Move to Exchange or Gmail for Business?
Our firm is considering whether to transfer our email to Microsoft Exchange Server 2010 or to Google's Gmail for Business, and would appreciate experts' comments on the pros and cons of each.
Users connect to the mail server mainly from Outlook 2007/2010, smartphones or webmail.
We are aware that having an Exchange server will provide more direct control over access and security, but would appreciate advice on all of the advantages and disadvantages to each option.
The main difference in cost is in the initial purchase of hardware (new server and software licences). The ongoing costs are similar (external IT support for Exchange vs. per-mailbox fee for Google, and extra bandwidth for Google to cover internal emails), as are the expected migration costs from our existing Scalix mail server (around 30 users, but many with BIG mailboxes).
The final purchase decision will be based on the question: does the difference in functionality, security and ease of use (for end users and the IT administrator) for Exchange justify an extra $5,000-$6,000 upfront cost? Or is it not worth it? Or is Gmail better anyway?
Users connect to the mail server mainly from Outlook 2007/2010, smartphones or webmail.
We are aware that having an Exchange server will provide more direct control over access and security, but would appreciate advice on all of the advantages and disadvantages to each option.
The main difference in cost is in the initial purchase of hardware (new server and software licences). The ongoing costs are similar (external IT support for Exchange vs. per-mailbox fee for Google, and extra bandwidth for Google to cover internal emails), as are the expected migration costs from our existing Scalix mail server (around 30 users, but many with BIG mailboxes).
The final purchase decision will be based on the question: does the difference in functionality, security and ease of use (for end users and the IT administrator) for Exchange justify an extra $5,000-$6,000 upfront cost? Or is it not worth it? Or is Gmail better anyway?
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ASKER
Thanks.
Infin and allenfalcon both mention the importance of archive, auditing, discovery services (which would automatically include backups).
Do you have any comments on the comparative ease-of-use/functionality of these in Exchange compared to Gmail, either using the Microsoft/Google service or a third party option?
Infin and allenfalcon both mention the importance of archive, auditing, discovery services (which would automatically include backups).
Do you have any comments on the comparative ease-of-use/functionality of these in Exchange compared to Gmail, either using the Microsoft/Google service or a third party option?
ASKER
No responses were received to my request for clarification, which I will post as a separate question
it's quite cheap (and perfectly scalabe) and transparent in use (our firm's users have all outlook on their pcs and it is used on all our iphones as well) AND it supports web-outlook as well
cant help you comparing it all to google services, cause i never used it.