A growing number of companies are choosing to migrate their mail servers to the cloud. This is a global trend widely reported by various experts in IT trends and during major events such as the Microsoft Partner Summit.
If more companies are choosing to outsource their IT infrastructure, it is because hosting in the cloud presents considerable advantages, compared to physical servers. Aside from having access to all the emails and associated files on any device (computer, tablet, smartphone) with a simple Internet connection, migrating mail servers to the cloud offers other key benefits. Here are 4 main reasons to migrate to the cloud in 2015.
1. Lower Total cost of ownership (TCO)
Considering all the factors that go into calculating the TCO (Total Cost of Ownership) of your mail service, hosting in the cloud is often cheaper than buying, maintaining and updating a physical server.
Hosting in the cloud allows you to pay a monthly fee that covers the rental of space in the data center, maintenance and storage volume. These monthly fees vary between $ 2 and $ 30 per user, depending on the services selected.
The IT budget is therefore easier to manage because it does not need to take into account unexpected breakdowns and costly replacement of computer equipment which is normally renewed every 3-5 years.
2. Less downtime
Email services hosted in the Cloud have better uptime than on physical servers given the quality of infrastructure in data centers. In fact, according to data released by Microsoft in 2013, Office 365 boasts downtime of 8.75 hours per year, while an Exchange server is closer to 30 hours.
This is an important factor to be taken into account, because in addition to reducing access to email and files, downtime generates very high indirect costs in lost opportunities and productivity.
3. Simplified IT management
Physical servers require much more management than hosting in the cloud. In addition to the purchase of equipment and regular renewal of licenses, companies must also use internal resources to carry out various operations on the servers.
Updates and upgrades require between 30 minutes and 4 hours each, without counting the preparatory work. Incidentally, this preparation is a critical aspect of any successful mail server migration, whether a migration to the cloud or to a new physical server.
4. Diverse range of complementary services
In addition to messaging, large vendors such as Microsoft, IBM and Google, offer productivity suites in the cloud. The latter facilitates file sharing between employees and enables real-time collaboration.
For example, Microsoft Office 365 provides access to the latest version of the Office suite, without having to trouble yourself with necessary updates.
Other software, such as instant messaging and video conferencing are also available. These services are offered on demand and can differ for each employee.
Key take-away
If your computer hardware and software are obsolete or your licenses will soon expire, this is a good time to consider migrating your mail servers to the cloud and consider the benefits.
Productivity gains are a key to increasing corporate profitability. As well, teleworking is becoming increasingly important for many employers and companies must be able to provide the infrastructure and tools that reconcile these two aspects.
However, keep in mind that despite the many benefits offered by cloud computing, it might be better for some companies to keep their own mail servers.
Present can help you determine the TCO of different options, so you can make an informed choice, according to your specific needs.
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