Outlook Web Access

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Outlook Web Access

1) What's known as "Outlook Web Access" or "OWA" ?

  • Outlook Web Access (OWA) is a webmail service of Microsoft Exchange Server.

2) Earlier its known as?

  • Initially it's known as Exchange Web Connect (EWC).

3) Does it resembles with any interface?

  • Yes, the web interface of Outlook Web Access resembles the interface in Microsoft Outlook.

4) Is it comes as part of any product?

  • Yes, Outlook Web Access comes as a part of Exchange Server 2007 and previous versions of Exchange.

5) What it's used for?  

  • It's used to access e-mail (including support for S/MIME), calendars, contacts, tasks, and other mailbox content when access to the Microsoft Outlook desktop application is unavailable.

6) Apart from Email, does it supports any other service?

  • In the Exchange 2007 release, OWA also offers read-only access to documents stored in Microsoft SharePoint sites and network (UNC) shares.
  • Microsoft provides Outlook Web Access as part of Exchange Server to allow users to connect remotely via a Web browser.
  • Some of the functionality in Outlook is also available in this web "look-alike".

7) What is the main difference between OWA and Microsoft Outlook?

  • The most important difference is that Microsoft Outlook allows users to work with e-mail, calendars, etc., even when a network connection is unavailable, whereas OWA requires a network connection to function.