Exchange

How is Hosted Exchange different to the type of email I am using in my business now?

The most common form of email used by small and medium businesses in South Africa - and what you are most likely using in your business - is called POP (or Post Office Protocol) email. POP is the standard email that internet service providers (ISPs) supply to customers as part of their internet connection service (eg. johnsmith@mweb.co.za), and is also the basic form of email typically included in the services offered by web hosting and domain name companies (eg. johnsmith@hiscompanyname.co.za).

How does POP email work?

POP email works by retrieving your email from a mail server and delivering it to an email program running on your computer, such as Microsoft Outlook or Microsoft Outlook Express. Every time you check your email using POP, any new messages that have been sent to you since you last checked your email are downloaded from the server and saved to the hard drive of the computer you are using, without leaving a copy on the server. POP mailboxes typically do not include or have only very basic built-in virus or spam filtering.

How does Hosted Exchange work?

Hosted Exchange, on the other hand, is a premium form of email that utilizes Microsoft Exchange technology and incorporates comprehensive anti-spam and anti-virus functionality, as well as regular off-site backups of data, to provide businesses with a more reliable, secure email solution. When using Hosted Exchange, all your email information is stored on a central Exchange server which is hosted at our data centre. When you check your email, your computer contacts the server via a secure connection to show you not only the new messages in your Inbox, but all of your previously downloaded email, as well as the other business-critical information stored in your Calendar, Contacts, Sent Items, etc