Upgrading your email system? Office 365 OR Hosted Exchange?

Are you planning to upgrade your email system due to growing business needs? Are you still pondering over the big question – Office 365 or Hosted Exchange, which email service you should choose for your enterprise? Do you acknowledge the fact that selecting the most suitable email & productivity suite is critical for smooth communication in an organization? If answers to all the above questions is yes, youâre probably ready to take the big transition but unsure whether Hosted Exchange or Office 365 will turn out to be right for your business.

This blog discusses upsides and downsides of both Hosted Exchange and Office 365 in detail so that you can evaluate both and choose the right email service that suits your specific requirements.

While Office 365 intends to function as a complete package solution, it may or may not be appropriate for your business since everything entirely depends on what you exactly need and what meets your comprehensive requirements.

However with Hosted Exchange, you can opt which services to use and which one to leave so as to build a customized package that matches your requirements.

1. Communication – In Hosted Exchange, Hosted Lync is responsible for unified messaging. While in Office 365, the communication platform is – Skype for business.
2. Cloud Storage – Cloud storage in Hosted Exchange happens with Hosted SharePoint. While in Office 365, itâs One Drive for Business that stores it all.
3. Support – Office support is inbuilt in Office 365 since it comprises the full suite of Office apps. The downside here is that users unfamiliar with Office 365 need to either learn a new application interface or use a web browser. However in Hosted Exchange, you need to use your existing office apps and users donât need to learn a new app interface or have to use a web browser.
4. Updates & Upgrades – In Hosted Exchange, you have full control over when your company wants to upgrade to a newer Exchange version. However in Office 365, Microsoft automatically updates the Office 365 service from time to time.
5. Synchronization – Cloud-based services are primarily in demand because of their unbeatable synchronization capabilities. The ability to actively sync data, email and documents across various multiple gadgets is crucial to modern businesses.In Hosted Exchange, you may or may not have the privilege of syncing everything that you want – from mobile to desktops to laptops etc. But in Office 365, you can sync Active Directory with a single Sign-on after setting up directory synchronization with the new Office 365 via ActiveSync technology.
6. Security – As compared to Hosted Exchange, Office 365 is more secure as it is compliant to robust suite of security standards including HIPAA and FISMA. However, that doesnât mean all the options available in the market for Hosted Exchange arenât secure. But since there are a myriad of alternatives in Hosted Exchange some of which may depict different levels of security depending upon the solution providers; youâll always find all of the security credentials and features in Office 365.
7. Microsoft Outlook – As far as MS Outlook is concerned, hosted exchange may be available for free on selected packages. However in Office 365, Outlook is available as a part of full Office suite on selected Office 365 services.
8. Self-Management – With a dedicated control panel, administering user accounts is possible in Hosted Exchange. While in Office 365, self-management is made possible with the standard Office 365 interface.
9. Migration between Services – You can migrate between Hosted Exchange services without incurring any kind of data losses. However, you canât switch between Office 365 platforms.
10. Unlimited Mailbox Hosting – In Hosted Exchange there are no limits on the number of Exchange mailboxes one can have. On the contrary, some Office 365 mailboxes do pose a maximum limit on the number of mailboxes created.
11. Email migration – Email can be migrated from Hosted Exchange to other systems including Office 365. While customers opting from 3rd party providers can avail benefits from a full migration service in Office 365.

Although the above points represent a clear description of both pros and cons associated with Office 365 and Hosted Exchange, we recommend enterprises to choose the best after evaluating them in terms of reliability, flexibility and security. Decide after prioritizing your requirements and then go for the one that suits you best.