Hosted Exchange Blog

There are many companies who boast a hosted exchange server who will try to get you to sign a large contract. Those who have never used hosted exchange often chose to sign the contract, not realizing that they are often sealing themselves into a deal that they may want to escape from.

One of the biggest problems about hosted exchange servers is that there are hundreds of them available online today, and the majority of them are hosted by companies who are not trained or capable to run the programs. If you sign a contract with companies like this, you will quickly discover that they are not what you need and may find yourself locked into something that you can not get out of.

There are plenty of worthy hosted exchange companies online that do not require you to sign a contract to use them. These companies work on a monthly basis, giving you a good deal every month to host your mail and providing superior customer service without locking you into any specific deal. When you’re searching for a hosting company, try to avoid ones that require that you sign a contract.

Hosted exchange servers have become so popular that there are many companies out there trying to lure you in so that they can have their business. It almost seems like every other hosting company is now trying to host Microsoft Exchange. What does this mean when it comes to your security? Before you choose a hosted exchange server, you should ensure that they are one that will keep your information safe. Here are a few tips:

• Look for their certification. Any hosting company that has been qualified by Microsoft will have certification saying that they are a verified exchange hosting company.

• Check the BBB. The better business bureau exists in order to ensure that businesses are playing correctly, so check the BBB before you hire any exchange hosting company.

• Speak with their customer service. If their customer service technicians do not sound knowledgeable, you may want to avoid them.

• Search for their reviews online. Online reviews are one of the wonderful things about the internet. Check the online reviews to see how highly the company you are anticipating using is rated.

If you do your research before hand, you can easily find a company that will keep your email safe.

There are a number of things about going with exchange hosting that can be frightening for any business to think about. One is that when you hire an exchange hosting company, the bulk of things will be going out of your hands. While this can mean much less stress for you, it can be a bit frightening to trust all of your information to a company. Another thing to worry about, however, is the exchange hosting company going out of business.

As exchange hosting has gotten to be extremely popular, there have been dozens of websites popping up all over the internet claiming that they can host Microsoft Exchange for your company. The problem, however, is that most companies are not qualified to do so, and if they go out of business after you sign up with them, you are in big trouble. Before hiring a company for exchange hosting, make sure that you hire one who has been around for awhile. Look for a company who is not only Microsoft certified, but Gold certified, as this means that the company works closely with Microsoft and has been a proven host for a very long time.

Pretend that you are the IT administrator for a small or medium sized business. Your job is simple: to keep everything running the way it needs to run. The company owner decides to bring in Microsoft Exchange 2007 and shells out the necessary money in order to have it hosted all in-house. You spend countless hours learning how to run the program and to keep it maintained, and when you finally get it installed you soon realize that it will take a better portion of your day in order to keep everything going the way it needs to be going.

This is when exchange hosting starts to look good. Not only will you be able to save your company money, but you will be able to get rid of a lot of the pressure of your day. If you own a small business and have only one IT administrator, it is a bit much to expect them to run Microsoft Exchange 2007 along with the rest of their duties. Exchange hosting can be a good option if you do not have the budget available to hire the necessary personnel to work on your exchange server, as it is less expensive and much less stressful. Your IT administrator will thank you!

Type in the words “exchange hosting” into any search engine and you will likely wind up with at least 10,000 results. More than half of these will be from companies who would like to offer you exchange hosting at an inexpensive price. Unfortunately all most of these websites do is to make exchange hosting sound like something your business needs, like it or not. The truth is that some companies would do better to host Microsoft Exchange 2007 on their own, while others would do better to hire a company to take care of everything for them.

The first thing to keep in mind is that larger companies often can afford to host Microsoft Exchange 2007 in their company. This is because they have much larger IT budgets and are easily able to afford the licenses and products that they will need, not to mention the personnel. Another thing to remember is that there are maintenance tasks that are necessary if you chose to host in-house, requiring a highly trained IT technician. This is why, the majority of the time, exchange hosting works well for small to medium sized companies, or to individuals who need to have access to their email at all times.

If you happen to glance around the internet you will read that the most important thing most people are searching for when it comes to exchange hosting is technical support. There are tons of nightmare stories about people choosing to go with an inferior company and winding up having to deal with a technical support person who not only comes from a foreign land and who can not understand your language, but also who has no idea what they are doing.

When it comes to exchange hosting, no amount of add-on’s or cheap plans will equal up to having an excellent technical support person on the other end of the phone when an emergency arises. If you happen to have to call at 3 am and have to wait for ten hours to get service that can help you, what good is that? Better yet are the exchange hosting companies who charge you for emergency after-hours service. Before you hire any exchange hosting company, make sure that they not only offer good technical support (you can ask to speak to their technical support before you sign on with them), but make sure that they are available no matter what time of day you may need them.

There are some companies who have been running their own server for a number of years and who are concerned about maintaining it. Often, a company owner will spend the money, believing it to be a solid investment, only to realize that they will have to keep spending money in order to keep the server and the programs going. This can be a stressful situation and is why many company owners eventually seek out exchange hosting services.

One thing to search for when you are looking for exchange hosting services and you have already owned your own server is ease of transfer. If you have been running your own server for a number of years, you will likely want to make sure not only that you do not lose any of your important information, but also that you do not have to spend hours on the telephone with a computer technician transferring everything. A good exchange hosting company will be able to help you to transfer things quickly and easily, without much fuss, helping you to alleviate the stress that comes from owning your own server.

Microsoft has extremely high standards, which is one reason why they have become as popular as they have become. They demand perfection, and will only work with those companies who are going to be able to represent their company, and their products, perfectly. This is why there are very few exchange hosting companies who are able to claim that they are certified through Microsoft. Achieving Microsoft certification is a good thing to look for in an exchange hosting company, but there is better.

Gold certified status is tangible proof that the provider who received the status through Microsoft has proved that they are able to maintain their exchange server the way that Microsoft intends it to be maintained. When a company reaches the level of Gold Certified Partner, you can rest assured that they will be the best able to help your business to run the way that it should be run using the Microsoft programs. Very few companies are able to achieve Gold Certified Partner level, which means that if you are searching for an exchange hosting company and want the best, you will want to look out for the Gold Certified Partner level.

When you’re trying to decide if you should use exchange hosting, there are a few questions that you should ask about the company.

1. Is the provider using a validated and approved Microsoft platform? If they are not, the company, as well as you, could wind up in big trouble. Make sure that your exchange hosting provider is using a validated and approved Microsoft platform.

2. Does the provider focus only on exchange hosting? If you get a provider who is doing eighteen other projects, the chances are high that they will not provide the attention that is needed to your exchange hosting. A company who focuses solely on exchange hosting is always the best option.

3. Can you get technical support 24/7? Not every exchange hosting company provides technical support around the clock. It is vital, however, that you make sure that yours does, as you never know when you may need a hand.

4. How sound is their infrastructure? No company is perfect, but before you choose an exchange hosting company, you should make sure that they have a very sound infrastructure so that you do not have to worry about the system going down.

What do you do when you are trying to get your business into the 21st century and set up online? If you are a large corporation with a very large budget set aside for IT needs, you simply dip into that fund, purchase a server, purchase Microsoft Exchange 2007, and hire an IT technician in order to keep everything running smoothly. If you’re a smaller business, however, this may not be an option. The solution you are searching for is exchange hosting.

Exchange hosting provides web-based access to your email, which means that no matter where you are, or what time zone you are in, you will always have access to your business email. Basically, exchange hosting gives you the ability to use Microsoft Exchange 2007 without having to spend thousands of dollars purchasing the program or the server. This is often the best option for those who own smaller companies, or for medium-sized companies that do not wish to create a large budget for IT needs. Exchange hosting is always the solution when you’re searching for a way to give your employees the ability to check their email no matter where they are without having to spend a fortune yourself.