As part of Office 365, Exchange Online joins the other major administrative components, SharePoint Online and Lync Online, to help users get the most out of these components’ collaboration features.

Similar to Exchange Server, Exchange Online is an email messaging, scheduling, and personal information managing service that Microsoft hosts via its Internet-based cloud product.

By using Exchange Online (which includes Exchange ActiveSync), Office 365 users will be able to store email, contacts, calendars, and related information in an environment that also lets users designate sharing preferences, mobile access, and backup services.

Microsoft states that each Office 365 user (subscribing to one of the Enterprise Plans) will receive a mailbox capable of storing 25GB (gigabytes) and sending email as large as 25MB (megabytes), complete with protection from spam and viruses with Microsoft Forefront Online Protection for Exchange.

Microsoft also touts how easy it is for Office 365 users to view and manage their email messages, calendars, and contacts from most browsers, giving them continuous access from any Internet-connected device.

More Resources

For more information about Exchange Online 2010, see Microsoft’s Exchange Online section of the Exchange site and the Exchange Online description on Microsoft’s Office 365 site.