Office 365 Vs Hosted Exchange, Which Suits for Your Organization?

Read time 5 minutes

One of the important decisions of a business includes the selection of a reliable cloud solution. Many activities depend on exchanging files through a server, handling email automation, and more. The two popular choices for email communication among the enterprises are Office 365 and Hosted Exchange.

Both have prominent features that can help businesses conduct business operations and daily activities smoothly. But the biggest challenge for companies is to find which one suits their needs the best. So, let’s focus on the key factors based on which enterprises choose a cloud platform and see which one among these two can meet the expectations.

This article will highlight the major differences between Office 365 and Hosted Exchange to help you choose the best solution for your organization.

1. Data Security

   First and foremost, data security has always been a primary aspect of deploying cloud or hosted services for businesses. Both Office 365 and Hosted Exchange offer extensive protection to the resources and digital assets.

   However, only Office 365 among all the service providers offers FISMA (Federal Information Security Management Act) and HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) compliance features to the enterprises.

   In addition, it is more adherence to built-in protection against data loss while meeting security standards such as ISO27001. Hosted Exchange services are also secure and reliable, but they don’t possess all the advanced features as they are not updated frequently.

   With Hosted Exchange, the IT department needs to manually handle many security checks and upgrades. And that results in more downtime as compared to Office 365.

   So, Office 365 is a better choice than Hosted Exchange for security concerns.

2. Connectivity & Synchronization

   Both employers and employees are moving towards remote-based work management and connectivity. So, the handling documentation, user accounts, and other datasets needs to be more consistent. Hence, organizations adopt reliable cloud platforms that can help them synchronize files, accounts, emails, and other work-related resources. ActiveSync is the feature available on both Office 365 and Hosted Exchange. Their synchronization capabilities are benefiting users to manage enterprise assets more efficiently.

   However, Office 365 has better support that makes it a preferred choice. This accounts for no extra fees or paid subscriptions, which is usually needed in Hosted Exchange services.

3. Tool Availability & Control

   In general, it can be easier to integrate Microsoft Exchange Server with other applications if they are on the same network. It also offers better control over the security management features. So, businesses can easily monitor activities such as data sharing, user access, inbox management, and more.

   With the Online Essentials plan, Office 365 also gives access to Microsoft Office online software versions. They come with multiple applications, such as Office Suite, Skype, and OneDrive. As a result, users will be able to manage their work, data, and files more efficiently throughout the access.

   So, in this case, Office 365 stays behind with a minor margin from Hosted Exchange.

4. Pricing

   It is important because when an enterprise invests in any technology, it expects a lot from the software applications. As a result, both Office 365 and Hosted Exchange has different pricing plans.

   Deploying Office 365 might require only the training of employees in addition to the subscription. Also, migrating operations to this platform is more cost-effective.

   On the other hand, Hosted Exchange is more customizable for large enterprises. But, with Office 365, enterprises can have more flexibility, and security compared to Hosted Exchange.

5. Scalability & Development

   With the advances in technologies and business trends, every enterprise aims to grow consistently. And hence, they expect a better scalability from its cloud platform.

   Hosted Exchange is an outstanding choice, but difficult to attain complete control over the security upgrades, feature accessibility, and user experience models. Office 365 automatically installs upgrades while notifying the users compared to the other platform. It is seamless, but subsequent changes in the features might require assistance for employees or executives.

   While both the platforms are scalable to meet the expectations of growing enterprises Office 365 possesses more options for businesses to choose from than Hosted Exchange.

If you have decided on the right solution for your business based on the above points, it’s great! But, if you haven’t, consider the below points to make a clear choice.

1. For Superior Technicality & Innovation, Choose Office 365

   Microsoft Office 365 has many applications that can help businesses run several operations seamlessly. With the ease of connectivity and collaboration, the platform can be of benefit to enterprises.

   In addition, users will get automatic updates and upgrades. This will make sure that businesses never miss out on any new feature.

   Even there are no hidden charges applied to Office 365 feature upgrades. Instead, enterprises will get an all-in-one cloud package with Microsoft Office Suite, OneDrive, Skype for business, and Project Server.

2. For Limited Control & Stable Performance, Hosted Exchange Is The Best!

   Enterprises have the option to choose any version from the available Exchange environments. In addition, all these versions are well-tested to work with multiple business applications. So, businesses won’t need to tackle software outages or other issues.

   1. Hosted Exchange services come with different customizable pricing plans according to the requirements. This will give businesses the freedom to choose only needful functionalities.
   2. But this won’t work if they need to migrate all the digital assets to an upgraded version. They will need to buy the plan again to access the platform with the same features.

   Now that you know the best cloud solution for your business, it’s time to choose a migration method for your requirements. If you’re using an existing server and want to move to Office 365, it is recommended to use an automated migration tool.

   Kernel Office 365 Migration is an excellent utility designed to migrate your data from Exchange Server to Office 365 or Exchange Online. It is integrated with advanced facilities and algorithms to perform the smooth migration of data. Besides, the tool allows you to migrate selected items from mailboxes as per your requirements. You can even save the migration report in CSV format for future references.

Conclusion

With all the data and information available, Microsoft Office 365 focuses on businesses. And it is all because of its flexibility, and reliability, that it became popular. But, unfortunately, Hosted Exchange Understanding the purpose and needs of your business can help you in choosing the right platform. If you have listed your business needs, you can make a better decision at the right time.