Update 6/13/2025: Please see our new blog post for updated timelines of releases as well as additional details on how to get from current versions of Exchange Server to Exchange Server SE: Upgrading ...
Updated Jun 13, 2025
Version 14.0
Blog Post
Yes, SE can be a completely on-prem solution. The question would be if there will be a post-SE on prem Exchange, but that is a worry for the future. Per Microsoft, SE will work the same as Exchange 2019, because it is actually Exchange 2019 with a few changes. Licensing will not be required to reach out to MS.
https: // techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/exchange/exchange-server-roadmap-update/4132742/replies/4374963
Thanks for the clarification.
But I still doubt how my on-prem (not having a direct internet connection) will work in this subscription model or how I can activate the subscription.
Can anyone guide me on this?
Your on-prem Exchange server does not have a connection to the Internet?
Is it exclusively for internal messaging use (no email to/from the Internet)?
Thanks for the reply.
Your on-prem Exchange server does not have a connection to the Internet?
No, it doesn't. It is published by a security mail gateway, a different OEM solution.
Is it exclusively for internal messaging use (no email to/from the Internet)?
It is also used for external and internal mail communication. External mail is published by the secure mail gateway of a different OEM.
I have a similar setup with an email security appliance, but I still allow users to access OWA/ActiveSync, etc.
All interactions for email are handled by your security mail gateway, and Exchange is only used as a backing store? Without OWA/ActiveSync, when users send/receive email, does it do some sort of IMAP/POP3 passthrough to Exchange? (Or maybe users can't access email off-prem?)
I won't be much help, since I'm not sure how that works, but given your scenario, you could consider continuing to use your perpetual 2016/2019 licenses even after October's EOL. But there would still be security concerns as it ages without patches.
If you're using Exchange ONLY as a backing store then you could also consider an alternate product, many of them are free. Additionally, many email security appliances can act like/as an email server.
