Microsoft has announced that the Exchange Server Subscription Edition (SE) is now available to all customers of its enterprise email service.
As the company explained, the Exchange Server SE RTM build released this week can be installed as a cumulative update (CU) on servers running Exchange Server 2019 CU15 or CU14, and it can also be joined to existing Exchange Server 2019 or Exchange Server 2016 organizations.
While Exchange Server SE does not include major code upgrades or changes, and does not introduce new features or installation prerequisites compared to Exchange 2019 CU15, it does alter the way it is licensed and serviced.
"Exchange Server SE introduces changes to how Exchange is serviced and licensed. Unlike previous versions, Exchange SE is governed by the Modern Lifecycle Policy," Microsoft explained.
"This means there is no fixed end date for support, provided that configurations remain current. The product will be serviced continuously as an evergreen release, with no additional major, year-based versions planned for the future release."
More information on how to upgrade your servers is available in this blog post, which outlines the process of upgrading from current versions to Exchange Server SE.
Exchange 2016 / 2019 reach the end of support in October
This announcement follows Microsoft's warning in April that Exchange 2016 and Exchange 2019 will reach the end of support on October 14.
In January, the company also reminded that Exchange Server 2016 and Exchange Server 2019 will stop receiving technical support starting in October. One year ago, it also said it would not extend the end-of-life date, offer extended support, or provide Extended Security Updates (ESU) for Exchange 2016 or Exchange 2019.
Exchange 2016 reached its mainstream support end date in October 2020, while Exchange 2019 reached the end of mainstream support on January 9, 2024.
"While the RTM release of Exchange SE is currently identical to Exchange 2019 CU15, this will not remain the case. After support for Exchange 2016 and 2019 ends in October 2025, Exchange SE will be the only supported on-premises version of Exchange," Microsoft added.
"This will create unique opportunities to simplify, streamline, and modernize the product over the coming years. We will continue releasing Exchange SE CUs at the same cadence of two CUs per calendar year, with Security or Hotfix updates being released as needed."
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