This shows how little you know about Exchange and SQL. using SQL for a bunch of small messages would yield much lower performance. JET Blue isn't exactly Access, but it is close enough for comparisons. Having said that what makes Access a bad database is a strength for messaging (once modified).
I understand Microsoft looked at using SQL for exchange and it just couldn't pump the messages out quick enough. Completely different technology. Just because SQL makes a great database doesn't make it a great email server.
Exactly correct, these guys are programmers and maybe great at that but know little about system management. To listen to them everyone should rip out our Windows servers which we already know through experience are easier to manage and put in eight flavors of *nix and spend all day hammering out incompatibilities at the core level instead.