HOSTED EXCHANGE

Microsoft enables organisations of all sizes to utilize the enterprise-class messaging, mobility, collaboration and group scheduling feature offered by Microsoft Exchange Server without the need to purchase and maintain expensive infrastructure and licenses. Microsoft Hosted Exchange is an attractive and affordable way to enable your team to work smarter and communicate more effectively.

Business Benefits

Microsoft Exchange Server is the premier email platform built to deliver the enterprise-class security and reliability that businesses require. Microsoft Exchange provides email, calendar and contacts on your PC, Mac, smartphone and web browser.

Microsoft Exchange

The benefits of Microsoft Exchange include:

• Up-to-date: Exchange server stores everything centrally, so you always see the latest version of your email, files, calendar and contacts.
• Mobile access: Microsoft Exchange is the software that powers email for smartphones including iPhones, and Android or Windows-powered devices. It also offers access to email from virtually any browser, so you will always be synced with your team.
• Shared calendars: Microsoft Exchange lets employees see colleagues' availability to schedule or rearrange meetings, book conference rooms, and plan projects.
• Shared task lists: Microsoft Exchange allows 'to do' lists to be created and assigned, then shared with team members. Managers can check off items as they are completed.
• Shared contacts: Company or shared address books means your customers' contact details will never be lost or misplaced.

Microsoft Exchange server is the most effective solution for enabling employees to share information and work together productively.

Information Technology as a Service

Microsoft allows organisations of any size to purchase information technology resources as a service. This is similar to the way electricity is purchased from a power supply company.

With Microsoft's Hosted Exchange service, business benefits include:

• Only the service actually used each month is charged for
• There are no expensive servers to purchase and maintain
• Investment in software licenses is not required
• The burden and cost of maintaining and protecting in-house email and collaboration services are removed
• Future software, hardware and service upgrades are included in the low monthly service fee
• A stable and reliable email service virtually eliminates downtime and improves productivity
• Mobile freedom, with support, is instantly enabled for email, calendar and contacts on virtually any smartphone or tablet

 

Technical Overview

Microsoft's Hosted Exchange is built from the ground up to support security and reliability with unmatched scalability. A web-based control panel is included to enable you or your System Administrator to easily add and remove users and complete almost any Exchange-related customisations.

Reliability

Microsoft's Hosted Exchange is built on the industry-leading Microsoft Exchange platform. Microsoft takes advantage of many of the enterprise-availability features that are offered by Microsoft Exchange. For example, Microsoft employs a "nothing shared" architecture and database availability groups (DAGs). This means that every component is, where possible, duplicated so that no single failure can impact the performance or availability of the service. The hosted email service is delivered from leading data centres in New Zealand and is built on Microsoft's advanced Network Critical Physical Infrastructure layer.

Security

Microsoft's Hosted Exchange utilises industry-leading mail filtering and security delivered by Trustwave's MailMarshal and McAfee Antivirus. Over 90% of spam email is filtered before it even reaches our email environment through Microsoft's subscription to multiple IP reputation and blacklist services. The remaining email is filtered through Microsoft's self-learning anti-spam gateway servers.

The hosted email service is delivered from Microsoft's robust network and security core which is built on the same "nothing shared" architecture where all components are N+1 configured. That is, if "N" components are required, then there is always an extra "1" available in either an Active/Active or Active/Passive configuration. This means that there is always at least one component of the system available to automatically replace the service of a faulty one.

Enterprise-class Cisco Firewalls and Intrusion Prevention systems continually monitor the environment and mitigate security threats.

Microsoft's infrastructure is located in New Zealand Tier 3 data centres and is protected 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, by on-site security personnel. The premises are controlled by sophisticated on-site security systems consisting of closed-circuit surveillance cameras and electronic tracking systems to ensure the highest level of physical security for Microsoft's Hosted Exchange network.

 

Control Panel

Microsoft's web-based Control Panel allows your organisation to manage your own user creation and deletion processes without the need to contact Microsoft. This means that your System Administrators are able to complete almost any Exchange email-related tasks including:

 

• User creation and deletion
• Password reset and account unlock
• Creation of Distribution Lists, Public Folders and Aliases
• Ability to set and adjust mailbox quotas at global and user level

 

Any questions? Please contact us.