When VISI decided to transition completely into Exchange 2007, I thought the move was fantastic. It was the best thing for a business with all of its new functionality and options that were not available with Exchange 2003. Then I had an unexpected series of hectic phone calls, which changed my viewpoint of who should use Exchange.

We all live hectic lives. The more successful we are, the less time it seems we have. This was the case a few weeks ago when I got a phone call from a gentleman–let’s name him Bob–who first called me from the middle of a shopping mall during his lunch break. He was multitasking–trying to find information on Exchange 2007 while picking up his dry cleaning. He learned a few pieces of Exchange hosting and SharePoint information before having to hurry off.

The next day, Bob called me from his kid’s soccer game, just before parent/teacher conferences. He wanted to know if there was anything missing from his knowledge of Exchange and its benefits to his small company. We were discussing web-based Exchange and calendar options when he had an epiphany. Bob realized he could use Exchange on his family domain in order to better organize time with his kids. Family means a lot to Bob and now that he is on Exchange, he is happier than ever. He uses the calendar and meeting functions to organize who has sports practice and recitals when, and even to ask his kids to meet up for some family time over dinner. Bob has found a way to utilize the many new technology options to bring him and his family closer together than ever before, while de-cluttering life a little.

Bob, thanks for opening my eyes a little more.

We had such a great turnout on Thursday at the webinar about Hosted Exchange 2007 - thanks to all who attended.

If you were not there, Bill Hagestad, who conducted the webinar, wrote up a great blog post detailing the cost effectiveness of using VISI’s Hosted Exchange 2007, rather than doing it in-house. Also, you can download the entire PowerPoint presentation right from this blog.

Download the Presentation.

Find out more at the Hosted Exchange 2007 page on our site.

Good day!

The following post is about the cost effectiveness of VISI’s Hosted Exchange 2007 for your organization’s e-mail and communication needs.

Looking at the figures below, you’ll note that the sunk and recurring costs associated with attempting an in-house or ‘Do-It-Yourself’ Exchange 2007 project can be very expensive.

The software needed for your Exchange 2007 project as an initial investment can easily top $4,900. Hardware and installation run approximately $12,000; all in a non-redundant environment - meaning there are many single points of failure.

Finally, the administration costs, which include system administration and technical support, can easily cost $120,000 or more annually.

So far, the total sunk and recurring costs of an in-house Exchange 2007 project top out at over $137,000!

With VISI’s Hosted Exchange 2007 product, all of the administration and maintenance are taken care of for you.

In fact, based upon a 15 user scenario over one year using our Exchange 2007 product, your cost would only be $2,340 - a savings of over $135,000.00!

The icing on the cake is that VISI also provides complimentary Windows SharePoint Services (WSS) v 3.0 - a unique collaborative communication tool. (Keep an eye for more posts about this product.)

Ciao!