Why might a developer choose to work with SOAP XML messages instead of the EWS Managed API?

SOAP XML messages are more low-level than the EWS Managed API, giving developers direct control over the XML request/response structure. This approach is essential when you need to implement custom authentication (e.g., NTLM hash login via Impacket) or when building cross-platform tools that cannot rely on the .NET-based Managed API. As demonstrated in the Exchange Web Service (EWS) Development Guide 2 – SOAP XML Message, it also facilitates packet-level analysis and debugging.