Exchange Hosting

Microsoft Exchange as a hosted solution

ActiveSync is also a product of Microsoft - a top of the line data synchronization program to handle your documents, calendar, contact list and email directly from your hosting account. The email hosting providers we have listed in our top-lists below offer you the options between the two of Microsoft's most popular business services.

So if you are buying hosting for your business be sure to consider choosing exchange hosting. It will not only focus on offering services and software such as Ms Exchange and ActiveSync to help you store and structure you documents, emails and appointments. Exchange hosting also include a number of business enhancing services such as internet marketing tools, search engine optimization etc.

More about Exchange Hosting

Setting up your own Exchange email system can be a lengthy expensive effort that will tie up your IT resources for weeks or even months at a time. Setting up your email system via Exchange Hosting will be quick with expenses that can be budgeted out over time. Upgrades, backups, spam filters and anti-virus scans are all done behind the scenes and you see the benefits right up front.

Exchange Support

You should be diligent, however, in selecting the provider for your Exchange Hosting. Here's a list of what you should be looking for in a provider of Exchange Hosting:

- The email platform supplied by the provider must be validated and approved by Microsoft.
- If picking a dedicated server setup, be sure the amount of guaranteed uptime is as close to 100% as possible.
- If picking a shared server setup, be sure the guaranteed uptime is specified.
- Ask about the levels of redundancy in the infrastructure -- the more there are, the better the reliability of the email will be.
- Look for an 'Exchange Only' offering with ActiveSync option -- you likely do not need any other added services.
- The backup MX Server should be specified as being at a safe off-site location
- Check the bandwidth levels you are allowed to reach and what happens when you exceed that bandwidth level.
- The provider should have a history of provisioning well for changes, such as the number of servers, new circuits and server upgrades both in the hardware and the operating system areas.
- Confirm that you will have the proper administrative privileges for creating and maintaining groups, roles and policies for the number of email users whose mailboxes you'll be setting up on the hosted service.
- Confirm that technical support from the provider is available for what periods you need, whether 24x7 or Local Business-Hours Only.
- Confirm the Microsoft Partner level of the provider -- minimum is a Certified Partner, though a Gold certified Partner would be even better.

ActiveSync Support

ActiveSync for Exchange is intended for coordinating the use of mobile devices with all aspects of the Exchange email system, whether it be calendars, contacts or actual email messages. Because of vendor cross-platform support from such companies as Apple and Nokia, to name two, ActiveSync is supported by a wide array of mobile devices, including Android Phones and the iPhone. "Push E-Mail" can now be deployed for use by mobile devices via ActiveSync. Exchange ActiveSync policies can be set up on the server and used to secure mobile devices by deactivating features or by wiping all data off a mobile device. Those last two features are especially useful when a company phone is reported lost or stolen.