It’s more like a software program which is more than just an email management application in fact, it’s part of the Microsoft Office suite of software and programs which allow you to manage your emails, contacts, address book, tasks, calendar, all in one place. Microsoft Outlook is an email client used to send and receive electronic messages over a network using standard email protocols. Microsoft Outlook is an email client and Exchange is a Microsoft proprietary email server and calendaring server.
For example, a webmail is an email client that is installed on a server and functions in almost any web browser. An email client is used for sending and receiving emails. A mail server sends and receives emails using standard email protocols such as IMAP and POP3 protocols. Think of a mail server as your friendly neighborhood deliveryman who receives emails from local users and reroutes them for delivery. A mail server is a system that stores and manages your sent and received mails over a network, usually over the Internet. To better understand the difference between Outlook and Exchange, you must know the difference between an email client and a mail server.