| work in a Small and Mid Size business (SME) there is a | | | | employing IT staff to install and maintain the |
| big chance that you are sending, receiving emails and | | | | infrastructure, or being responsible for a 24/7 |
| sharing contacts/tasks/calendars on hosted exchange | | | | infrastructure. |
| or Webmail powered email hosting solution. But what | | | | Webmail |
| are the differences between hosted exchange and | | | | Webmail gives you anywhere, anytime, emails, |
| Webmail and what is the best option for your | | | | calendars, contacts and task lists. It’s intended |
| business? | | | | to be as powerful as a desktop client, such as |
| Most SMEs usually don’t have the time, a | | | | Outlook. The only limitation is that you need is a web |
| large IT budget or technical staff to implement and | | | | browser and an internet connection. You can access |
| maintain an entire in-house email server infrastructure. | | | | email from Outlook, BlackBerry, Webmail, or any |
| Other factors such as costs are usually the main | | | | other email client or wireless device with absolutely |
| reasons why hosted exchange or Webmail email | | | | no maintenance on your end. |
| hosting is becoming more and more popular. By using | | | | Webmail email hosting is a budget email hosting |
| hosted exchange or Webmail from an email hosting | | | | solution, but nonetheless it delivers great functionality |
| provider your business don’t need to | | | | for small businesses. A Webmail service takes away |
| physical-in-house-on-site email servers. | | | | complexities of installing and maintaining an in-house |
| Hosted Exchange is sometimes also called exchange | | | | email solution and at the same time offers the latest |
| hosting and is usually running on a Microsoft Exchange | | | | anti-spam, anti-virus and security technologies. |
| backend server. Using an email hosting provider you | | | | Webmail is an email hosting solution that is perfect |
| get peace of mind that your email system is always | | | | for businesses that have somewhat limited in-house |
| secure, backed up and up and running. Using a | | | | budgets for IT expenses, limited IT resources to |
| premier email hosting provider services also comes | | | | support an email environment and businesses that |
| with high reliability and performance plus | | | | need the latest spam and virus protection. |
| administration and 24/7/365 support. To summarise | | | | Hosted exchange or Webmail — |
| the main difference between hosted exchange and | | | | What’s best for you? |
| Webmail email hosting is that 1. Webmail is a budget | | | | What are the main differences between hosted |
| version of email hosting and 2. with Webmail you use | | | | exchange and Webmail? In summary hosted |
| a web browser to send, receive and review emails, | | | | exchange is a more sophisticated solution with more |
| i.e. you will need internet access to utilise Webmail. | | | | shared options and is more widely deployed, on the |
| Hosted Exchange | | | | other hand Webmail is gaining market share easily |
| Hosted exchange is based on Microsoft’s | | | | accessible and is of course a cheaper solution than |
| latest exchange server with Microsoft outlook as | | | | hosted exchange. |
| your client. With Outlook you can do more than send | | | | Below is a brief explanation of what the differences |
| and receive email, you can share calendars, folders | | | | are - in terms of ability to share contacts, tasks and |
| and contacts. Outlook is available for desktop, | | | | calendar - between hosted exchange and Webmail |
| browser and mobile access so you are always | | | | email hosting. |
| connected, whether you are in the office, on the | | | | Share contacts: |
| road or working at home. You always connect to the | | | | Shared contacts are usually available with the hosted |
| same exchange server; therefore your inbox always | | | | exchange option. Other users can be granted access |
| stays synched in near-real time, no matter which | | | | to edit your contacts. Usually there is no ability for |
| Outlook client you are using. | | | | shared contacts with the Webmail option. Other |
| In a hosted exchange environment, the hosting | | | | users cannot have access to edit your contacts. |
| provider owns and is responsible for the data centre, | | | | Share tasks |
| network, devices, operating system and application | | | | You can usually share tasks among users with hosted |
| infrastructure components. In short, the hosting | | | | exchange. You have the ability to assign a task to |
| provider is responsible for providing a stable operating | | | | other users. You can select the users you want to |
| environment for every application used. Your own IT | | | | invite and automatically see the best times to meet. |
| organisation manages the applications and maintains | | | | Collaboration with tasks among users is usually not |
| full control over the applications infrastructure and | | | | available with the Webmail option. You cannot assign |
| business process. | | | | a task to someone else and you have to manually |
| In contrast with in-house-on-site email servers you | | | | find everyone’s schedule before you agree to |
| need to provide maintenance and have anti-virus | | | | set up a meeting. |
| subscription and security update upgrades. | | | | Share calendar |
| You’ll need to purchase a new server | | | | Exchange usually allows you to delegate read/write |
| approximately every 5 years and you will have slow | | | | capabilities with the hosted exchange option, i.e. you |
| access from outside of the office. You also need to | | | | can have an assistant create events for you. Events |
| invest in server hardware, server software licensing, | | | | can have different statuses and colours on your |
| exchange enterprise software and Blackberry server | | | | calendar (i.e. out of office, on holiday, business etc.). |
| software. Finally you’ll need to hire a | | | | No delegation capabilities can be given to other users |
| consultant to install software and perform | | | | with the Webmail option, so your assistant cannot |
| maintenance/upgrades. | | | | create events for you. Only read access can be |
| Having a hosted exchange solution mean you | | | | given. Categories of events are not available |
| don’t have to pay through the nose for | | | | (personal, out of office, on holiday etc. |
| expensive in-house servers, software licenses, | | | | |