NNER CIRClE - Integral Solutions Group

October 2013 / Volume 13
nner Circle
Companies Look to Move Email Hosting Offsite
With
By Joe Strayer, VP of Integration Services, ISG
many organizations under
ever-increasing pressure to improve
efficiency and deliver better solutions,
many information technology (IT)
Joe Strayer
managers are looking to offload IT
functions that do not directly benefit their businesses.
Email is one of these functions. Everyone
in IT knows that businesses need a reliable and
secure email platform that allows collaboration
between employees, vendors and, most importantly,
customers. However, email is not business
specific and cannot be leveraged to provide a
business advantage over competitors. Outside email
hosting can alleviate capital expenditures for server
hardware, licensing, maintenance and support, as
well as provide a great way to put some much needed
work hours back into the IT budget without hiring
additional resources.
Hosted email has become less about staff
reduction and more about staff focus. IT
managers are quickly realizing that resources can
be better utilized when focused on business-specific
applications and process improvements. Once the
decision to use an outside provider is made, all the
familiar challenges and concerns must be addressed:
• Where is my email and data?
• What kind of Service Level Agreement (SLA)
should I expect?
• Will I have the same level of control I had in the
past?
• How do I migrate all of this email?
All of these are valid concerns and cannot be taken
lightly. During service provider evaluations, each of
these hurdles must be evaluated and overcome.
Each provider will handle these hurdles differently.
For example, migration of existing email may
not be included or may be a long, tedious process.
Integration with other systems may or may not
be supported, and administrator support may be
available via a web portal only or only during normal
business hours.
It is important to understand the provider’s
strategy to support your organization. No
question should be off limits. Providers who
are interested in becoming a long-term partner will
be excited to share their solutions to your challenges.
How well a provider meshes with your organization
will determine the true advantage your organization
can realize by utilizing a hosted email solution. You
should never feel like you are alone in the transition
or the support of a hosted email solution.
Along with standard email hosting, each provider
will have numerous add-ons and extensions in
conjunction with their base offering, such as
encryption, archiving and other features that can be
leveraged to augment the value that hosted email
provides. Hosted email can be a win-win for both
IT and business operations by allowing IT to focus
on business-specific solutions while the business is
provided a more email-focused support structure and
a more reliable email solution.
This edition of Inner Circle focuses on email hosting.
For more information, call Integral Solutions Group
(ISG) at 800.235.0767 or email us at newsletter@
integralsg.com.
Disaster Recovery | Technology Supplies | Network Infrastructure & Cabling Solutions | Tier IV Colocation | Managed Services | Email Hosting | Enterprise Monitoring Services
StressFree I/T® Hosted Email Solution:
Worry-free Email and Customer Support
ISG’s affordable email hosting provides complete administrative access to your mail server. Customer support is
available 24x7, and customers are never surprised with unexpected updates. With ISG, customers have access to quality
antivirus and spam mail filtering, in addition to email backup and recovery. See how ISG’s hosted email solutions
compare to other solutions in the chart below.
Hosted Email Feature
In-house Email
Solution
Other Hosted Email
Solutions
Additional
?
ISG’s StressFree
I/T Hosted Email
Hosted on Exchange Server 2010
Active Directory Synchronization
Outlook Web Access (OWA)
Fully Clustered Hardware Environment
Disaster Recovery Services for Mailboxes
Premium SPAM/Antivirus Filtering
Additional
Data and System Backups
Additional
?
Tier IV Data Center Hosting
99.999% SLA Uptime
Hosted in Dedicated Server Environment
Full Administrator Exchange Management
Full Exchange Feature Set
Scheduled Hardware Refresh Cycle
Additional
Exchange Server Version Upgrade Support
Outlook Client Version Upgrade Support
Outlook/Entourage Client License
Microsoft Server Client Access License
Unified Communications Integration
Support
Optional
Additional
Phone Support: 8 to 5 only
24x7 Admin Level Support
24x7 User Level Support
Guaranteed U.S.-based Support Desk
Account/Mailbox Creation Services
Included
On-site Email Migration Assistance
Custom Integration Support
Litigation and Audit Assistance
Available
Email Archiving
Optional
Optional
Email Encryption
Optional
Optional
15 GB
10 GB
Mailbox Storage Limits (Pooled)
Tips: Get Slow Email Moving Again
By Vanessa Roskam, Remote Support Integrator, ISG
Has your email seemed slow lately? Try the following steps
to get it moving again.
• Check the Size of your Mailbox
»» Microsoft recommends that mail files be kept below 2
GB to keep mail moving quickly. Check your mailbox
size by going to File, Cleanup Tools, Mailbox Cleanup,
then View Mailbox Size. If your mail file is more than
2GB (2,000,000 KB), you should consider cleaning out
your mail.
• Store Important Files Elsewhere (Not in email)
»» It’s easy to store important spreadsheets and documents
in your email, because you can find them quickly.
However, if your mailbox is too large, your email could
crash, and your files could be lost. It’s best practice to
store your files on a shared server that is backed up
regularly. If you’re unsure of the best location for your
files, check with your integrator or system administrator.
• Clean out Unnecessary Items using Mailbox
Cleanup
»» Open Mailbox Cleanup: File, then Cleanup Tools, then
Mailbox Cleanup.
»» Removing large items is an easy way
to reduce the size of your mailbox.
Select “Find items larger than” and
change 250 KB to 1000 KB (or 5000
if needed). Outlook will generate a list
of large mail items for you to peruse
and delete as needed. You can also
use “Find items older than” to find old
emails to delete.
»» Empty your Deleted Items folder
frequently. Don’t use it for storage –
it’s easy to accidentally delete these
items! Just click Empty on the Mailbox
Cleanup window, or right click your
Deleted Items folder and select Empty
Folder.
»» If you lose or accidentally delete important emails,
they may be recoverable from backup. Be careful to
notify your helpdesk as soon as possible, though. Most
backups have a 14-day retention period, so the items
must be restored within 14 days of their deletion or
they’ll be gone forever.
• Disable Unnecessary Add-ins
»» Add-ins can be helpful by making Outlook work better
for you. But if your email is slow, you may want to try
disabling the unnecessary ones. To view your add-ins,
go to File, Options, then Add-ins. Start by disabling only
non-Microsoft add-ins that you don’t recognize, and see
if that speeds up your email. Check with your integrator
or system administrator if you have any questions about
which add-ins are okay to disable.
If you have any questions about how to apply these ideas, or
if you’d like assistance, please contact our helpdesk 24x7 at
888-654-2535 or helpdesk@integralsg.com.
UPCOMING
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October 9-11
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IT Nation 2013
November 13-15
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Orlando, FL
Integral Solutions Group
P.O. Box 1412
Spartanburg, SC 29304
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450 Wofford Street
Spartanburg, SC 29301
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800.235.0767
Spartanburg, SC
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BREAKING NEWS...
ISG is proud to announce our new partner sponsorship
with the GSATC Technology Council. GSATC provides
networking, education and professional development
opportunities to career-minded information technology
professionals and high-tech entrepreneurs through its
newsletter, meetings, expos and training programs.
The Tech after 5 (Ta5) in Columbia and Charleston
falls on the same day as the Greenville luncheons.We
invite you to join us at the upcoming events:
99 October 9 – Learning Lunch – Embassy Suites,
Greenville, SC
99Ta5 – Jakes on Devine, Columbia, SC
99 October 22 – Ta5 – Southend Brewery, Charleston,
SC
99 November 13 – Learning Lunch – Embassy Suits,
Greenville, SC
99Ta5 – Carolina Ale House, Columbia, SC
99 November 26 – Ta5 – Southend Brewery,
Charleston, SC
99 December 11 – Learning Lunch – Embassy Suits,
Greenville, SC
99Ta5 – Carolina Ale House, Columbia, SC
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