As the release of Microsoft Office 2016 nears, we arrive at what has become a triennial tradition. Of course, I am talking about checking your Exchange Server to ensure you are compatible for the next milestone rollout of Outlook.
Microsoft has put out a courtesy reminder encouraging IT Administrators to verify that Exchange Servers meet the minimum criteria to support Outlook 2016 before green lighting the rollout. While Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and other Office staples will continue to function as expected, the latest version of Microsoft’s desktop inbox solution depends on a minimum backend of Exchange Server 2010 SP2 in order to connect.
Outlook 2016 introduces a number of improvements including improved search, seamless cloud file support, and Clutter, Microsoft inbox automated inbox management feature that until now has been available exclusively in the web app version of Outlook.
As a user, you can verify whether you are running a supported version of MXS or not with the following steps:
1. While running your current version of Outlook, press and hold CTRL while you right-click the Outlook icon in the notification area, at the far right of the taskbar.
2. Click on “Connection Status”
3. Scroll to the far right of the window; note the number that appears under the “Version” heading.
4. Compare your number with the table below (data provided by Microsoft)
“Sean Bugler is an Instructor at Learn iT! specializing in desktop class application usage. When he’s not teaching you can often find him reading up on the latest news in software and technology. Connect with him on Twitter @sbglr.”