What are the Important Factors to Look at When Choosing Secure Exchange Hosting

Microsoft Exchange is one of the preferred email servers that can installed on the premises or hosted in the cloud. When hosted in the cloud, secure exchange hosting can be accessed from anywhere. However, not all cloud exchange services are made the same. Here are important factors you need to consider when selecting cloud exchange hosting.

1. The Price

The price is an important factor when selecting hosted exchange services. Majority of the service providers charge any price in the range of $5 to $10 per month. If you have many users, even $1-$ two lower prices will get converted into huge savings for the organization. However, some service providers charge less and provide fewer features, so you need to strike the right balance between pricing and essential features.

2. Mailbox Size

Hosted exchange service providers put limits on the mailbox size. It is a clever business strategy hoping that your organization would pay more to increase the mailbox size. On the surface, it would look like paying $1 to $2 per user for increased mailbox size. But actually, you would end up paying hundreds or thousands of dollars more if you have thousands of users.

3. Exchange Version

Secure Exchange hosting is offered in different versions. You need to avoid service provider offering Exchange 2003 version as it is outdated. A large number of hosted exchange providers offer Exchange 2007 version. You can select a service provider offering Exchange 2007, but you need also look at the service providers plans to upgrade to Exchange 2010 version.

The Microsoft Exchange 2010 version has good OWA (Outlook Web Access) functionalities. The OWA functionality ensures users can access Microsoft Exchange mail inbox from any browser.

4. Bonus Features

Hosted Exchange Server has several advanced features like SharePoint collaboration portals, mobile device support, disaster recovery backup solutions, directory synchronization tools, and many more. Some of these features might not be available for free, but you need to look for a service provider who quotes the right price.

Some service providers offer a free copy of Outlook 2007 or Outlook 2010 to each user. As an organization, you might not be able to upgrade all users to Outlook 2010. However, choosing a right hosted exchange provider can help you get the latest version of Outlook for free to users in your organization.

5. Support

Most hosted exchange service providers offer two types of support – standard support and additional support provision. Standard support includes easy-to-use configuration tool, phone and web-based technical support, daily backups and 99.9% uptime guarantee.

Additional support provision includes training and support for communication tools with Exchange server. It is always good to select a service provider who considers the needs of the user and offers additional support at a reasonable cost.

These are some of the important factors to look at when selecting secure exchange hosting. A good exchange service provider will give users the flexibility to access mail anywhere at any time and also offer enterprise-level security at minimal costs.

Securence.com offers a wide range of email protection and security services including secure email archiving, encryption, continuity, email shadowing, inbound and outbound filtering, POP email hosting, hosted exchange, etc.for enterprises, small business, government and educational institutions worldwide. To know more, visit securence.com/blog.

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