Hosted Exchange refers to Microsoft Exchange Server being offered as a service by third-party hosting providers. Microsoft Exchange Server is a popular email, calendar, and contact management system used by businesses of all sizes.
When a company doesn’t want to invest in the infrastructure, technical expertise, and ongoing maintenance required to run its own on-premises Exchange Server, it can opt for a hosted solution.
In a hosted Exchange setup you receive the following:
- Infrastructure: The hosting provider manages all the necessary infrastructure, including servers and storage, required to run the Exchange environment.
- Maintenance: The hosting provider handles routine maintenance tasks, such as applying software patches, backing up data, and monitoring system health.
- Security: Hosted Exchange providers typically offer robust security measures, including firewalls, anti-virus/anti-spam filtering, and sometimes even encryption solutions, to ensure the safety and integrity of your email data.
- Scalability: It’s relatively easy to scale up or down with a hosted solution. If a company grows and needs more mailboxes, it can typically add them with ease. Likewise, if the company shrinks, it can reduce its number of mailboxes.
- Accessibility: Users can access their email, calendar, and contacts from anywhere with an internet connection, thanks to the web-based nature of hosted solutions. This is especially valuable for businesses with a mobile workforce or multiple locations.
- Predictable Costs: Instead of incurring significant capital expenses upfront for hardware and software, businesses can usually pay a predictable monthly fee based on the number of mailboxes or the amount of storage they use.
