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EXCHANGE vs. POP3 Mail Service |
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What is ‘Good Enough’ Mail Service?: · Typically a basic POP or IMAP mail service that is offered in conjunction with a hosting agreement, ISP services, or just as part of a web-service · Often Linux or Unix-based and built on an open source software product · Provides just basic messaging capabilities · Additional functionality (calendars or tasks) might be assembled from an aggregation and assembly of other tools, but the components do not typically hang together tightly · Can lack business fundamentals – Backup, Anti-Spam, Anti-Virus · May include advertising · Perceived as FREE by users. Creates the market perception that e-mail is and should be free. This is the major challenge versus Hosted Exchange.
Traditional Competitors: · Internet Service Provider (ISP) Mail – Bundled with hosting, access, telephony services · This means the ‘competitor’ may be the same Service Provider that is trying to upsell its base · MSN/Hotmail, Yahoo, Gmail, AOL
Strengths of ‘Good Enough’ E-mail: · Strong commodity value, perceived as free or low cost by the end customer · Large presence in commodity email market, perceived as free or low cost by the service provider · LINUX/UNIX vs. Microsoft angle · OpenSource vs. Microsoft angle · POP or MAPI access from any client · Simple web access
Weaknesses of ‘Good Enough’ E-mail: · Often consumer-focused with little understanding or targeted functionality for business users · · Low brand recognition of hosted email infrastructure; no ‘business selling value’ of brand · Patchwork approach, not well supported or integrated · Little differentiation between service providers · Weak Microsoft Office integration · Web-access tools typically very low end · Weak Mobility integration (potentially expensive data contracts to support IMAP connection) · Requirement to understand IMAP vs. POP to effectively use mobile solutions
Features of Hosted Exchange and Outlook: · Full MAPI Client Access (provides features as described below) with tight Outlook integration · Contact management, global contact lists, event and calendar management, resource scheduling and administration, task management and shared folders · Company-wide free/busy schedules · Ability to delegate access to allow others to check designated components like e-mail, tasks lists and calendars · Server and client-side rules and spam filtering to manage the flow of incoming messages · Multi-colored flagging to mark messages for follow-up, prioritization, searching and categorization · Recovery of sent and deleted messages · Ability to delete and replace an unread message · Out-of-office automatic reply
Target Customers vs. Good Enough: · Limited/No internal IT expertise, no Unix/Linux bias · Advanced mobility, messaging and information sharing needs exist, but may not be well recognized and options are not understood · Recognized problems and needs include: o Ability to call for technical support anytime o Simplicity of administration and management o Off-site backup, message retrieval and archiving o Protection from and prevention of viruses and SPAM o Decreased down-time o Having access to their e-mail from anywhere o Sharing information with employees who are away from the office o Calendar or file sharing · Top industry candidates include: o Professional Services – desire to be seen as up to date, highly mobile employees o Construction – mobile employees, limited IT o Agent Services (Finance, Insurance & Real Estate) – distributed employees, mobile employees |
Sample ‘Good Enough’ Selling Message (to customers):
‘Peace of Mind’ Operations Message Small businesses don't have a large, dedicated technical staff, and don't want to deal with the hassle of maintaining Exchange, Symantec, etc. Instead, they can rely on the solution that Provider X offers that puts it all in one package.
Business Decision Maker Price Message You shouldn’t be paying for e-mail. With our Internet Services, including web-hosting and broadband access, you get a free 20 user e-mail solution with your own domain, no advertisements, 1GB of storage per user and complete Anti-Virus and Anti-Spam capabilities.
Sample ‘Good Enough’ Selling Message (to providers):
Provider X offers hosted messaging solutions designed to help service providers add value to their services, up-sell customers, and attract new subscribers.
Key Hosted Exchange Opportunity Drivers: · An increasingly mobile workforce (Anywhere Access) – More and more employees are working from home, out of the office, on the road and at client and partner sites. But these employees need the same access to tools as if they would in the office, behind the firewall. · Desire for Peace of Mind when it comes to running technology – SMB companies are driven by fear that they are ‘forgetting to do something’ or that something bad is going to happen to them from a technology standpoint (viruses, SPAM, backups, hackers) as well as annoyance that they have to waste time on seemingly menial and redundant technology operations and maintenance tasks. · The need to increase worker productivity, efficiency and information sharing (Get More Done) – SMB Companies (in the IT Dependent and IT Strategic segments) recognize that more and more of their business is being done ‘digitally’ and ‘online’, and that getting each employee access to this information – tasks, calendar events, contact information, documents – is critical to their success.
Key Hosted Exchange Selling Messages: · Get More Done – Hosted Exchange gives small businesses a better way to share email, calendar and contact information so they can get more done. · Peace of Mind - Small businesses enjoy the peace of mind that comes from having an expert manage their email system and quickly respond to security threats such as spam and viruses. · Anywhere Access - Hosted Exchange allows you to easily access important email, calendar and contact information via mobile devices or from any PC with an Internet connection.
Hosted Exchange Opportunity Drivers vs. Good Enough: · Mobility – ‘Good Enough’ results in a different user interface, synchronization problems, high cost, IMAP confusion · Peace of Mind – ‘Good Enough’ is POP. Messages are lost once removed from the server. No backup and restoration. · Worker Productivity and Information Sharing – No shared calendars or task lists. No document folders.
‘Quick Bites’ for Positioning versus ‘Good Enough’: · Access to Outlook license and the full feature set of the desktop client · Increased productivity, particularly via shared calendars and tasks · Fully integrated remote and mobile access · Enhanced security and reliability · Guaranteed uptime and availability · Reduced spam and risk of virus · Guaranteed backups and restoration capabilities
Benefits of a Hosted Solution (versus on-site Exchange): · Instant deployment, with no capital investment or complex project to install and configure Windows 2003 Server, Exchange 2003 Server and other required components. · Lower TCO (Total Cost of Ownership), resulting from two primary factors: o No need to make upfront capital investments or commitments to hardware, software and IT infrastructure. o Lower in-house requirement for IT expertise to manage and maintain the environment. · Enhanced security compared to an in-house installation, including automated and timely installation of anti-virus, security patches and other software updates. · Increased availability and performance through broadband access. · High availability architecture with built-in system redundancy · Professional operations and support personnel · Accessibility over the public Internet allows secure access for both internal and external scenarios · Support for highly distributed, ‘virtual’ work situations. No requirement for complex VPN or Internet/Intranet solutions. · Hassle-free, ‘peace of mind’, operations means no worrying about security patches, software updates/upgrades, monitoring, repairing failed hardware, adding capacity, etc. · Daily backups stored off-site, ensuring business continuity and disaster recovery capabilities. |