Exchanging Exchange Server
Should businesses look to another email solution?
by Brett Callow
Sponsored by Ipswitch
EXCHANGING EXCHANGE SERVER:
SHOULD BUSINESSES LOOK TO ANOTHER EMAIL SOLUTION?
The increasing cost of email
Businesses need an email server which does much more than simply deliver email - it must also enable employees to work while on the move, provide protection from spam and other security threats as well as enabling collabora-tion between colleagues.
Email servers have evolved to meet these needs. Today’s email servers are mission-critical, enterprise-class groupware messaging systems which filter out harmful content, enable colleagues to share their contacts and calendars and provide road warriors and other mobile workers with anywhere-access to their email.
But there is a downside to this evolution. The additional functionality which is now packed into email servers has resulted in them becoming complex systems that are increasingly expensive in terms of both management-overhead and licensing costs. Similarly, the additional functionality has resulted in upgrades and migrations becoming both increasingly challenging and time consuming: nowadays, switching from version 1 to version 2 of a product is not always a straightforward process.
Take the most current version of Microsoft® Exchange as an example. Exchange Server has become the most dominant corporate email platform among busi-nesses but is afflicted by the problems of cost and complexity outlined above. In November 2009, Microsoft released the most recent version of Exchange:
Exchange Server 2010. The Redmond-based company loaded Exchange Server 2010 with improvements and enhancements, but, while those improvements and enhancements undoubtedly provide functionality which some businesses will need, they also make Exchange more expensive and more challenging to maintain than ever before. Furthermore, the process of migrating to Exchange Server 2010 is not as easy. In fact, the process is technically demanding and time consuming and may necessitate the purchase of new server hardware and third-party migration tools.
Exchange Server 2010: the benefits
With each new iteration, Microsoft has extended and bolstered the functionality of Exchange. Exchange Server 2010's features include:
• Built-in archiving and discovery capabilities – retention
management policies, Legal Hold, role-based access control and various other features that help both administrators and users address compliance and discovery challenges.
• High availability – database-level failover, built-in mailbox recovery, cluster continuous replication and IO reductions
combine to help make Exchange Server more stable and resilient.
• Unified messaging – email, voicemail and fax messages are
centralized to a single inbox which can be accessed from a mobile device, Outlook® or Outlook Web Access (but see the section on licensing costs on the next page).
• A choice of server roles – only those features which are necessary
to a particular server role are enabled. This reduces installation and configuration times and improves security by limiting the surface area which is available for attack.
In short, Exchange Server 2010 is a comprehensive messaging system that undoubtedly provides benefits over earlier versions, but, as already mentioned, those benefits do not come without some substantial costs.
“With Ipswitch IMail Server, we didn’t need a
dedicated machine like with Microsoft®
Exchange. We were able to run DNS, Web Server
and IMail Server all on one box, and IMail Server
was a lot simpler to install and configure. We liked
the GUI control panel and the administration side
was a lot simpler than our previous product.”
Exchange Server 2010: the costs
Should a business upgrade to Exchange Server 2010? Should a start-up select Exchange Server 2010 as its email server? While some of its new features may appear to make Exchange Server 2010 a compelling choice, there are also factors which should give businesses some considerable pause for thought:
• Hardware support - Exchange Server 2010 runs exclusively on x64
hardware; in other words, support for x86 servers is nonexistent. Should a business find that its current x86 hardware is being pushed to its limits, switching to the x64 architecture is probably the most logical step. However, in instances where the workload is not pushing a server too hard, replacing that server with an x64 alternative might well be perceived as both an unwanted and
unwarranted expense.
• Licensing costs - Exchange Server 2010 is expensive. Very
expensive in fact. The Standard Edition costs $699 and the Enterprise Edition $3,999. In addition to the server license, a Client Access License (CAL) is required for each user or device which will access Exchange Server. The Standard CAL costs $67 per user or device with the Enterprise CAL, which provides access to advanced features such as unified messaging, archiving
functionality and Forefront Security, costing an additional $35 per user or device. In a business in which 100’s or possibly 1000’s of users need to access Exchange, the total licensing costs will obviously be substantial. Furthermore, many businesses will be shocked to discover the licensing costs are more than they had anticipated. Starting with Outlook 2007, Outlook client licenses are no longer included with either the Standard or Enterprise CAL and must be purchased separately - and this can increase the cost of the total package substantially.
“Ipswitch IMail Server not only satisfied our
requirements in terms of functions and features,
but also provide Samsung OpenTide with significant
business advantages, primarily in our lower ownership
costs and higher customer satisfaction rates.
As a result, our business scale has doubled.”
• Duplication and redundancy - the problem with some of
Exchange's features is that businesses which need them probably already have them - and, conversely, businesses which do not have them probably do not need them. Take Exchange’s compliance tools, for example. While certainly useful, most businesses which need to audit their email will already have a compliance tool in place - and those which do not, probably do not need to audit their email. Accordingly, many businesses will find they do not need or do not use all of Exchange’s features – and that the duplicated or redundant features only add unnecessarily to Exchange Server’s cost and complexity.
• Migration challenges – according to a study by Osterman
Research, 70% of businesses were concerned about the complexity of migrating to Exchange Server 2007, 69% about the amount of time the migration would demand and 66% about the cost of the migration. This is not at all surprising - and the situation is similar when it comes to Exchange Server 2010: migration is a technically challenging and time consuming process. In-place upgrades are not an option and, to get to 2010, a fresh install is necessary. The situation was identical in Exchange Server 2007 but was at least understandable due to the transition to 64-bits.
Migration from Exchange 5.5 to Exchange Server 2010 is particularly daunting as there is no direct upgrade path from Exchange 5.5 to Exchange Server 2010. To make the switch, a business must upgrade to Exchange Server 2003 and then upgrade to 2010. This two-step process is one which any business will find intimidating - and which smaller businesses with limited in-house technical resources may well find to be exceptionally challenging. In order to reduce the cost and complexity associated with implementing and managing an Exchange system, more and more businesses are now considering outsourcing the task to hosting companies. While a hosted solution may reduce costs in some situations, it is not without risks. What will happen if the hosting company ceases to trade? Can service level guarantees be provided? Is support available 24/7? Does the hosting company have an appropriate backup strategy in place?
IMail Server: a better alternative to Exchange
Ipswitch IMail Server is a fully-featured easy to use standards-based email server system. IMail Server supports SMTP, POP3, IMAP, LDAP and provides workgroup collaboration, encrypted instant messaging, shared calendaring, multi-language Web-based email, a global address book and protection from viruses and spam. Everything you would expect to be found in an enterprise-class messaging system can be found in IMail Server.
IMail Server provides a solution to the costs and complexities associated with deploying and managing Exchange Server 2010:
• Hardware Support – a business does not need to replace its
servers to be able to run the very latest version of IMail Server. IMail Server can be installed on any x86 or x64 server with 512 MB or more of RAM enabling businesses to continue to leverage their existing hardware investments.
• Licensing costs – to purchase Exchange Server 2010 Standard
Edition with Forefront Security for 100 users for a 3 year period would cost $17,799. To purchase IMail Server Premium with security from BitDefender for 100 users for a 3 year period would cost $4,743. Add more users or support costs into the equation, and the savings achievable with IMail become even more substantial:
IMail Server Premium vs Microsoft Exchange Pricing (over a 3 year period)3
IMail Server Premium Microsoft Exchange
(w/ 3 yrs unlimited service and support) (w/o service protection and support) # of Users Price without AV Price with AV Price without AV Price with AV
250 $4,955 $8,143 $20,749 $33,999 500 $6,025 $10,373 $37,499 $63,999 1000 $7,285 $12,213 $70,999 $123,999
3 Based on information from Microsoft Exchange Evaluation and Purchasing Guides.
http://www.microsoft.com/exchange/2010/en/us/pricing.aspx
The costs of licensing Outlook 2007 are no different for a business that uses IMail Server than a business which uses Microsoft’s platform: users of Exchange Server do not obtain Outlook 2007 for a discounted price. Additionally, as IMail Server works with any standards-based email client, businesses which do not need the full collaborative capa-bilities of Outlook can further reduce costs by electing a no-cost email client such as Windows Mail or Mozilla Thunderbird.
The lower cost of IMail Server does not translate to lower quality. IMail Server is a proven product which (optionally) includes virus protection from either BitDefender or Syman-tec: solutions which, according to independent tests, detect more than 99% of viruses.
• Duplication and redundancy – With IMail, a business can pick and choose exactly which
features it needs, and pay only for those features.
• Migration challenges – IMail Server makes migration a snap. For users of Exchange
Server, the Microsoft Exchange to IMail Server Migration Utility enables email, users, mailing groups and contacts to be moved into IMail Server in a matter of minutes. There is no need to upgrade to an x64 server or to an x64 operating system or to rely on expensive third-party migration tools. The process is painless and speedy and the Migration Utility works with any version of Exchange from 5.5 to 2010.
IMail Server is both versatile and scalable. While able to meet the demands of enterprise space companies, it is equally well suited for use in small or medium sized businesses - and its pricing structure makes it easily affordable by even the smallest of businesses. In order to provide businesses with the most cost effective messaging solution, IMail Server is made available in three versions: IMail Express (a completely free solution for businesses with less than 10 email users), IMail Server and IMail Server Premium (includes premium anti-spam). Each version provides businesses with a solid, reliable, cost effective messaging system that can grow as a business grows.
Feature IMail ServerPremium IMail SecureServer
Scalable, standards-based, Windows email server with Webmail, SMTP, POP, IMAP, LDAP and list server
Basic anti-spam with blacklists, Bayesian filter, phrase filters and SPF
Enhanced security with SSL Encryption, SMTP Auth and dictionary attack sensing Trusted Realtime Whitelists
Commtouch Premium anti-spam with automatic updates and network based protection against email borne threats
Secure instant messaging with 168-bit 3DES encryption
Shared Outlook calendars, global address books, tasks and notes with IMail Web Client and Mobile Devices
12 months unlimited support and product updates and patches 24x7 Support Agreement
IMail Server
Password sensitivity security controls in Domain Properties DomainKeys/DKIM
Basic Email Archiving
Maximum Number of Users External Address Verification
Integrated Anti-virus
Conclusion
For businesses of all sizes, IMail Server offers an excellent alternative to the cost and complexity of maintaining an Exchange environment. IMail Server was designed for businesses which need an enterprise-class messaging and
collaboration solution without the cost and complexity usually associated with such solutions. And IMail delivers. With low initial setup costs and uncomplicated management, IMail Server provides a rapid return on investment.
For more information about IMail Server
To find out more about Ipswitch IMail Server, please visit www.imailserver.com. A fully functional 30 day trial version of IMail Server can be downloaded at no cost. All Ipswitch products are covered by an unconditional 30 day money-back guarantee.
About Ipswitch
Ipswitch develops and markets innovative IT software that is easy to learn and use. Millions of people worldwide use Ipswitch software to monitor their networks with Ipswitch WhatsUp®, transfer files over the Internet using the market leading Ipswitch WS_FTP® Professional client and Ipswitch WS_FTP Server and communicate via Ipswitch IMail Server.
For product and sales information, visit http://www.imailserver.com.
About the authors
Brett Callow is a technical consultant providing services to a number of leading international technology companies and has been extensively involved in the planning and development of various industry standard IT certification
examinations. Brett has been awarded Microsoft’s Most Valuable Professionals (MVP) designation for the last 3 years. MVPs are exceptional technical community leaders from around the world who are awarded for voluntarily sharing their high quality, real world expertise in offline and online technical communities by Microsoft.
