At the office, we are running an old microsoft exchange on a out of date server running NT4.

We are in the process of upgrading the server, to be a communication server. This server will have microsoft exchange 2003 at least and our fax software.

Now, I was suggested that I use hosted exchange instead of buying the server and do maintenance and what not on it.

Now, I get blurb here and there about hosted exchange but want ot know what is all about.

Do we get the same functionnality as with an internal server with microsoft exchange ? Meaning, calendar, public folders, mailbox etc...

Microsoft refers to some suppliers in Canada, I have yet to contact them, but what price should we pay for a 17-20 users setup.

Thanks

There are several hosted exchange providors out there. On average you will pay 10-15.00$ USD per user. You will have most all the same functionality without the headache which is upon most us admins with upgrades and patches. Check out this link for a quick comparison

http://www.intermedia.net/it-professionals/hosted-exchange/faqs/hosted-vs-inhouse.asp

Let me know if i can answer any more questions.

Dave

If you currently run your own box and have that number of users, I'd advise keeping it in house, it will work out cheaper in the long run.

You can get all of the features on a hosted service, but many of them are additional options and not included as standard...

Dan

it will work out cheaper in the long run.


Because of server cost being absorb ?

Is Hosted exchange the same in terms of desktop ?

Will we have an outlook client much like we have with in house servber ?

Yes Outlook is the prefered client and it works exactly the same. Many hosted exchange providers also provide free downloads of the latest version of Outlook.

Is Hosted exchange the same in terms of desktop ?

Will we have an outlook client much like we have with in house servber ?

With Exchange 2003's ability to use RPC over HTTP you can connect your Outlook client directly to the exchange server as if you were in the same office as it, however you may notice some speed reduction, depending on your internet connection.

You should have all the abilites you had on your old server with hosted exchange.