Yes, we’ve heard your feedback and the Exchange Deployment Assistant for Exchange Server 2013 is on the way!
We want to let you know that we’re working, right now, on the Exchange Server 2013 Deployment Assistant. It will be very similar to the current Exchange Server 2010 Deployment Assistant. Don’t worry, the 2010 version will live on. But, we want to provide the same step-by-step upgrade and deployment guidance for the new Exchange as well! We expect to release initial scenarios like a greenfield Exchange 2013 on-premises installation and Exchange 2013 hybrid deployment scenario early next year and then add additional scenarios over time.
In case you’re not familiar with it, the Exchange Server 2010 Deployment Assistant is a web-based tool that helps you upgrade to Exchange 2010 on-premises, configure a hybrid deployment between an on-premises and Exchange Online organization, or migrate to Exchange Online. It asks you a small set of simple questions, and then based on your answers, it provides a checklist with instructions to deploy or configure Exchange 2010 that’s customized to your environment.
We’ve received great feedback from you on the value of having customized, step-by-step upgrade and deployment instructions. Here are a few comments from Exchange administrators like you:
- “Love this! I wish I could have had this during the Exchange 2003 to Exchange 2007 upgrade. I think everyone who deals with Exchange needs to see this.“
- “The tool was a tremendous help in organizing and clearly directing the steps necessary for upgrading from Exchange 2003 to 2010. Instructions were extremely clear. Links for more information led to pages that were also very informative. Instructions on how to verify that each step worked were also helpful, and provided reassurance that everything was working properly.”
- “THIS TOOL IS AMAZING. Honestly, this is by far the most useful migration tool I have ever used! The ability to interact with the assistant and specify details of my particular environment makes it especially valuable. Also, the “How do I know this worked?” fields are probably the most innovative thing I’ve ever seen in a guide like this. Please make these for any/all future releases of Exchange (and any other Microsoft products)!”
If you’d like to receive notifications as to when the Exchange Server 2013 Deployment Assistant launches and when new scenarios release, subscribe to the RSS feed at: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/exchange/jj657516
Also, feel free to send any feedback regarding either Deployment Assistant to: edafdbk@microsoft.com
Katie Kivett
