Many changes to Exchange Server 2019 have happened behind the scenes and therefore are not directly tangible to users. On the other hand, other changes directly affect the workflow of employees whose companies rely on Microsoft Exchange Server 2019. Some features have become interesting again, particularly to administrators.

If you have your own (physical) server and equip it with SSD drives, you can use the Meta Cache Database (MCDB) on Exchange 2019. MCDB is already used in Microsoft 365. With this method, meta information is stored around the mailbox (for example, the folder structure). This accelerates access and search and gives administrators the option of accommodating more users in one server instance. This in turn, can reduce costs.

Dynamic Database Cache (DDC) also makes the Exchange Server faster. Administrators specify how much storage space a database can occupy on an Exchange Server. However, the number of active database changes resulted in poor utilization because available storage remains unused. In Exchange 2019, DDC allows the allocated storage capacity to dynamically adapt to the situation.

Microsoft has completely rebuilt the search index in Exchange 2019. In earlier versions, the index was separated from the mailbox database. This is no longer necessary in the new version of Exchange Server. The search index is now located directly in the mailbox database. This makes the administration much less complicated and also increases the speed of the search.

Microsoft offers Window Server Core administrators minimal server system execution. In the past, however, this could not be used in combination with an Exchange Server. Exchange 2019 now provides this option. Since Server Core is much simpler than the standard version, it saves a lot of configuration work and eliminates unnecessary services that only consume resources. In addition to saving time, Windows Server Core also promises more security: The simple structure gives criminals fewer points of attack and administrators can build in fewer (security-relevant) errors.

Exchange 2019 also provides the end user with new functions, all related to the calendar. With the “Do Not Forward” function, users who have created a meeting specify that invited users are not allowed to forward this invitation. This allows the creator of the event to retain control over who is part of the meeting. In addition, Exchange Server 2019 gives users more options to create an Out of Office message: If you are not in the office for a certain period of time, you can block your calendar for that period. This includes automatically rejecting meeting requests for this period.

Another new feature in the context of the calendar is aimed primarily at admins: They now have a completely new cmdlet and an extended cmdlet (“command-let”) available. The newly introduced command allows administrators to delete events (such as meetings) from the calendar. In the past, the problem was that events created by employees who were no longer with the company would continue to exist forever on other people’s calendars. Admins can now use Remove-CalendarEvents to delete entries in the calendar again. An extension has been added to the Add-FollowerPermissions cmdlet: PowerShell now allows administrators to assign alternate permissions.

Something else interesting for end users: Email Address Internationalization (EAI) ensures fewer problems when sending emails in a global context. International email users are no longer restricted to the limited ASCII code (based on the English alphabet). Instead, the extended UTF-8 can be used. To achieve this, the address had to be converted in earlier versions of Exchange. This is no longer necessary. In Exchange 2019, EAI allows email addresses with international characters to be used.

For some companies, this is not an important problem: As of Exchange Server 2019, Microsoft will no longer continue their Unified Messaging (UM) service. In previous versions, the server offered extensive voice mail functions. If you don’t want to miss out on these features in the future, you will have to switch to another service. Microsoft itself is dropping UM in favor of Skype for Business, which has a similar range of functions. Cloud voicemail, which can then be accessed with Skype for Business, is an integral part of Microsoft 365, Microsoft’s SaaS solution. Accordingly, companies are to switch to the cloud service.