What is an exchange server and do I need one?

Exchange server helps keep you organized

One of the conversations I’m regularly having with clients is around the topic of exchange servers.

What is an exchange server?
Do I need an exchange server?
Don’t they cost a lot?

And it seems that after every conversation, customers say, “Wow! That’s a no-brainer.” The reason that it’s a no-brainer is that it can give you an incredible edge on your email, calendar, and contacts – especially if you are using a smart phone, iphone, or the like. Because my goal is to help you up and running, I wanted to provide all of you with a few facts about exchange servers and how they can help you grow your business.

- What is an exchange server?

An exchange server controls all of the content you would find in Outlook in one central location. Translation: Any computer with Outlook on it that is connected to your exchange server will show the same information (emails, calendar, and contacts). You can also access this information from the web with what is called “Outlook Web Access”.

So for example, if you only have your phone when you meet with a new customer and want to add their contact information and/or schedule an appointment, you can add that information on your phone, and instantly, it will be in your office computer as well. And it works the other way too — from your computer to your phone.

- How can it keep you organized?

Say you have a company with 10 people working for you — all with their own computers. But sometimes, people need to access their account when they’re not at their computer. Or say, people like to access their email from home, or when they are out of town. With an exchange server, those employees now have the ability to access their information from any computer, any time, anywhere. They can also share calendars and contacts with their co-workers as well. Not having your Outlook information confined to one specific computer saves time and creates productivity.

- Backing Up Outlook

One problem with having multiple people working for you on multiple computers is that their email, calendar, and contacts are all ONLY on their individual computers. This means that in order to back up their Outlook info, you must first know where the heck their Outlook.pst file is, and second, you need to back it up for EVERY computer that has important info individually. If you don’t, and a computer crashes, that Outlook info is gone.

With Exchange, because everything is in one central location on the server, you simply back up the server and everyone’s Outlook information is safe and sound.

- How much does exchange cost?

If you get your own server, the price can be a few thousand dollars. I’m not going to go into the exact formalities of running your own server, but I will say this: It’s not a bad idea to run your own server; it just can be expensive if you’re on a budget, and it does require regular monitoring and maintenance.

The other solution for a small business is hosted exchange services. For about $10 per month per user, you can have everything hosted through an online hosted exchange company. The great benefits to using them are that they take care of all the maintenance work, they offer great spam-blocking options, and they take care of all the backup needs for your information.

If you have other questions, feel free to leave a comment, and I will answer it promptly.