One of the design goals for Exchange 2000 is to make the Store a viable repository for the enterprise. This means that the Store must be able to host data for web servers and replace, to some degree, the network file shares that many companies use to share documents. File shares are a common feature of modern operating systems such as Windows NT, Windows 2000, and Novell Netware, as well as older PC LAN-style systems like Digital PATHWORKS, Windows for Workgroups, and so on.

Originally, Microsoft hoped that public folders would be used to hold files and replace some network shares, especially those dedicated to document storage. However, up to this point, public folders have never really fulfilled their potential as file repositories due to three major factors:

• A specific (MAPI) client was required to put and fetch objects in public folders.
• Exchange permissions were used as the basis of access control instead of Windows access control lists.
• Applications, including Microsoft Office, are designed to use the Windows file system as their basic storage.
• Windows utilities, such as the Explorer, have no access to public folders.

These facts cannot be denied, but on the other hand, there are advantages of using public folders instead of network shares.

• The user interface is far more approachable and can be customized through views and electronic forms.
• Objects can be replicated between servers to make data closer to users.
• Offline synchronization of public folders allows data to be...