Your Business’s First Step to Collaboration could be Hosted Exchange
We were recently meeting with an individual that had self-identified a need for CRM and, specifically, was interested in Microsoft Dynamics CRM. The purpose of our meeting was to discuss Microsoft Dynamics CRM and the organization’s options for implementation.
Here at Zynaptics we always believe you must fully understand the challenge that an organization faces before presenting possible solutions. With that mantra in mind we decided to use our Business Discovery Model (BDM™) to identify what was challenging this entrepreneur and his organization.
Business Discovery Model (BDM™) is a proprietary methodology developed by Zynaptics to fully identify the business process methods of an organization.
After our BDM discussion we identified a set of immediate needs that needed be met on a minimal budget:
- Calendar Sharing
- Contact Sharing
- E-mail Inbox Access
- Wireless Synchronization
- Support for 2-5 users
- Probable time-frame before re-evaluation of Information Sharing and Collaboration Solution was 6-12 months.
- 12 month + plan would involve additional team members with a single client receiving service from more than one team member.
With this discovery complete we thought through the organizations challenge and realized that CRM would be excessive to meet their short-term needs and the investment (or expense, if hosted) would not have the desired return at this time. After we thought through several options – from custom designed solutions, ACT!, Access Database, etc. – we narrowed on Hosted Exchange.
What is Hosted Exchange?
Hosted Exchange allow you to experience the benefits of a full-scale corporate Exchange server without any of the management challenges. The Exchange Server management and support is handled by a service provider and normally includes the following functions:
- Backup of Mailbox – Easy to restore and no chance to forget to take a backup.
- Redundant Data Connections – Ever had your Internet connection fail? A hosting provider will have multiple independent connections to avoid these issues.
- Anti-virus and Anti-spam – Without these you’ll spend hours each day wading through junk.
- Power Backup – Rest assured that if your hosting provider loses their main power connection they have the power continue to send and receive your e-mail.
- Wireless Synchronization – Windows Mobile ActiveSync, Blackberry, Good Messaging, Web Access, etc. A good hosting provider will make these available to you as either part of the package or as an add-on.
- Outlook 2007 – To get the most from a Hosted Exchange solution you want the latest version of Microsoft Outlook. Many hosting providers will provide you a license for Outlook 2007 so even if you are still on Office 2003 you’ll have the latest version of Outlook.
Why Hosted Exchange?
Exchange provides extremely valuable collaboration capabilities. The ability to access and update each other schedules, share folders, give other users access to your inbox, etc. can deliver enormous productivity gains. In addition, the use of an Exchange server can simplify backup/recovery, provide Windows Mobile and Blackberry support, and deliver superior anti-spam/anti-virus protection. Here at Zynaptics we could not imagine operating without an Exchange server and for many businesses Hosted Exchange provide the most cost-effective path to an Exchange server.
How do you choose a Hosted Exchange provider?
We always recommend taking the time to determine if the solution will meet the requirement. Even when time is limited our experience is taking a few moments to understand your requirements can save you countless headaches that will result from an ineffective solution.
Once you have reached the conclusion that Hosted Exchange would be appropriate for your organization you need to review your specific requirements. Such requirements may include (among many):
- Mailbox storage size.
- Wireless (Windows Mobile/BlackBerry) requirements.
- Industry Regulations with regard to e-mail tracking and retention.
- Public Folder usage.
- Message Encryption
Once you know your specific requirements you can start contacting the many providers of Hosted Exchange to identify providers who could meet your requirements. A good starting point is Microsoft’s list of Hosted Exchange providers: http://www.microsoft.com/serviceproviders/solutions/catalog.aspx. Take the time to contact each provider to understand their specific offering, the complete pricing model, and their stability. Remember, saving $20 a month won’t be such a good deal if your e-mail is unreliable or your provider goes out of business without notice. Often the best choice will not be the cheapest.
Zynaptics has recommended these three Hosted Exchange providers:
As always we suggest you do your own research and come to your own conclusions as to the appropriate provider.
In addition to Hosted Exchange you may also benefit from a Hosted SharePoint solution. We’ll cover Hosted SharePoint in a future posting.
We would love to hear your feedback: Are you using Hosted Exchange? Running an in-house Exchange Server? Relying on a web host’s POP3/IMAP solution? Using Yahoo! Mail or GMail? Recently switched to a new solution? How do you manage the shared contacts and calendar needs of your organization?
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