We've been frantically looking to move from this company called Media Temple for our staging server / email needs. Our application / corporate servers are hosted with The Planet.

Any one have any suggestions for a shared hosting provider between the regular $10-$20 / month range, having the following things:


Windows with .NET 2.0/3.5 and AJAX installed
At least 5GB storage
IMAP email with IDLE support or Exchange email (will pay more)
Ability to host at least 10 domains
Minimalist Control panel and Webmail preferred


Any tips appreciated :)

Those are pretty basic needs. I think you can find that most hosts will provide what you are asking. Most Windows hosts will be using Exchange or SmarterMail which supports IMAP IDLE.

Hi pujapuri - Out of interest what do you mean by minimalist when you're looking for a control panel and webmail? Am I right in thinking you're looking for something quite simple / unbranded?

Hello

Smartermail enterprise is something you should look in to as it has many of the exchange features that you require :)

Speedy059 - Thanks we were considering DME strongly for a years subscription but lack of support on the website is what got us to wait.

eCenica - Yes. I would say MediaTemple and Mosso's panel are minimalist design's - targeted for users who haven't managed servers before compared to Plesk - which is great but a little bloated.

CyberHostPro - Out of research here, it does seem like SmarterMail seems like the best option for corporate email.

Thanks everyone for the suggestions. We're also considering buying SmarterMail's Pro license and use it on out dedicated server for mail and get a Windows based VPS for staging.

Support is lacking? Please let me know what you mean regardless if you go with DMEHosting or not so we can change the website layout. We provide several ways of support such as Support Tickets, Email, Live Chat and soon to be Forums. I would like to tell the designer to make some adjustments if other customers are going to think there isn't any support on the website. The only support we don't provide is Phone Support.

And you shouldn't buy a SmarterMail's Pro license, most companies will give a SmarterTool Pro Bundle for Dedicated Servers and/or VPS purchases. This alone will save you $750.

Design seems fine. The chat etc. was usually offline whenever checked.

SmarterMail Pro is $299 a server for what we need. Our server at Planet does not provide that. We're yet to find a VPS with Windows XEN that will give us SmaterTools and Control Panel at an okay rate.

With SmarterBundle Pro you get: Product: SmarterMail Pro 5.x - 50 Domains - 250 Users

Interesting observations pujapuri. One drawback with SmarterMail is the web based management and possible performance problems with the MTA and Virus scanning.

Also have a look at MailEnable. Their latest V3 has come along along way in teh last few years as has their focus on patching and security. The interface has a little less eye-candy than SmarterMail but the behind the scenes options are possibly better.

Good luck.