Discover the Real Costs of your Free or Budget Email

Discover the “Real” Cost of
Your Free or Budget Email
by
An Osterman Research White Paper
Published June 2010

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Discover the “Real” Cost of Your Free or Budget Email
Hosted Exchange 2010’s Email and Collaboration Tools Save Money and Boost Productivity

Executive Summary
Email is the single most important application that most businesses maintain:

• The average office worker spends 2.5 hours per day in email.
• Email is the primary file repository for most users.
• Email is the most popular file transport mechanism.

EMAIL RELIABILITY IS KEY TO YOUR BUSINESS SUCCESS
Whether employees are gathering incoming leads, sharing documents or scheduling
meetings, they spend more time managing email than ever before. What does this
increased reliance on email mean for your business? It means that your success from
day to day depends greatly on a reliable and feature-rich email system.

A FREE OR CHEAP EMAIL SYSTEM IS A RELIABLE AND COST-EFFECTIVE
SOLUTION, RIGHT?
If you’re using free email or the POP email system that came with your Web hosting
account, you may think this is an adequate and low cost solution for your company.
However, in addition to price, there are many other factors that contribute to your
bottom line and productivity when it comes to email.

The “Real” Cost of Free Email Systems
As a business owner, you look at the hard costs for phones, computers, Internet
connectivity, and even the electricity to turn on the lights. But have you considered the
hidden costs of running your business? When it comes to free or inexpensive email
systems, you can easily lose money on wasted productivity, and lose business due to
the perception that a cheap service conveys to customers and prospects. Thus, the
“real” cost of your email system may be much more than you think.

THE COST OF EMPLOYEE TIME AND PRODUCTIVITY
The vast majority of small businesses use email regularly and rely on it for
communications with employees, customers and prospects. While it’s tempting to use a
free or low cost service, these systems typically offer only basic email functionality and
few business-grade features that help users be more productive. Free and low cost
email accounts, including the “POP” email accounts that come with Web hosting, usually
suffer the following shortcomings:

• They don’t synchronize email across multiple devices. That means once you’ve
checked your email in the office, you can no longer access it from your smartphone,
unless you re-forward it to yourself.

• They don’t allow access to co-workers’ calendars. This means scheduling a meeting
requires numerous emails or phone calls that cost your business valuable time and
money.

©2010 Osterman Research, Inc. 1


• They may not provide enough storage for messages, contacts and attachments. So
users must spend time archiving files and messages in another location, or risk
having undeliverable and bounced messages.

• They don’t provide the ability to archive email for e-discovery and compliance. This
can result in serious financial, legal and other consequences.

THE COST OF BRANDING AND PERCEPTION
Another way to truly evaluate free email services or POP email accounts is to factor in
branding and awareness. Many small businesses don’t use their own domain for email,
instead using a free Yahoo!, Hotmail or Gmail account as their primary business email
address. These free services seem like a great value if you evaluate them only on hard
cost. But before you decide to use a free account to represent your business, think
about what this communicates to customers and prospects.

Using a third party domain name for your email address (e.g., yourname@yahoo.com)
puts your business at risk of being viewed as less credible. Your prospects may ask, “If
a business won’t spend the time to get their own domain, will they be around to provide
service in the future?” Can your business afford this kind of perception?

Another risk to your brand is bounced messages. If your email system is suffering from
an outage or your mailboxes are too small, senders will receive an undeliverable notice.
This not only inconveniences prospects and customers, they may think you are no
longer in business!

IS YOUR EMAIL SYSTEM WORKING AS HARD AS YOU?

• Does your email system bounce messages back to the sender because it’s either
down or your mailbox is full?

• Can you archive messages to keep your inbox organized, and meet e-discovery and
regulatory compliance standards?

• Is your email system available 100% of the time?

• Do you have access to email support 24x7x365 if you have a question or problem?

• Hard drives crash, computers and mobile phones get stolen. Will all of your email
still be accessible if this happens?

If you answered “No” to any of these questions, then it’s time to upgrade to a better
email management system.



Choosing an Email System That Delivers More Value
WHAT IS HOSTED EXCHANGE?
Microsoft Exchange is the leading business-grade email system in use worldwide.
Choosing a hosted version of Exchange enables you to take advantage of the benefits of
Exchange without having to deploy any on-premise infrastructure or use in-house IT
staff to manage the system. Instead, you have access to a full Exchange experience
without the need for additional IT staff, or the upfront costs to deploy it.

SIX WAYS TO USE EMAIL AND COLLABORATION TO IMPROVE
PRODUCTIVITY WITH HOSTED EXCHANGE
Hosted Exchange offers a far superior email experience versus a simple POP or other
non-business-grade email system:

• Instant mobility – Access anytime, anywhere, from any device
Email is available from all of the devices that business users might employ: Outlook
on their desktop PC or laptop, Entourage on their iMac or MacBook, Windows Mobile
devices, iPhones, BlackBerry phones or any Web browser. Also, when a message on
hosted Exchange is accessed, say from the desktop, it is still available on every other
device via automatic synchronization. This is an advantage over POP email accounts
that by default download only to the first device to access it, unless otherwise
configured.

• Improved calendar management
Calendars in hosted Exchange are much more flexible and can be accessed using
any device or browser. Free/busy information can be shared throughout the
organization, so that one person creating an appointment can determine when all
other participants are available. Hosted Exchange also allows delegation of calendar
rights so that an administrative assistant can access a manager’s calendar to
determine when he or she is available and schedule them accordingly.

• Automatic syncing across multiple platforms
Changes made on any device or via a web browser are available almost instantly on
every platform that can access a hosted Exchange account. This gives users
complete device and platform independence. For example, an appointment created
on an iPhone will appear almost instantly in Outlook on the user’s desktop computer;
or the reply to an email sent in Entourage will appear in the “Sent Items” folder on a
Windows mobile device.

• High reliability
Email uptime is essential. Downtime is not only irritating, it can lead to lost business
opportunities, reduced productivity, missed appointments and other negative
consequences for your customers. Hosted Exchange providers typically offer an
uptime guarantee of at least 99.9%.

Some providers also offer customers the ability to choose which regional data center
will be used to house their data. This gives users in different states or geographic



areas access to email services when they need it, as scheduled maintenance
windows typically occur during local off-peak hours.

• Very large mailboxes
An Osterman Research Study from May 2010 revealed that 61% of email users
consider themselves to be “pack rats” or nearly so when it comes to email use. In
other words, they use their email inbox as a repository for important information,
which they can search on an as-needed basis. While POP and free service mailboxes
typically provide less than 100 MB of storage, hosted Exchange mailboxes can be
very large – up to 25 GB or more in some cases. This increase in email storage
space helps maximize productivity by allowing users to spend less time reading
through and organizing old messages to save space. (Note that the amount of space
offered can vary between hosted Exchange providers, so be sure to ask for details.)

• Peace of mind
It happens all the time. Your phone can slip out of your pocket or bag, or you
simply set it down and forget, or it gets stolen. With hosted Exchange you can still
access calendars, messages and email from another device like your laptop or web
browser. So you won’t miss appointments, or lose important messages. But hosted
Exchange also offers the ability to remotely “wipe” your mobile device. A remote
wipe sends a signal to your device to remove data instantly. This limits security
threats and the possibility of your information getting into the wrong hands.

Plus hosted Exchange providers also offer customer support to answer any questions
or address email problems. When choosing a provider, look for one with round-the-
clock support so you have access to answers whenever you need them.

CHOOSE THE RIGHT PROVIDER FOR YOUR EMAIL
It is very important to understand that not all hosted Exchange providers are created
equal. Some are relatively small operations that do not provide the type of long-term
features and functions that your company may require in the future. Reliability levels
vary widely from one provider to another. Some providers do not offer 24/7 support.
Some do not offer archiving or encryption capabilities.

Financial stability is another important consideration in choosing the right provider.
Firms with strong financial stability have the funds to offer quality customer support and
continually invest in the latest infrastructure and upgrades. Smaller, less stable
providers can go out of business, leaving their customers without access to email.
Choosing a viable provider removes the risk of suffering a service termination or loss of
data.

In short, as with most other types of services, there is substantial variability in both the
breadth and quality of services offered by hosted Exchange providers. As a result, keep
two things in mind when deciding among providers of hosted Exchange:

• It’s critical for the health of your business and the productivity of your employees to
choose the right provider.



• The cheapest provider does not necessarily provide the greatest value.

About Verio
Verio is one of the first providers of the new hosted Microsoft Exchange 2010, which
offers a robust suite of tools and features to increase productivity and improve reliability
over free or low cost systems. Verio’s hosted Microsoft Exchange 2010 offering includes
all the great benefits of Exchange mentioned above, plus:

• Plenty of storage with larger 25 GB mailboxes

• Free bonus features with our 25 GB plans:

o ActiveSync – to synchronize iPhone and other Smartphone mobile devices.

o Company Disclaimer Service – to implement company-wide email policies, like a
signature, that cannot be edited or removed by users.

o Compliant Email Archiving Service – to use a third party for archiving all
messages in accordance with legal documents and regulations.

o MessageMirror Service – to help monitor and organize messages for compliance
with company email policies.

o Active Directory Synchronization – to synchronize on-premise data with hosted
Exchange data.

o Mail Retention Policy Management – to control the mailbox size and set limits for
users.

o Mobility Policy Management – to apply Blackberry and ActiveSync policies.

o Server Site Selection – choose to host mailboxes in our East coast or West coast
data centers

• Data protection and 99.999% uptime guarantees

• Anti-spam and anti-virus protection

• No installation, configuration or ongoing maintenance

• No upfront investment – no long-term contract or cancellation fees

• Expertise and financial stability – Verio has been delivering business solutions since
1996, and specializes in Exchange implementation.



HOW DOES VERIO’S HOSTED EXCHANGE STACK UP AGAINST OTHER
EMAIL SERVICES?

FEATURE VERIO’S HOSTED EXCHANGE OTHER EMAIL SERVICES
Some offer 99.9% with special “get
Enterprise-grade SLA YES - 99.999% SLA.
out” clauses or no SLA at all.
Outlook and Entourage sync with
Calendar May not sync with the web.
the web.
Outlook and Entourage contact Contact database may be limited or
Contacts base syncs with the web versions of not available on the web and may
each client. not sync.
Outlook and Entourage sync with Outlook tasks don’t sync with the
Tasks
the web. web.

Outlook and Entourage sync with
Notes Not available.
the web.

Security Secured using SSL. May be optionally secured with SSL.

Third-party applications do not
Full wireless sync of mail, calendar,
always offer a two-way sync. Add-
contacts, notes, tasks. Plus a
Blackberry Support ins may be available to sync
remote wipe can be performed in
calendar and contacts. Remote
the event handheld is lost.
wipe is not usually supported.

Full wireless sync of mail, calendar, May need to pay extra to sync
Windows Mobile
contacts, notes, tasks. Remote wipe calendar and contacts via
Support
supported. Activesync. May not sync email.

Full wireless sync of mail, calendar, May need to pay extra to sync
iPhone Support notes, tasks. Remote wipe available calendar and contacts or to perform
with MobileMe account. a remote wipe. May not sync email.

Can create shared folders for email, May be able to create shared
calendars, contacts, tasks and Calendars accessible only on the
Shared Folders
notes. Accessible in Outlook and web. Typically cannot share contact
on the web. folders, tasks or notes.

Verio is the leading provider of web hosting, application hosting and SaaS solutions to
the global SMB market, and a forerunner in implementing the new Exchange 2010 email
system as part of its hosted Microsoft Exchange offerings. As one of the first providers
of this new and improved, feature-rich email and communications platform, only Verio
offers a unique bundle of popular features combined with its 99.999% uptime guarantee
and 24x7x365 support — included for as little as $11.95 a mailbox.

Since 1996, Verio has been committed to offering optimum performance and highly
secure and reliable solutions to both retail customers and its expanding global network
of OEM and viaVerio channel partners. Verio is a wholly owned subsidiary of NTT
Communications, one of the world’s largest telecommunications companies, and owner
of a world-class tier 1, global infrastructure that spans five continents. This financial and
technical strength, combined with business hosting solutions available in nearly 200



countries, makes Verio uniquely positioned to service the needs of SMBs worldwide, now
and in the future. For more information visit www.verio.com/products/saas/hosted-
microsoft-exchange-2010/.

© 2010 Osterman Research, Inc. All rights reserved.

No part of this document may be reproduced in any form by any means, nor may it be distributed without the permission
of Osterman Research, Inc., nor may it be resold or distributed by any entity other than Osterman Research, Inc., without
prior written authorization of Osterman Research, Inc.

Osterman Research, Inc. does not provide legal advice. Nothing in this document constitutes legal advice, nor shall this
document or any software product or other offering referenced herein serve as a substitute for the reader’s compliance
with any laws (including but not limited to any act, statue, regulation, rule, directive, administrative order, executive
order, etc. (collectively, “Laws”)) referenced in this document. If necessary, the reader should consult with competent
legal counsel regarding any Laws referenced herein. Osterman Research, Inc. makes no representation or warranty
regarding the completeness or accuracy of the information contained in this document.

THIS DOCUMENT IS PROVIDED “AS IS” WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND. ALL EXPRESS OR IMPLIED
REPRESENTATIONS, CONDITIONS AND WARRANTIES, INCLUDING ANY IMPLIED WARRANTY OF MERCHANTABILITY OR
FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, ARE DISCLAIMED, EXCEPT TO THE EXTENT THAT SUCH DISCLAIMERS ARE
DETERMINED TO BE ILLEGAL.


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