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I've been agonizing on whether to make a new thread for this question, but I figure posting in this one is safe, as you guys obviously know what the hell you're talking about, even though it might not end up being about Exchange. If it isn't appropriate, let me know. Essentially, I'm looking for an email solution for my employer. We're a small-ish company, and would have about 8 clients. I'm the de facto IT guy because I know how to build PCs and clean out viruses, but I don't have much experience when it comes to this kind of thing. Anyway, I've been looking into renting a hosted Exchange Server. We want to keep this as simple as possible, and want an IMAP type setup where all the mail will stay on the server, and everyone can access it from any computer in the shop. What is making me hesitant about all this is that almost all the emails we get have attachments, ranging from 2-10 Mb. What we're doing right now is just using one computer to access a hotmail account with Outlook, saving any attachments into a network folder, and saving the email in Outlook local folders. We want to keep the attachments with the emails. The thing is, these attachments add up and would use up the storage space on a Exchange server pretty quickly. I realize I may not be getting my question across all that well, and I blame it on my inexperience. Ideally, I would like to do one of two options, if possible. When an email comes in, whoever reads it can remove it from the server and save it locally, yet anyone on any other PC in the network can access those same local folders, using Outlook. Another option, which I don't know is viable for someone with my level of experience, would be to host our own mail server, whether it's Exchange or not. Again, I apologize if this is the wrong place for this, and any help would be greatly appreciated.
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Aug 15, 2011 23:25
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| # ¿ May 2, 2024 00:37 |
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Internet Explorer posted:Have you taken a look at Google Apps or Microsoft 360? With most small companies it makes sense these days to host stuff externally. Your other option would probably be Microsoft Small Business Server, of which they just recently released a new version. I did a little experimenting with Gmail and IMAP, but it was slow as hell with Outlook. I didn't know Microsoft 365 was a thing, and I'll look into that. As for MSBS, does that have the capability to handle email on it's own, or would that involve setting up an Exchange server too? I also like this idea because our current backup system is kind of wonky. Edit: Okay, the Office 365 looks pretty sweet. One quick question about that. Is there a way for multiple clients to share the same inbox? Because essentially there is no email being addressed to any specific person, we all need access to the same emails. Would we even need multiple clients for that? Also, has anyone here been using 365? How is the speed with Outlook? A Proper Uppercut fucked around with this message at 00:02 on Aug 16, 2011 |
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Aug 15, 2011 23:52
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Thanks, you guys have been a lot of help. Honestly, if it isn't too drat slow, Office 365 really sounds like it would be ideal, especially for the cost. With a 25Gb mailbox, I don't think saving the emails with attachments would be a big deal. Though the one thing I'm still wondering about with that is multiple PCs being able to access the same mailbox at the same time.
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Aug 16, 2011 03:46
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Mainly, it's because we only use one email address. Whoever reads the email would save the attachment in the proper place, and save the email in one of several public folders depending on the contents of the email. Nothing really all that complicated.
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Aug 16, 2011 04:35
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LoKout posted:Too small a company to have a receptionist or admin assistant? That seems like the perfect job for them to do all day, and have a backup or two in case of sick days/vacation. Not too small, we have one, but the emails are generally of a technical nature. Nothing a receptionist would know what to do with without a lot of training in things they wouldn't want to be trained in. The whole thing with this is not really because of time sensitive stuff, it's making sure everyone has access to new and old emails from any PC on our local network. That's why I was asking about an IMAP type system, but just concerned about storage space on a typical hosted server. Which is why I was interested in the Office 365 as the mailboxes are 25Gb. Also, I don't know why I'm making it sound like I work in some super secret place, it's a machine shop with about 15 employees.
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Aug 16, 2011 04:48
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| # ¿ May 2, 2024 00:37 |
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markus876 posted:You may want to check out something like Email Center Pro (http://www.emailcenterpro.com/) or similar. It's a product that is designed to be used for more of a "incoming email queue" solution, and would let you guys all have a common history of emails (which is nice if Joe has been communicating with someone and then he is out sick and Harry wants to take over). You, sir, must be psychic. The day after you suggested this, my boss (who was also trying to figure this email stuff out) showed me this, and said he had already talked to some Customer Service people and thought it was what we were looking for. We've been using it for a couple days now and it is just that. Exactly what we were looking for.
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Aug 19, 2011 19:45
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