Email Hosting: Microsoft 365 and Microsoft Exchange Server
Professional email services made simple with little to no downtime.
KCM technology has been serving customers with email services since the beginning. In the early days of email, Microsoft Exchange Server was the standard for business grade mail systems. It is still prevalent today, mostly in larger business models because of the cost savings using cloud based email systems like Microsoft 365 and Google Business Suite. Some factors that should be considered when analyzing what email system is right for you are security needs regarding backup of the organization's data, physical hardware demands, volume of email and users mailboxes. All of these factors are taken into consideration by KCM consulting to find out what is best for your business.
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KCM Technology has built partnerships with vendors to provide a vast array of technology and software to our customers. That includes a partnership to offer Office 365 (Microsoft 365) at a monthly subscription based on users. We also offer a backup solution for Microsoft 365, which includes backup of OneDrive, Mailboxes, SharePoint, Teams, and premium MS Office apps.
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The biggest difference between MS Exchange Server and Office 365 (Microsoft 365) is the centralization of data and who it is managed by. Utilizing a cloud service such as Office 365 (Microsoft 365), all of your data and services are being managed by Microsoft. MS Exchange Server is hosted in house with physical hardware, meaning that data can be managed locally, and services will always be available on the local area network (LAN).
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Pros and Cons of Cloud vs. On-Prem
Microsoft 365: (Cloud)
Pros:
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Cost Effective... Licensing is based on the amount of users which includes all premium MS Office applications such as Word, Outlook, Excel, and PowerPoint
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Reduced Resources... Utilizing a cloud based system removes need of physical hardware
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Ease of Maintenance... Microsoft servers are maintained by Microsoft saving troubleshooting and maintenance time
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Access to Documents and Email 24/7... MS stores all of your documents in their repositories which can be access from any computer, at any time
Cons:
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Data Security... Relying on a cloud service to house your data poses a security threat to your business. Microsoft employs security threat protection, but without the ability to physically control the services, you can not employ your own security features.
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Limited Features... Utilizing the online version of MS Office apps have limitations
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Recurring Monthly Fees... As long as you will need email services, you will always have a monthly recurring bill to be paid
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Larger Bandwidth... Online services will result in increased consumption of online bandwidth
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Microsoft Exchange Server: (On-Prem)
Pros:
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Enterprise Level Security... Keeping the services held internally, you are able to employ customized security features
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Scheduled Maintenance... Scheduled maintenance can be employed when it is most convenient for your business
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Reduced Outages... Managing email services locally means the reliance on outside of your local area network is not a worry
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Ease of Control... When a email server is hosted in house, the ability to control and modify anything pertaining to the configuration is always available
Cons:
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Cost... The cost associated is higher than cloud services because of the dependency on physical hardware
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Management... Maintaining and managing MS Exchange services requires a larger deal of attention for IT Technicians compared to cloud hosted services
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Expertise... Microsoft Exchange Server requires a great deal of expertise in order to configure and mange
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Whatever service best suits your business will be what KCM Technology will recommend for your business. Every situation is unique and dependent on future business goals and function.
