Hi Johnny—
Welcome aboard! You ask a great question. I'd say there are at least a couple really hot topics in Exchange/messaging at the moment. First there's the recent release of Exchange 2007 SP1, which includes many new features. Many admins have been waiting for this release before committing to an Exchange upgrade for their environments. For information about this release, check out these articles:
What to Expect from Exchange 2007 SP1
Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 SP1: An Overview
Next, of course, anything to do with unified communications (UC) is extremely hot. I don't think that can really be overstated—UC is big! Microsoft set the ball rolling on this well before their official launch event last fall, and now we're seeing third-party vendors coming out with either support products or their own UC server and infrastructure solutions. Here's a smattering of UC coverage:
Microsoft Launches Unified Communications Products
From Unified Messaging to Unified Communications
Exchange Unified Messaging Essentials
For an interesting look at some hot topics over the last year, check out Anne Grubb's commentary,
Top 8 Messaging Events of 2007.
Finally, I don't think I can give you much in the way of controversy, I'm afraid. The biggest sore spot, perhaps, is the need to learn PowerShell (through Exchange Management Shell) for Exchange 2007 management. Many admins are resistant to scripting or command-line tools, though my impression of PowerShell is that it seems pretty straightforward and logical, and so shouldn't be too difficult to learn. But here's the story of one user who wants nothing to do with Exchange 2007:
An Exchange User's Lament
I hope this helps, Johnny. Let us know if you've got other topics in mind. If any Exchange admins have other thoughts about any of these topics, I'd love to hear what you have to say as well.
Brian Winstead
Associate Editor