Microsoft Exchange— Exchange Online and Exchange Server, managed by PIP
Exchange Server end-of-life is here. PIP helps Sydney businesses move to Exchange Online before it matters — or supports what’s still running while you decide.
Microsoft Exchange — the foundation of business email
Microsoft Exchange is a business-grade email and collaboration platform developed by Microsoft — the foundation of corporate email for millions of organisations worldwide. Microsoft Exchange is available in two forms: Exchange Online (cloud-hosted, part of Microsoft 365) as opposed to Exchange Server (on-premises software installed on physical company hardware).
Exchange Server previous versions — Exchange 2013 and Exchange 2016 — are end-of-life, and Exchange Server 2019 is the latest version of on-premises Exchange with its support window narrowing. Businesses still running Exchange Server on-premises are operating on infrastructure that no longer receives feature updates. Many are migrating to Exchange Online now — and PIP manages that migration, or supports the Exchange Server deployment while a company plans its move. PIP has been a Microsoft partner since the ’90s, managing Microsoft Exchange environments for over thirty years.
Exchange Online vs Exchange Server
Exchange Online is cloud-hosted Microsoft Exchange, delivered as part of Microsoft 365. Exchange Server is on-premises software you purchase, install and manage on your own server hardware. Most businesses now purchase Exchange Online as part of a Microsoft 365 subscription — it is included in Business Basic and above. Exchange Online was first provided as a hosted service in 2005 and is the current deployment model for the majority of organisations.
| Exchange Server (on-premises) | Exchange Online (cloud) | |
|---|---|---|
| Hosting | Your company’s physical server hardware | Microsoft’s cloud — geo-redundant servers with geo-distributed data protection |
| Infrastructure | Server hardware, OS, patching, backups — your responsibility | Managed by Microsoft — no server maintenance |
| Availability | Depends on your hardware and network | Exchange Online offers a guaranteed 99.9% uptime |
| Access | Outlook desktop, OWA on local network | Outlook desktop, Outlook mobile, any major browser, laptop, phone, Mac — anytime access |
| Licensing | Perpetual server licence + CALs — purchase once | Microsoft 365 subscription — billing per user per month |
| Management | Exchange Admin Center on the server | Exchange Admin Center in the cloud — managed by PIP |
| Migration path | Migrate mailboxes to Exchange Online via IMAP, cutover, staged or hybrid methods | Already in the cloud — no migration needed |
| Security | Your patches, your responsibility — cancel any delay at your own risk | Microsoft-managed security, anti-malware, anti-spam, data encryption |
What Exchange Online includes
Exchange Online is the email backbone of Microsoft 365. Microsoft Outlook is the primary desktop and mobile application for Exchange — every Exchange Online mailbox connects to Outlook on desktop, phone, Mac and browser. Microsoft Exchange integrates with the broader Microsoft 365 suite, including Teams (which replaced Skype for Business) and SharePoint. These are the Exchange Online capabilities PIP configures and manages for every Microsoft 365 client.
Shared mailboxes
Multiple employees can access and send email from a single shared mailbox address — useful for reception, support and shared team inboxes. Shared mailboxes in Exchange Online are managed through the Exchange Admin Center by PIP. No additional Exchange Online licence is needed for a shared mailbox account.
Shared calendars
Shared calendars enable scheduling and meeting invites across the organisation — enhanced team collaboration including suggested available times and room booking. Calendar data syncs across Outlook desktop, Outlook mobile and the browser.
Global address list
The Global Address List provides a searchable company-wide directory of all employee contact details and distribution groups. Contacts sync across Outlook on every device — desktop, phone and Mac — so the organisation’s address book is always current.
Offline access and sync
Users can draft email and review schedules without an internet connection — Outlook caches email and calendar data locally. Exchange ActiveSync (EAS) synchronises email, contacts and calendars to mobile devices via EAS sessions, keeping every phone and tablet in sync with the Exchange Online mailbox.
Exchange Online security
Exchange Online uses anti-malware and anti-spam filtering on every mailbox. Data loss prevention prevents sensitive information leaving the organisation via email. Mobile device policies enforce PIN lock and remote data wipe on lost devices. High availability with automatic database failovers and geo-redundant server infrastructure protects data across regions.
Exchange Admin Center
The Exchange Admin Center is a web-based interface for managing the organisation’s Exchange environment — create and manage user mailboxes, shared mailboxes, distribution lists, mail flow rules, and mobile device policies. Exchange Admin Center supports eDiscovery, IMAP migration configuration, and Exchange Online billing plan management for the Microsoft Exchange environment.
PIP manages Microsoft Exchange — both sides
PIP manages Exchange Online for all Microsoft 365 clients — shared mailboxes, distribution lists, Exchange Admin Center configuration, mobile device policies, anti-spam rules and Exchange Online security settings. Exchange Online is supplied at partner pricing as part of a Microsoft 365 subscription plan, with billing managed by PIP.
- Exchange Online managed service — mailbox management, shared mailbox configuration, distribution lists, mail flow rules, Exchange Admin Center services and security settings for every Exchange Online account
- Exchange Server support — PIP supports residual Exchange Server deployments for clients still running Exchange Server 2019 during the remaining server support window. Server maintenance, security patching and Exchange Server licensing advice included. Clients often comment that migrating away from Exchange Server reduces their server maintenance overhead significantly — and allows them to cancel on-premises server maintenance contracts
- Exchange migration — PIP migrates Exchange Server environments to Exchange Online: mailbox migration, DNS cutover, Autodiscover configuration, public folder handling, and IMAP migration for non-Exchange source email systems. See the full Microsoft 365 migration scope
- Hosted Exchange — for organisations that want Exchange email on Australian soil without using Microsoft’s cloud, PIP operates a hosted Exchange environment in its own Pymble datacentre — managed Microsoft Exchange with full data sovereignty. That service is available separately for companies with specific data residency requirements
PIP manages Microsoft Exchange as part of the broader Microsoft 365 managed service — Exchange Online sits inside the same managed tenant as Entra ID, Teams, SharePoint and Intune. One account, one provider, one session to resolve any Exchange issue.
The Exchange Server deployments we support in 2026 are almost all Exchange 2019 — the end-of-support timeline is real, not theoretical. The question PIP gets asked most is not whether to migrate but how long it is safe to wait. Our answer is: not as long as most people think, because unsupported Exchange Server is not a compliant email environment.
Microsoft Exchange, answered
What exactly is Microsoft Exchange?
Microsoft Exchange is a business-grade email and collaboration platform developed by Microsoft. Exchange manages corporate email, contacts, calendars and shared mailboxes for organisations. Microsoft Exchange is available as Exchange Server (on-premises server software you purchase and install on your own hardware) and Exchange Online (cloud-hosted Exchange, included in every Microsoft 365 subscription plan). Microsoft Outlook is the primary application used to access Exchange — Outlook desktop, Outlook mobile and the browser all connect to the Exchange mailbox.
Is Microsoft Exchange the same as Outlook?
No. Microsoft Exchange is the server or service that stores and manages email, contacts and calendar data. Microsoft Outlook is the application that connects to Exchange and displays email to the user on screen. Exchange Server runs on company hardware; Exchange Online runs in Microsoft’s cloud. Outlook is the front end; Exchange is the back end. You can access an Exchange Online mailbox through Outlook desktop, Outlook mobile, or any major browser on a laptop, phone, Mac or computer — but the email data lives in Exchange, not in Outlook itself.
Is Microsoft Exchange still a thing?
Yes — very much. Exchange Online is part of every Microsoft 365 subscription and is the current Microsoft Exchange deployment for most organisations. Exchange Server (on-premises) is still in use — the latest version is Exchange Server 2019 — but mainstream support for Exchange Server previous versions (2013, 2016) has ended, and Exchange 2019 support is narrowing. Microsoft Exchange is active; the question is whether a business is running the on-premises Exchange Server or the cloud-hosted Exchange Online version, and whether it’s time to cancel the on-premises server infrastructure and migrate.
What is replacing Microsoft Exchange?
Exchange Online is replacing Exchange Server — it is Microsoft Exchange in cloud form, not a different product. Businesses moving off on-premises Exchange Server migrate to Exchange Online as part of a Microsoft 365 deployment. Exchange Online delivers the same Microsoft Exchange email capabilities — mailboxes, contacts, calendars, shared mailboxes and the Exchange Admin Center — without the server hardware, server licensing and server maintenance overhead. The billing model shifts from a one-time server licence purchase to a per-user monthly Microsoft 365 subscription plan.
Still running Exchange Server? Or need Exchange Online managed?
Whether you need to migrate from Exchange Server to Exchange Online, or need your Exchange Online environment managed properly — PIP handles both.