If you have read the first few articles of my Direct Push Guide, you would probably have noticed that Direct Push is very much tied into Microsoft Exchange.  In fact, Microsoft Exchange itself forms a critical part of the Direct Push architecture – from the earlier AUTD implementation as well as the current iteration available to a Windows Mobile 5.0 device with MSFP.

Thinking ahead, it becomes clear that we can extrapolate and work out most, if not all of the what Direct Push will evolve into or incorporate simply by taking a closer look into the features that can be found in upcoming or future versions of Microsoft Exchange.

Now that Microsoft have finally announced that Exchange 2007 is being slated for release at the end of November 2006, it is a good time as any for us to perform a detailed appraisal of the Direct Push-related components in this new version of Microsoft Exchange.

Exchange 2007

Perhaps you have already heard or even read-up on it.  But in case you are not aware yet, Exchange 2007 is a radically different beast altogether from Exchange 2003.  Rather than being a purely evolutionary upgrade, this latest version of Exchange is set to bring several features never before found in the e-mail server scene – such as built-in voice (Think in terms of voice PABX) and fax capabilities, onto the playing field.

What has this got to do with the Direct Push and push mail, you ask?  Well, according to Gartner, Exchange currently commands “about half of the market for corporate Email seats, with share expected to grow steadily through the end of the decade.”  That means that theoretically, every one in two enterprise that is considering implementing push mail probably already own one-half of the requisite technology required to get it to work.  These companies will be able to do it for only the cost of the appropriate handheld devices – which is a common denominator for implementing push mail in the first place anyway.

Also, bear in mind that Microsoft have been actively licensing the Direct Push technology to practically anyone who is interested in it.  Much like what Research In Motion (RIM) have already started doing with the BlackBerry client, Direct Push-compatible smart devices that run on operating systems other than Windows Mobile are starting to appear on the market.

Enough of the preamble; lets take a look at what Direct Push has to offer.

Full Over-The-Air (OTA) Search

Besides a much more enhanced search engine under the hood of the Exchange engine that will benefit all Exchange users on the whole; Exchange 2007 also boasts over-the-air (OTA) search for Direct Push.  What this means is that not only can you perform a local search on your handheld, you can now initiate a “Search” that will be performed on the server with the results being returned over the air to you.

This is unlike the current generation of search where we have to rely on the limited processing capabilities of a Pocket PC device to perform a local search.  If you had ever tried to use the “Search” feature on your WM 5.0 or earlier device to search through your e-mails, you will understand how much of a joke the current state of search is.  Mails are missed out because they might not even have been downloaded onto the device in the first place.

Bearing in mind that the typical enterprise mailbox probably consists of several thousands of Emails at the minimum, it becomes apparently that this is an extremely significant feature. You will be able to search your entire mailbox instead of just what you have on your handheld!

HTML Email

Another key feature found in Exchange 2007 would be the support for HTML e-mail for Direct Push clients.

Supporting HTML formatted mail would make it one of the first on the market.  Detractors might berate its actual usefulness; however, with average PDA screen resolution already at 320×240 and set to increase, the prior limitations caused by insufficient screen real estate is only going to become less of an issue.  Besides, the usage of HTML-formatting in e-mail is ever increasing.

Details of its implementation are non-existence.  However, it is telling that support for HTML e-mail is clearly listed under “Direct Push”.  The current way Direct Push is implemented is by emulating how a normal non-HTML desktop Email client would treat a HTML-formatted Email – by either ignoring the HTML portion, or stripping the tags away.

Enhanced Enterprise Features

Additionally, there are a number of enhanced enterprise features that have been quietly added.  Previously, Exchange 2003 SP2 provides a single universal set of server-wide enforced device policy with the option for excluding selected devices from the policies.  In Exchange 2007, it is now possible to set these security policies and rules at a per-device level.

Further to that, it is now possible for the user to log into Exchange 2007’s web interface to perform a device-wipe on their devices.  Other improvements are also present; such as the ability to set an out-of-office reply, better calendaring as well as additional options where message flagging is concerned.

Conclusion

There is no doubt that the upcoming upgrades to Direct Push, while evolutionary in nature, are certainly very nice features to have.

On certain fronts, features such as being able to set out-of-office on your mobile device sets Direct Push on parity with features that BlackBerry users have already been enjoying for a while now.  Yet other features such as OTA search and even reading of HTML e-mails are placing Direct Push on the forefront of the push mail market in terms of functionalities.

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