and Microsoft Outlook. OWA looks very similar to Outlook; however, a network connection is needed to access email. Users have a variety of applications within the webmail, including: email, contacts, tasks and calendars. This technology allows people to get access to their server wherever an internet connection is present.
Microsoft Share Point
OWA also provides remote access to documents. Items stored in the program “Microsoft Share Point,” can be viewed from any location. However, these documents can’t be edited. An internet connection is also required. Although working away from the office is still possible with remote access at coffees shops or other locations (that have internet access).
Versions of OWA
There are two different versions of OWA. The complete feature set, which is called “Premium” has full functionality. The “Light” version has reduced functionality. Earlier versions of the “Light” technology had challenges with webmail and contacts. However, Microsoft has worked out the kinks and OWA supports mail items and manages contacts much better.
Benefits of OWA
OWA has many benefits, allowing you to access your webmail from remote locations. The technology allows you to get access through a secure site, without needing to reconfigure your browser each time. It also provides webmail functions such as a follow up folder, drag and drop message functionally and the ability to create a message directly from the address book. Meeting management is another benefit, allowing users to quickly create events between users.
OWA can be used on a variety of browsers such as Microsoft Internet Explorer, UNIX or Apple Macintosh. However, if you plan on using OWA with a browser besides Internet Explorer, you may have difficulty with spellchecking and personal distribution list features.
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OWA seems to have a lot of useful features, especially the remote access. I know for a while people had to get third party services to do that kind of thing if they were working outside of their normal network, so adding it into a mail program seems like it would save a lot of people a lot of hassle.
I tend to prefer the light versions of things mostly because I do not need all the extra functions I had heard the light on this was buggy though so knowing that they worked out the issues is really great
Meeting management is an interesting function because the simpler you can make that sort of thing the better and working it into a mail or messaging program pretty much guarantees that people will pay attention to it.
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