Mail, Exchange or POP

[raccoon2]

Hello,
Currently we are using MS SBS 2003 with MS Exchange on our server.
There is only two of us in the business and we are moving over to Apple mac in a couple of weeks time.
I'm not quite sure on whether to keep MS Exchange on our server, or just go back to POP email.
We are moving our business back home from our commercial premises, so the server will be turned off at night and most probably on weekends.
We do use the New appointment tool in Outlook quite a bit, not sure what mac has in Mail that is the equivalent
What is best for a small business of only two, and using Mac OSX Mail.
Should we keep MS Exchange or just go back to POP email.

Thank you
Marshall

 

[nadyne]

There's a few reasons that I very much like using Exchange.

Everything is stored on the server. This means that if my hard drive dies (which just happened on my personal MacBook ), I won't lose any of my mail, calendar, and address book. It's all saved there.

I can access my data from multiple devices. On my Mac, I use Entourage. I also connect to it via my iPhone, which requires you to enable Exchange ActiveSync on your server. And I use Outlook Web Access, which means that if I don't have my Mac or iPhone handy, I can still check everything from the web interface.

It makes interacting with other people really easy. I can see my co-worker's Exchange calendars, so I know when they're free and when they're not. It certainly makes scheduling meetings easier.

I do use POP and IMAP for my personal mail, but most of what ends up on my personal account isn't really critical stuff. I definitely don't try to do any scheduling of stuff on my personal account, and I don't maintain an address book anywhere outside of Exchange either. For me, the access to my mail/contact/calendar info from anywhere is why I keep pretty much everything that I really care about in Exchange.

Regards,
Nadyne.

 

[nefan65]

Personally, if you're going to Macs, there's nothing keeping on MS products. Not knowing what else you use the SBS for makes it difficult. However, if I were you I'd re-evaluate all of your needs. Rather than upgrade to the next release, I'd reconsider something else. If you have no tie to Windows applications, SBS is expensive to maintain over time. If I were only using SBS for email, file/print, and nothing else, I'd get a cheap Linux box for those pieces, including email. There are free/Open source solutions that are easy to install, and you'll get all the functionality needed.

If you have the money...get a refurb Mac Pro [low end], and throw a copy of OS X Server edition. Has everything in one; VPN, email, Calendar, Web Server, Podcast creator, etc.

 

[pakster]

I would move to hosted exchange.
You get all features of exchange and pay a small monthly fee.
I have used http://www.sherweb.com/ for about a half a year, and would recommend it any day.

The price is 9$ per month.

You can use it with your own domain, and share folders, calendars with your coworker and there is even a small sharepoint site included.

Dont use pop, if something crashes locally you loose all your mail data.

 

[rdowty]

I agree with Pakster. I use a hosted Exchange account with GoDaddy.com for $10 a month and it's easy. Now that hosting is so cheap I don't see the need for most business to have their own server unless they have 50+ users or are doing something with it other than mail, web, vpn.

 

[rwilliams]

I would move to hosted exchange.
You get all features of exchange and pay a small monthly fee.
I have used http://www.sherweb.com/ for about a half a year, and would recommend it any day.

The price is 9$ per month.

You can use it with your own domain, and share folders, calendars with your coworker and there is even a small sharepoint site included.

Dont use pop, if something crashes locally you loose all your mail data.

You'd be amazed at how many people don't grasp that simple concept about POP. At work, it's been like running headfirst into a wall trying to get people to stop using POP. We finally decided to make the choice for them, and in our new mail system, POP has been disabled.

 

[raccoon2]

Thanks for all the replies.
Quite interested in what nefan65 said, get a refurb Mac Pro [low end], and throw a copy of OS X Server edition.
I know exchange is better that POP, and I have lost hard drives in the past, but I always make a backup copy of the .PST file. When I install the new Hard drive and reload outlook, I just replace the .PST file with the old backup copy and everything is restored again.

Thanks
Marshall

 

[Matek]

No offense, but I think you picked the worst solution. I checked the Apple store and currently, the cheapest refurbished Mac Pro is still $2300. And even if you somehow find it for just $1500, it's still a load of money. It would be total overkill if you used such a machine for a two-person company server and besides that - Exchange is still better then what Apple has to offer in this area.

I must wholeheartedly agree with people who suggested Exchange hosting. For a small monthly fee you can forget about making backups and worrying about the server. You don't have to turn it off at night and on weekends, you don't have to fix hardware faults or pay for electricity. You can keep using the solution you're used to and that is supported in many devices, including Apple's iPhone.

And don't worry about Mac compatibility - you can use Microsoft Entourage which is just like Outlook but for OS X, so you can shift your business to Macs without problems. A better and cheaper solution, why not?

 

[MisterMe]

... Microsoft Entourage which is just like Outlook but for OS X, ...

Not!

 

[raccoon2]

No offense, but I think you picked the worst solution. I checked the Apple store and currently, the cheapest refurbished Mac Pro is still $2300. And even if you somehow find it for just $1500, it's still a load of money. It would be total overkill if you used such a machine for a two-person company server and besides that - Exchange is still better then what Apple has to offer in this area.

I must wholeheartedly agree with people who suggested Exchange hosting. For a small monthly fee you can forget about making backups and worrying about the server. You don't have to turn it off at night and on weekends, you don't have to fix hardware faults or pay for electricity. You can keep using the solution you're used to and that is supported in many devices, including Apple's iPhone.

And don't worry about Mac compatibility - you can use Microsoft Entourage which is just like Outlook but for OS X, so you can shift your business to Macs without problems. A better and cheaper solution, why not?

I said I was interested, I wasn't choosing that solution just researching. After researching I found a couple of Power macs G5 around $500.
But I decided the Exchange hosting might be the way to go.
I'm now trying to work out on whether to sell my server or keep it.
So far the maintence cost is fairly high, $400 to do updates, $389 for new antivirus, around $400 to install it. and then theres the new software for spam since Symantec Brightmail turned out to be a big waste of money.
So yes I think a Hosted exchange sounds a more cost effective exercise and a small NAS with Raid 1 for central file storage and sharing with an external Hard drive for backup.
The cheapest Hosted exchange I've found in Australia is $35 for 3GB, I'm only interested in using an Australia Company, if anyone knows of anyone they recommend in Australia, could you please let me know.

Thank you
Marshall

 

[acurafan]

i have been using Entourage for past 2 months and it's the M$ bastard child - i hate it. there is no substitute for real Exchange (via vmware unity mode)

i would agree with others about keeping E2k3 or hosted Exchange...owa, rpc/http(s), device sync up, priceless...

 

[Matek]

Not!

You're right, Outlook and Entourage are different in certain aspects, the latter doesn't support some of the more advanced features, but the author of the topic was asking about basic email/schedule/contact capabilities in combination with an exchange server. Entourage can handle that.