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HankCashFlag for United States of America

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Google Apps as redundancy option to Exchange 2003

I currently manage an Exchange 2003 server with 25 mailboxes.  Several users have 4GB+ mailboxes including the CEO.  The total Message Store is 35GB.  I use Postini for anti-spam.  We are in the process of transitioning to Google Apps Message Security for anti-spam.  Google has notified me that the transition should be complete within the next two months.  We do not use public folders.

I would like to have a redundant solution in place so that when/if the Exchange server goes belly up there will be little to no down time at a reasonable cost and low administrative overhead.  To that end, I have been looking at Google Apps Mail as a means to keep our current Exchange environment but also have redundancy.  I would like to test Google Apps with three users before implementing it for all 25 users with external mail.  My reading of Google documentation leads me to believe it is doable with a combination of "split" and "dual" delivery.  However, this would be using "legacy routing controls".  I am not clear how to do this using Google's "Mail routing and delivery: Guidelines and best practices".

I would like to find a step-by-step guide to setup Google Apps  Mail as described.  Any help is greatly appreciated.  I will also be happy to take suggestions for alternative products for redundancy and possible future road map.

Legacy Routing Controls
https://support.google.com/a/answer/119008?hl=en&ref_topic=2683866

Mail routing and delivery: Guidelines and best practices
https://support.google.com/a/answer/2685650
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Amit
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Why you are going to Google apps. You have Office 365 from Microsoft. Currently, O365 is the best and you will get all best feature from O365. For more details:
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/
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ASKER

I haven't given Office 365 that much consideration because it is much more expensive than Google Apps.  If I were getting rid of the Exchange server that would probably be the way I would go.
I don't have any problem with Google Apps too. However, you need to see from client side. If you are using Windows OS with Office as your default client machine. Then, Office 365 make much more sense and give lot of benefits in long run. You can explore the trial version.

As far as you question, regarding redundancy part. I don't think that is doable. As both are different product. You need to do some work around to make it work.
My question is, if you want Google Apps as a redundancy/fail-over solution, why not use it as the primary (see blog post here)?

While you get more capabilities with the web ui, you can provide a native MS 0utlook experience if you want.

For more than 1/2 our new customers, we are connecting Google Drive to their desktops via sync folder and/or mapped drives, providing MS Office integration and support for other client-based Windows apps.  

The cost remains advantageous, and you get true device independence (PC, Mac, Android, and iOS).
Please close question.  None of the responses addressed the question being asked.
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Allen Falcon
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