Microsoft Exchange is Microsoft's email server solution. In layman's terms, it's a piece of software that runs on a server and manages all your emails.
Incoming, outgoing, saved, drafts, calendars–everything is done through Microsoft Exchange and stored on the server.
Microsoft Exchange isn’t the only way a company can manage their emails.
Most organisations start with what's called POP3 email. What that basically means is whoever hosts your website also manages your email. They collect it and then send it to each individual computer, effectively downloading that email onto each computer.
The problem with POP3, and why products like Microsoft Exchange exist, is that all of the emails that you're downloading from your web-hosting provider are stored on individual computers. Therefore if one of the individual computers dies, all your emails would be lost. Microsoft Exchange is designed to centralise your emails into one database. Instead of your web-hosting company handling your email and them storing them on your computer, Exchange manages and backs up the emails on a server.
The rise in popularity of ‘hosted exchange’ has allowed organisations to access a variety of enterprise-grade software solutions and bypass the major hurdles of infrastructure costs, licensing fees, maintenance and training. A hosted exchange hosts your emails in the cloud. IT service providers offer Hosted Microsoft Exchange services and can handle of all your emails and store them securely in the cloud.
Microsoft Exchange enables email to be delivered directly to a server. It works by sending the emails back to your individual workstations in which your staff can access. Small and medium-sized companies can achieve three benefits from using Microsoft Exchange.
Assess requirements and determine the Exchange service model
There are three different options for Exchange.
Speak with an IT professional to assess the requirements and see which option is best for you.
Data hosted in Singapore or Australia
We are often asked the question, “Do we choose a Singapore or Australian host?” by companies when rolling out Exchange.
You can expect to pay a premium to have your Exchange hosted in Australia, but there are benefits to keeping your data in-country and away from foreign laws and regulations. Furthermore, if you’re in an industry that has some data jurisdiction issues, you’ll definitely need to host it locally inside Australia.
Installing Microsoft Exchange
Most companies that move to Exchange are likely transitioning from POP3. To complete the migration, you need to export all your emails from POP3, and then import them into Exchange. Once that’s done, you’ll need to reconfigure all of the existing desktops to access the Exchange server. Generally speaking, your IT guy should be able to do this pretty easily.
Are you thinking of using Microsoft Exchange?
We have experience helping organisations make the transition can can help you see the benefits of increased efficiencies, improved productivity and minimised downtime.
Request a no obligation free Microsoft Exchange assessment today.