Microsoft Exchange White Papers from Hosted Exchange Provider

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  • Selecting The Right Hosted Exchange Provider. Things To Know. Questions To Ask
  • Microsoft Exchange Server In-House Or Out-Sourced: What’s Best For You?
  • How To Get Big Business Email At A Small Business Price
  • IT In A Tough Economy: How To Reduce Costs And Increase Productivity
  • Reduce Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 Migration Costs And Complexity
  • Premium Email Archiving On A Small Business Budget

Exchange Hosting ‘Intermedia

Free Account Set Up and First Month’s fees waived on all Intermedia hosted Exchange solutions while Dow Jones Industrials Average remains below 10,000

New York, NY (October 20, 2008) – Intermedia, the leading provider of collaboration and productivity SaaS solutions, today announces the immediate availability of its Dow Jones 10,000 program, which offers free account set up and one month of free service to any new hosted Exchange customers until the Dow closes above 10,000. Intermedia’s special program comes in direct response to the pain businesses have recently experienced trying to secure funding or lines of credit for capital expenditures, such as new hardware and software used to manage and promote company growth.

Many businesses acquire on-premise technology, including hardware and software, through a bank loan, line of credit, or capital lease. With the current economic crisis, access to financing for these types of purchases has become increasingly difficult. For both technological and business reasons, Intermedia firmly believes that many businesses are better served, both in the near- and long-term, by hosted solutions.

“Intermedia’s program is designed to help businesses of any size gain access to the benefits of enterprise-class messaging and collaboration solutions they would not be able to procure without financing, without any upfront investment,” said Intermedia CEO Serguei Sofinski. “Our month-to-month contracts give businesses the flexibility they need to add and remove services on-demand, without any risky long-term investments.”

Intermedia’s program, available immediately, offers businesses free set up, and one month of free service on all of its small business and enterprise shared hosted Exchange SaaS plans. This program will remain active until the Dow Jones Industrials Average reaches a weekly average of 10,000, or until December 31, 2008, which ever event comes first. Customers may learn more by visiting www.Intermedia.net/Dow10000

Six weeks of free business email services help businesses continue to operate while recovering affected on-premise servers

New York, NY (September 16, 2008) – Intermedia, the leading provider of business email and collaboration Software as a Service, today announced a special free business email program for businesses affected by Hurricane Ike. Designed to help those businesses whose offices and on-premise messaging solutions have been disrupted by the storm, Intermedia’s program enables them to continue critical communication with customers, vendors and partners in order to keep their businesses running. This free business email continuity program comes in addition to the donation Intermedia has already made to the Red Cross Disaster Relief fund.

“Everyone is trying to help those impacted by the hurricane in Texas any way they can,” said Intermedia CEO Serguei Sofinski. “Intermedia can help the affected business community with free business email services that will help keep their business in operation, even if their work location has been damaged or destroyed.” According to Osterman Research, one in five organizations believes a single major email outage could result in revenue losses of up to $500,000. Management consulting firm Eagle Rock Alliance estimates that a as many as 40 percent of companies that go more than 24 hours without access to their data go out of business. Intermedia hopes it can reduce or eliminate this threat for many businesses affected by the hurricane.

Intermedia is offering small business and enterprise versions of its Microsoft Exchange 2007-based hosted email solution for free to businesses affected by the hurricane. Businesses can use these fully functional, robust email systems that all Intermedia customers enjoy with their own, existing domains, free of charge, from now through October 31. All users need is an Internet connection and a Web browser. Businesses can learn more about the program, including qualification requirements, and sign up at www.intermedia.net/ike

Intermedia Mobile Device and Business Email Survey Highlights Blurring of Work & Play

New York, NY (September 10, 2008) – Intermedia, the worldwide leader in business email services and Web hosting for small to midsized businesses, today announced the results of a survey that assess enterprise mobile email practices. According to the more than 300 Intermedia user survey respondents:

92% of end-users access business email on their mobile devices
Only 30% are using a company-provided device
Blackberry and iPhone at near parity for business email – 38% use BlackBerry, 34% use an iPhone
47% responded that their companies do not manage security for employee devices; employees are responsible for any lost or stolen data
A further 33% responded they were unsure of their companies’ mobile email security policies
The survey findings illustrate the blurring of work and play as employees use personally purchased and managed mobile devices as enterprise tools. A further example of this can be seen in the rise of the iPhone, a ubiquitous consumer device, as an enterprise device nearly on par with the BlackBerry.

Additionally, with 47% of respondents stating their company does not manage the security for their mobile devices, despite its use for corporate information, the survey also sheds light on the need for clear mobile email security practices at the enterprise level. These findings give further weight to ongoing industry concern about the possibility of “rogue” mobile devices – devices that are lost or fall into the wrong hands, becoming easy entry-points for hackers or competitors to access confidential enterprise data.

For solution providers, the survey offers a roadmap to tap into the enterprise mobile opportunity: email security and mobile device management. Successful Intermedia partners have leveraged Intermedia’s Exchange hosted email platform to meet user demands and to best position users to overcome security challenges. For example, iPhone users, with Intermedia’s cost effective hosting services, are able to access all of Microsoft Exchange’s productivity-enhancing and secure features through their devices. By accessing corporate email via Exchange through ActiveSync capability, enterprises are assured that their information is synced securely. In addition, ActiveSync enables remote wiping, which allows the administrator to remotely erase all corporate email or data should the device be lost or stolen. All this functionality comes in a cost-effective, secure, easy to manage software as a service (Saas) delivery model.

“This new survey data confirms that enterprises do not have homogeneous mobile device or mobile platform landscapes,” said Danny Essner, Director of Marketing, Intermedia. “Intermedia recognizes that the demand for secure mobile email services across devices and platforms will only continue to grow. As with our BlackBerry and iPhone offerings, we will continue to enhance our solutions to best meet the needs of customers and partners, regardless of whether they are in an office or remote.”

Intermedia Becomes a Gold Member of the MSP Partner Alliance

Orlando, FL (August 5, 2008) – Intermedia, the worldwide leader in business email services, today announced at the CompTIA Annual Breakaway Conference that it has joined the MSP Partner Alliance as a Gold Member. The MSP Partner Alliance is dedicated to offering channel partners the right education and support to help them find success as a managed services provider (MSP). Joining this alliance is in line with Intermedia’s mission of helping managed service providers and other IT resellers increase profitability and growth potential by expanding their product offering to include software as a service applications.

“Intermedia is proud to add its market insight and technical expertise to the comprehensive library of information that exists within the MSP Partner Alliance,” said Danny Essner, Director of Marketing, Intermedia. “Our focus will be on helping IT resellers and solution providers realize the opportunity that exists in the next-generation managed services market, especially as today’s savvy users demand offerings that go beyond basic desktop/server management. By offering more advanced solutions, including collaboration and messaging, partners will not only meet customer demand, but increase their own margins as well.”

In a related announcement, Intermedia shared that it will be participating in the MSP Partner Alliance’s first annual Virtual Tradeshow, “Leveraging Vendors for Managed Services Success,” on August 13, 2008. The one day virtual event will provide a forum for exploring current trends in the managed services marketplace. Specifically, discussion topics will focus on channel adoption of the managed services model. The keynote speaker will be Lawrence M. Walsh, vice president and group publisher of Channel Insider. Mr. Walsh will explain how managed services can help partners expand their customer base and enhance their value proposition to the market place.

The Virtual Tradeshow will take place in real time, with more than 25 interactive booths. Intermedia will have its own virtual booth, which will highlight its award-winning products, services and strategy. A live chat, hosted by Intermedia Partner Development Executives, will be available for participants to share questions and feedback. Intermedia will also be giving away a free PlayStation PortableÒ to one lucky attendee.

Businesses looking for a trusted partner in offering hosted and private label SaaS, including Microsoft Exchange 2007, SharePoint, Office Communications Server 2007, Microsoft Dynamics CRM and more should visit Intermedia’s Web site at http://www.Intermedia.net/Partners.

Leader in Business Email Services is Recognized for its Scalability and Flexibility, End to End Customer and Partner Support

New York, NY (July 29, 2008) – Intermedia, the worldwide leader in business email services, today announced that it has received a Dedicated Server Hosting Award from Web Host Directory for the month of July 2008. The award reflects the preferences of end-users, who are asked to vote for the vendors they believe offer the best hosted services offerings. Intermedia’s win confirms the strength of the company’s scalable, flexible Software as a Services (SaaS) portfolio.

The Dedicated Server Hosting Award is given out on a monthly basis, and is one of the top categories of hosting solutions awards on the Web Hosting Directory site. This specific category is reserved for vendors who provide an un-partitioned server to their customers, which in turn affords customers a more manageable, user-friendly experience than typically found in a shared environment.

“Intermedia is very proud to receive this award, especially since it is determined by end-users. We believe their vote signifies an acknowledgement of the technical strength of our solutions, as well as our commitment to around-the-clock customer service and partner enablement,” said Danny Essner, Director of Marketing, Intermedia.

Businesses looking for a trusted partner in offering hosted and private label SaaS, including Microsoft Exchange 2007, SharePoint, Office Communications Server 2007, Microsoft Dynamics CRM and more should visit Intermedia’s Web site at http://www.Intermedia.net/Partners.

Intermedia takes channel offerings to the next level with Microsoft Dynamics CRM, active directory synchronization, and email continuity and security

Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference, Houston, TX (July 10, 2008) – Intermedia, the worldwide leader in business email services, announced today from the Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference a comprehensive suite of new resources to help channel partners respond to key customer demands. Intermedia has made its mark in the industry by offering reliable hosted email to small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs), and by providing solid solutions and 24×7 support to channel partners. In this latest news, Intermedia’s partners benefit from an expanded portfolio of solutions that directly respond to customer needs, allowing for greater upsell and resell opportunity, and deeper penetration of the market. SMBs gain access to mission-critical offerings that scale to meet the needs of any growing business, from customer relationship management (CRM) to email security to active directory synchronization.

“This product roll-out is all about opportunity,” said Danny Essner, Director of Marketing, Intermedia. “It reflects an expanded pipeline of sales opportunities for our partners to offer more sophisticated solutions to a thriving market. It also offers an opportunity for our joint SMB customers to take advantage of enterprise-level solutions that safeguard their data and promote productivity and efficiency.”

Included in this launch are hosted Microsoft Dynamics CRM, antivirus and antispam offerings, content filtering, email encryption and active directory synchronization. These resources are available in modular packages that can be customized by partners to meet the specific needs of their customers. Each solution also directly responds to key customer pain points, including security, business continuity and productivity. The Intermedia platforms is perfect for SMB clients who don’t have resources for costly solutions yet still want a seamless email experience.

Productivity and operational efficiency

Microsoft Dynamic CRM

CRM plays a vital role in helping SMBs track sales opportunities, marketing initiatives, and customer interaction. Microsoft Dynamic CRM helps SMBs see the results of this information sooner, focusing on ROI and productivity rather than on complicated training processes. The solution promotes information sharing with customers and sales opportunity mining through wizard-driven marketing and sales tools.

Active Directory Synchronization

Through active directory synchronization, businesses can connect their internal active directories to those belonging to Intermedia. The benefit to the end-user is a single point of entry. The advantage to businesses is easy management of end-user mailboxes from one centralized location.

Email Continuity

Intermedia reduces system downtime through a continuity service that offers users “always on” Web-based accessibility to the last fifteen days of email in their inboxes. Intermedia also enables Web-based email access through any browser, as well as the ability to recover accidentally deleted emails.

Email Security

Intermedia provides a full suite of email security products, including:

Antivirus and antispam. Intermedia’s proprietary, smart solution uses multi-engine scanning, white and black lists, and outbound zombie protection to neutralize spam and virus threats while also reducing disruptive false positives.
Content filtering. With a customizable monitoring engine, Intermedia’s solution allows users to meet regulatory demands and traffic emails based on keyword and content pattern matching.
Businesses looking for a trusted partner in offering hosted software applications, including Microsoft Exchange 2007, SharePoint, Office Communications Server 2007, Microsoft Dynamics CRM and more should speak with a Partner Development Executive at the Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference 2008 at booth #921 or visit Intermedia’s Web site at http://www.Intermedia.net/Partners.

Intermedia Passes 300,000 Mailboxes Hosted; Achieves 1,000% Increase in Accounts over 50 Mailboxes; and Wins MSExchange.org Reader’s Choice Award

Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference, Houston, TX (July 9, 2008) – Intermedia, the global leader in business email services, announced today that it has surpassed 300,000 customer mailboxes hosted. In the past six months, Intermedia experienced tremendous growth in the number of accounts with fifty or more mailboxes, demonstrating the growing penetration of SaaS services into the midmarket. Further, over the past year, Intermedia also became a BlackBerry Alliance Member; was honored with the MSExchange.org Reader’s Choice award; and launched two major offerings: the first and only hosted Office Communications Server 2007 service and Intermedia Secure Mail email encryption. Intermedia is a Microsoft Gold Partner, the leading provider of Microsoft Exchange 2007 software as a service (SaaS) and the first company to offer Microsoft Entourage 2008 as a free download to customers. Achieving these milestones signals a landmark year for Intermedia.

“We are excited to have met aggressive goals in such a short amount of time,” said Serguei Sofinski, CEO, Intermedia. “Our achievements speak volumes to our customer satisfaction and we’re looking forward to continued success and additional opportunities to empower our customers and our partners.”

The SaaS market is experiencing tremendous growth and Intermedia has capitalized on this opportunity by making strategic business and solution decisions to support existing customer demands and its vision for tomorrow. For example, in addition to becoming a BlackBerry Alliance Member, Intermedia has met the demands of enterprise mobility by offering early support for email solutions on the iPhone 2.0 through ActiveSync capability. Its efforts have resulted in BlackBerry accounts growing 100% in the past six months and Windows Mobile ActiveSync accounts growing by 375% in the past year. Overall, the company has seen 122% growth in the total number of wireless accounts.

Sunnyvale, California (July 7, 2008) – Intermedia has achieved SAS 70 Type II compliance, which was awarded by NDB, LLP, a nationally recognized CPA firm specializing in SAS 70 audits.

The company was thoroughly examined in the following key areas:

Network Security
Physical Security – Corporate Facilities
Physical Security – Datacenter
Environmental Security – Corporate Facilities
Environmental Security – Datacenter
Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery Planning (BCDRP)
Logical Security
Change Management – Internally Developed applications and solutions
ChComputer Operationsange Management – Corporate wide infrastructure
Executive Tone and Senior Management Decision Making Processes
Human Resources
Customer Solution Design and Customer Contract Process
Intermedia is very pleased to have earned the SAS 70 Type II certification,” said Jonathan McCormick, VP of operations for Intermedia. “We are dedicated to delivering the best possible service and infrastructure to our customers and are proud to show that our business is officially upholding that promise.”

The testing period for certification took place over six months, from January 1, 2008 to June 30, 2008, resulting in Intermedia’s SAS 70 Type II compliance. The audit was conducted by NDB, LLP a nationally recognized CPA firm specializing in SAS 70 audits. The firm uses a rigorous process-based testing methodology that includes oral inquiry and analysis; physical observation; document request, retrieval and inspection; and performance of a specific test or function.

“SAS 70 Type II compliance requires a lengthy and rigorous examination process that requires an in-depth look at all areas of a business,” said Charles Denyer, Director of Regulatory Compliance for NDB, LLP. “Intermedia passed all areas of examination showing that they adhere closely to the industry’s best of breed practices.”

About Intermedia
Intermedia is the worldwide leader in business email services. More than 25,000 small and medium-sized businesses trust Intermedia to manage their email, calendars and address books. A Microsoft Gold Certified Partner, Intermedia is committed to best-in-class service and ease of management for businesses that depend on MS Exchange. Intermedia is headquartered in New York, NY with offices in Sunnyvale, California and St. Petersburg, Russia. For more information, visit www.intermedia.net.

About NDB, LLP
NDB, LLP is a PCAOB registered certified Certified Public Accounting firm founded in part by former Arthur Andersen, Deloitte & Touche, and BDO Siedman auditors specializing in SAS 70 audits, I.T. audits, and other regulatory compliance needs for organizations in select and regulated markets. NDB, LLP personnel have years of experience in their select chosen fields of work, possessing a sound working knowledge, interpretation, and solid understanding of all relevant regulatory compliance issues and mandates currently affecting their clients. With years of knowledge and insight into the regulatory compliance arena, NDB, LLP has effectively positioned themselves as one of the nation’s industry leaders in their fields of work.

Leader in business email services to speak on how Microsoft Partners can leverage the SaaS opportunity

New York, NY (July 1, 2008) – Intermedia, the worldwide leader in business email services, has been asked to speak to the partner audience at this year’s Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference about the opportunity Software as a Service offers the community, despite Microsoft’s recent entrance into the market. Intermedia will deliver multiple presentations on best practices for entering the SaaS market and strategies for competing in this growing arena.

This year’s Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference will present a different atmosphere than previous years, as Microsoft, the conference attendees’ longtime vendor partner, is now competing with them directly through its new Software + Services initiative. Intermedia aims to alleviate partners’ fears that Microsoft’s initatives will threaten their livelihoods by discussing the new and growing opportunities available to them and how they can leverage SaaS for competitive advantage.

“Intermedia is honored to be Microsoft’s thought leader on how partners can successfully offer SaaS services,” said Bob Leibholz, Vice President of Sales and Business Development for Intermedia. “We feel strongly that IT resellers, VARs and managed services providers are in an excellent position to increase revenue and customer loyalty by adding hosted application services to their list of offerings.”

In the presentation, Intermedia will detail the different ways Microsoft partners can enter and compete in the software as a service market, including referral programs, reselling, co-branding and private labeling Partners will develop a clear understanding of how Microsoft’s Software + Services offerings fit into the context of these models. Intermedia’s own Partner Program offers options for complete private-labeling, including API integration for existing billing systems, co-branding for multiple brand leveraging and referral partnerships. The presentation will explain how partners can leverage these opportunities and compare and contrast them with Microsoft’s Software + Services.

For more information on Intermedia’s partner program, please visit http://www.Intermedia.net/Partners or meet the company in person at Booth #921 at the Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference 2008, in Houston, Texas from July 8th to 10th.

Leader in Business Email Supports Hosted Microsoft Exchange on iPhone with the Addition of ActiveSync

New York, NY (June 9, 2008) – Intermedia, the worldwide leader in business email services, today announced immediate support for business email and collaboration features on the iPhone 2.0 software, through the addition of ActiveSync capability. Available upon the launch of iPhone 2.0, iPhone users, with Intermedia’s cost effective and hassle-free hosting services, will be able to access all of Microsoft Exchange’s rich, productive and secure mobile features through the iPhone, including always-synced email, calendars, contacts and more.

For businesses, the addition of ActiveSync to the iPhone means increased security. iPhone users, eager to use just one device for work and home, have previously accessed their corporate email through IMAP/POP3 functionality and by doing so have compromised corporate security through an insecure connection. By instead accessing corporate email via Exchange through ActiveSync capability, businesses can rest assured that their information is synced securely. In addition, ActiveSync enables remote wiping, which allows the administrator to remotely erase all corporate email or data should the device be lost or stolen.

“Data security is a serious concern for all businesses,” said Danny Essner, Director of Marketing for Intermedia. “Our extreme focus on protecting our clients from any email security risks is a primary reason why customers choose Intermedia, and we are happy that we can now also provide a secure solution for iPhone users through hosted Exchange and ActiveSync.”

While Apple products have traditionally been considered consumer-oriented, Apple enthusiasts have always been eager to integrate products such as the iPhone into their business lives. According to leading IT analyst firm IDC, the sale of converged mobile devices, such as smartphones with entertainment-oriented features, will grow from 7.3 million units in 2005 to 63 million in 2010 – a 763% increase in just five years. Now, with hosted access to Microsoft Exchange from Intermedia, and the addition of ActiveSync to the iPhone 2.0, users can easily set up just one device for work and play.

Intermedia offers hosted Microsoft Exchange plans, now completely compatible with the iPhone, for small to midsized business with 3 to 1,000 employees. Users can quickly and easily access full Exchange collaboration capabilities on the iPhone by activating ActiveSync through their HostPilot™ control panel. To learn more about Exchange access on the iPhone, please visit http://www.Intermedia.net/iPhone.

Businesses looking for a more cost-effective and manageable solution for enterprise-class email and collaboration solutions through Microsoft Exchange, should visit Intermedia’s Web site at http://www.Intermedia.net/Exchange.

As Mac enters mainstream business use, Intermedia will give a free copy of Entourage 2008 to all customers

New York, NY (May 8, 2008) – Intermedia, the worldwide leader in business email services, is the world’s first company to offer Microsoft Entourage 2008 as a free download. Customers of Intermedia’s hosted Exchange 2007 service can now download a copy of the software free of charge for all Mac users.

The Intermedia offering is the first and only on the market that provides Mac users with the powerful benefits of Entourage 2008 integrated with hosted Exchange 2007. Commonly referred to as “Outlook for Macs”, Entourage 2008 allows Intermedia customers to synchronize their email, calendars and contacts between their hosted email account and their Mac computers.

“Entourage 2008 offers Mac users many key benefits, especially for customers who will be using it in a business environment with our hosted Exchange email service,” said Irina Shamkova, Intermedia’s senior product manager for email services. “Designed for the Intel-based Macs, the 2008 version is significantly faster than previous Entourage versions and offers better integration with Exchange for scheduling and ‘Out of Office’ reply management.”

Kawika Holbrook, IT director for Sterling Communications, was eager to install the software on Macs throughout the public relations agency. “We’re thrilled to be able to use Entourage 2008 with our Intermedia-hosted Exchange mailboxes,” he said. “Apple products and Exchange are critical to our business. We appreciate Intermedia’s commitment to supporting both platforms.”

The availability of Entourage 2008 is part of Intermedia’s larger strategy to make its hosted software offerings available to users of Apple products. In addition to already offering secure IMAP access to email on the iPhone and iPod touch, Intermedia is preparing to provide true iPhone synchronization with Exchange through ActiveSync™ when Apple releases the necessary phone update next month.

“Apple products are in much greater use in the business world than just a few years earlier, especially among small and medium businesses”, said Danny Essner, Intermedia’s director of marketing. “Our goal is to provide customers with the freedom of choice to access our services from the platforms and devices of their choosing, whether it’s a Mac, an iPhone, an iPod or anything else.”

Entourage 2008 is available for immediate download for free to all of Intermedia’s hosted Exchange email customers through its award-winning HostPilot™ control panel. To learn more about Intermedia’s hosted Exchange services, please visit www.intermedia.net.