Microsoft Exchange Server: To Outsource Or Not To Outsource The affordable way to bring Exchange to your company.
Table of Contents Introduc on... 3 Microso Exchange Server Delivers Value Your Company Can t Do Without... 3 Any me / Anywhere Email Access... 3 Improved Collabora on and Produc vity... 3 Mobile Messaging... 3 In-house Exchange Solu on: Are You Exchange Ready?... 4 Microso Exchange Server Readiness Survey... 4 Enterprise Infrastructure... 4 Internal Staff... 4 Advantages Of Hosted Exchange... 5 Characteristics To Seek In A Hosted Exchange Provider... 6 24 x 7 Technical Support - Live... 6 Guaranteed Up me... 6 Mobile Device Support... 6 Hosted Exchange Focus... 6 State-Of-The-Art Data Center... 7 Virus And Spam Protec on... 7 Daily Backups... 7 Scalability... 7 Pooled Storage Space... 7 Journaling and Regulatory Compliant Archiving... 7 About 123Together.com... 8 Peace Of Mind... 8 Ease Of Use... 9 High Performance... 9 Use Hosted Exchange For One Month With No Obliga on... 9
Introduction You understand the value Microsoft Exchange Server can bring to your company but the internal deployment delays, administrative complexity and cost of Exchange just isn t practical. Business and technical executives strive to find time to focus on running their business and avoid the distractions of managing a 24X7 application such as Exchange. The time and expense of running a Microsoft Exchange Server in-house may simply be too much for a company your size. There is good news. You can follow the lead of tens of thousands of small and mid-size businesses who are already using Microsoft Exchange as a hosted service. Hosted Exchange Server can provide your company with the full power of Microsoft Exchange without the high costs, deployment delays, drain on IT resources, maintenance and upgrade headaches. Microsoft Exchange Server delivers value your company can t do without. It s no wonder that Microsoft Exchange Server is the world s most popular communications platform and that businesses around the world use it to increase employee productivity, collaboration and, ultimately, corporate success. Exchange offers organizations valuable capabilities that today s information-driven organizations can t do without. Capabilities such as: Anytime / Anywhere Email Access Employees get anywhere, anytime access to email, task lists, shared calendars, and contacts from office PCs, laptops, home computers and any internet-enabled computer as well as mobile devices. Improved Collaboration and Productivity Enhanced calendaring, out-of-office, resource booking, and meeting scheduling capabilities simplify collaboration and increase productivity. Mobile Messaging Mobile capabilities with two-way wireless synchronization for today s most popular mobile devices including iphone, BlackBerry, Android and tablets. 2
In-house Exchange Solution: Are You Exchange Ready? If you are considering implementing an in-house Exchange solution, take this Microsoft Exchange Server Readiness Survey to measure your Exchange readiness. Check Yes or No for each state of readiness. Enterprise Infrastructure Yes No Redundant servers for automatic failover in case one fails Spare parts and servers in the event of hardware failure Redundant internet connectivity in case your T1 or DSL fails Redundant power connectivity in case of power failure Physical server security to prevent disgruntled employees from causing harm Application monitoring software to catch issues before they become a problem Internal Staff Yes No Admin support has technical certification in Exchange IT department available 24x7 in case of problems Admin availability each day to monitor server and Exchange performance Experience setting up advanced features such as access to mobile devices 4
Advantages of Hosted Exchange As you can see, there are numerous issues to consider when thinking about deploying Microsoft Exchange Server in-house. All of the costs, requirements and potential delays can be avoided through an outsourced or hosted solution. By outsourcing Microsoft Exchange Server to a hosted Exchange provider, even the smallest companies can benefit from Fortune 500-grade email and collaboration for a low monthly fee and with no drain on the IT staff s time. Even larger businesses with an Exchangeknowledgeable IT staff are turning to hosted Exchange, not only for the cost savings, but also to steer clear of the time-consuming maintenance, support and upgrade requirements that come with an in-house Exchange implementation. There are numerous advantages to outsourcing your email requirements to a hosted Exchange provider. The following are just a few of the advantages so many companies are realizing through the use of Microsoft Exchange Server as a hosted service: Peace of mind that your company will be able to utilize an enterprise-class email solution that will provide you with guaranteed uptime and immediately increase corporate productivity for a small monthly fee. Proactive monitoring, maintenance and upgrades of the Exchange servers 24/7/365 so you can stay focused on higher value projects. Rollout of updates and security patches as soon as they are released to ensure you are using the most current version and the highest level of security has been implemented. Advanced anti-virus and anti-spam filtering to stop viruses and hackers in their tracks before they reach your email. Web-based control panel for easy account administration. Synchronization with the most popular mobile devices. An uptime Service Level Agreement (SLA) showing the hosting providers commitment to customer data availability. 5
Characteristics to Seek in a Hosted Exchange Provider If you ve decided that the cost, delays and staffing issues are significant enough to take a serious look at Microsoft Exchange Server as a hosted service, you need to know what to look for in a service provider. It s important to be diligent in assessing service providers to ensure you get the level of service your business deserves. Following are some of the key characteristics to seek in a high-quality hosted Exchange provider: Your Hosted Exchange Provider Should Offer: Live 24 x 7 technical support Guaranteed uptime Support for mobile devices State-of-the-art data center Virus and Spam Protection Daily Backups Scalability Pooled Storage Space 24 x 7 Technical Support - Live Your hosted Exchange provider should offer live 24 x 7 technical support so that your questions can be answered when you have them in real time. If you have a question at 2:00am it is important to know that you can pick up a phone or send an email and have your question answered immediately. Guaranteed Uptime Keeping your email up and running is critical to your business, and that s why you will want a provider that offers guaranteed uptime with a written Service Level Agreement. A reputable hosted Exchange provider will even offer a money back guarantee should a server be down for an extended period of time. Mobile Device Support To increase productivity for employees on the road, you will want to select a hosted Exchange solution that provides mobile capabilities with two-way wireless synchronization for the most popular mobile devices including iphone, BlackBerry, Android, tablets and more. Hosted Exchange Focus A qualified service provider will have numerous years of Exchange hosting experience with a single-minded focus on hosted business services. The provider should also employ technical support representatives, system administrators or developers who are experts in hosted services and hold the title of Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP). This means that they have been fully trained by Microsoft and meet their requirements for technical expertise. 6
State-Of-The-Art Data Center The hosted Exchange provider you choose should utilize a modern, state-of-the-art Tier-4 data center for maximum uptime, network connectivity, speed and data security. Virus and Spam Protection A reliable hosted Exchange provider will employ superior anti-spam and virus protection software to reduce spam and virus incidents. Your Exchange provider should take every precaution to ensure your email and data are safe and secure from Internet vulnerabilities, hackers, and network attacks by automatically scanning all emails and attachments on their servers. Daily Backups Data availability is essential to the success of your business and your data should be backed up daily so that it is easily retrievable. Scalability The provider you select should offer both shared and dedicated Exchange server options to accommodate your needs for today and tomorrow. Both server options offer their own benefits and your hosted Exchange provider should work with you to select the one that is right for your needs. Pooled Storage Space Your provider should offer pooled storage space, which enables you to allocate more storage space to one user and less to another depending on their usage requirements. Journaling and Regulatory Compliant Archiving Whether for internal auditing, litigation or to meet federal regulations, email retention has become a necessity in modern business. It is not sufficient to say we are not a public company and, therefore, have no need for an archiving solution. All companies can benefit from a hosted archiving solution that is fully integrated with their hosted Exchange solution. A comprehensive hosted Exchange provider will offer archiving services for auditing and compliance as well. 7
About 123Together.com 123Together.com is a leading provider of hosted business services, including Microsoft Exchange Server email service, for customers who want to stay connected in the office, at home or on the go. For over 10 years, small and mid-size businesses have selected us to help them communicate and collaborate across town or across the globe providing secure, on-demand access to the electronic data which is so critical to their business success. Our cloud-based business services include Exchange hosting, hosted email archiving, email encryption, hosted SharePoint and spam and virus filtering. Users of popular smartphones including Windows mobile and Android devices, iphone and BlackBerry, as well as the latest tablets and other portable devices, stay connected with our hosted Exchange mobile email service. 123Together.com is a division of mindshift Technologies, Inc., one of the largest providers of managed IT, cloud, data center and professional services. Peace Of Mind Uptime Guarantee Both shared and dedicated server options are available with a 99.999% uptime guarantee on shared servers and a 100% uptime guarantee on dedicated servers. 24/7 Live U.S.-based Technical Support Live 24 x 7 technical support is available to all customers via online chat, phone and email. Our technical support experts are 123Together.com employees and are all based at our corporate headquarters in the United States. 30-day No Obligation Trial Available to test drive the full set of hosted Exchange Server features and functionality. Daily Backups data is backed up daily and experts will assist with disaster recovery. Server Monitoring and Maintenance All upgrades, security patches and routine maintenance are taken care of 24/7 so you don t have to worry about them. continued >> 8
Ease Of Use Sign Up In Minutes Users are able to sign up and set up mailboxes in minutes, literally. All signup, mailbox setup and account management is done through an easy to use web-based control panel. Policy-based Controls - Policy-based controls on dedicated servers enable settings on groups of users to be changed collectively with one action. Wireless Synchronization With Mobile Devices - 2-way wireless synchronization with 123Together.com's Hosted Exchange Mobile Services for iphone, BlackBerry, Android, Windows and other popular mobile devices. Employee Email Setup 123Together.com has developed the Zero Configuration Utility which allows new employees Outlook clients to be configured with the most appropriate settings with just a few clicks. High Performance Large Mailboxes Sizes 123Together.com customers can have mailboxes sizes up to 25GB. Reduced Latency - 123Together.com utilizes Internap s Tier-4 data center and its Performance IP service which reduces latency and routes customer data over redundant, high-speed backbones to provide faster delivery of emails around the world. Server Clustering Ensures continuous data availability and scalability. Put Hosted Exchange to Work for Your Company. Use Hosted Exchange for One Month with No Obligation. 123Together.com, the leading hosted Exchange provider, invites you to use its hosted Exchange service for one full month with its Hosted Exchange No Obligation Trial. This is the most popular way businesses like yours try all of the features of Microsoft Exchange Server without risk, hassle or commitment. You can sign up now and be up and running immediately, taking advantage of the full features and functionality of Microsoft Exchange Server in a hosted environment. To sign up, or to learn more, visit www.123together.com, or contact a Hosted Exchange Solution Specialist at 800-967-3924. 9