As the trend of storing data in the ‘cloud’ has grown increasingly popular, companies have followed suit and developed cloud-based email solutions. Microsoft now offers Exchange Online, a hosted email service that is modeled after the Microsoft Exchange Server.

With this Internet-based email solution, users are able to access email, contacts and calendars from anywhere and on any device that has Internet access. The service comes with built-in tools that synchronize directories and migrate mailboxes and data to the web-based environment. It is also equipped with disaster recovery capabilities and anti-virus and anti-spam protection. Because it is maintained in the ‘cloud,’ this service does not require hardware or backups and downtime is minimal.

This type of email solution is ideal for smaller firms that do not have a need for, or do not want to incur the expense of, an email server. Microsoft Exchange Online reduces time and money spent on the installation and maintenance of hardware and backups. Furthermore, this service sends a continuous replication of data to a secure off-site backup and allows users to recover deleted items and mailboxes.

If you have any questions or would like to transition to a hosted email solution, contact Plummer Slade at (412) 261-5600.

Read about the PBA’s formal opinion on cloud computing here.