The Best Hosted Exchange For Cloud Computing

There are many Hosted Microsoft Exchange providers- here is what you need to consider before you make your choice:

• Is the service reliable? 
• Are there engineers on standby 24x7 in case a server goes down? 
• Does the service offer the full benefits of Exchange?
• Is spam filtering included- and does it work? 
• Is compliance message archiving included?
• If the mail service goes down, what's the backup plan?

Cloud Controllers chose to partner with Intermedia Hosted Exchange and Spam Soap spam filtering, compliance archiving and email continuity. No other providers we tested met the general criteria above, and offered the features vital to integration with cloud computing, which are:

• Secure LDAP access- this allows Cloud Controllers unify the login and password for all of our application offerings.
• Ability to sync with an existing Active Directory - if you have an on-premise Windows Domain Controller, you can keep the accounts mirrored.
• Exchange 2010 - this new version of Exchange features large mailbox support and a full Outlook web client which supports IE, Firefox and Safari web browsers.
• Support all Smart Phones via ActiveSync, secure IMAP and secure LDAP (for company contacts)
• Redundant data centers- like our AWS offerings, we want to be prepared for failure- geographically dispersed data is critically important.
• Spam filtering, email continuity (for protection from Exchange server outages) and message archiving (for better email client performance and fast retrieval of old or deleted items).
• Pay only for what you use- our Exchange 2010 plans are billed per user- paying for only what you use is a core principle of cloud computing.

Why Cloud Controllers? Value-Added Support.

No one wants to sit on the phone troubleshooting issues with server engineers, managing updates to employees and team members, etc.- but that is what can occur when you don't purchase your hosted business application through a value-added reseller such as Cloud Controllers. All you need to do is contact Cloud Controllers via chat, telephone or email and we'll take it from there.

Exchange 2010

Cloud Controllers is among the first in the world to offer hosted Exchange 2010- featuring support for large mailboxes and a 100% PC-Mac-Linux compatible Outlook Web Access (webmail) client.

PC or Mac

Many Exchange hosting companies do not offer both Outlook 2007 and Entourage 2008 (for Mac) and will not offer Outlook 2010 (for PC and Mac) when it is released. We offer a free download of all Microsoft clients, and if you already have them, we'll offer you a cheaper plan without download privileges. And we support the Apple Mail application as well as any IMAP and POP3 mail clients. You can use either PCs or Macs with any software application you choose and never hear  "sorry, we don't support that application" when you ask for help.

Reliability and Uptime 

Cloud Controllers Intermedia Hosted Exchange operates out of a tier-four data center, with state-of-the-art cooling, power supply, backup generator and fire suppressants. For you this means that your email is constantly running. Your Exchange service will run on clustered servers and an EMC storage area network – so if one server or disk drive stops working, your email keeps working.

As well as offering the highest-quality IT infrastructure, we do nightly backups to protect your data. For your peace of mind, we offer a 99.999% service-level agreement (SLA) which allows for just a few minutes of email downtime each month.

While SLA's guarantee refunds when services go down, experience tells us that every server goes down eventually, which is why we bundle hosted Exchange 2010 from Intermedia with Spam Soap's email continuity service. Work through Spam Soap's email continuity web interface, and when your mail server is back up, all of your work syncs up with your hosted Exchange Server, so you never miss a beat.

24/7 Monitoring and Management 

To further ensure reliability, Intermedia employs a team of Microsoft Exchange engineers and administrators 24/7. Spam Soap does as well. And Cloud Controllers monitors both services. So if a server problem occurs at 3am on a Sunday morning, teams from all 3 services will begin attacking the problem in a matter of minutes.

Add-on Features 

We offer a complete range of add-on features including hosted BlackBerry, ActiveSync for Windows mobile devices and Good Mobile Messaging for Treos and other smartphones, so you can instantly activate email service for your handheld. Rather than spending thousands of dollars on your own server, you can use our managed service for just a few dollars a month.

Strict Security and Compliance

Our hosted exchange provider adheres to the industry’s strictest regulations for security and compliance. We are PCI compliant and SAS 70 II certified.

SAS 70 Certification

SAS 70 is an auditing statement issued by the Auditing Standards Board of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), officially titled “Reports on the Processing of Transactions by Service Organizations”.  SAS 70 defines the professional standards used by a service auditor to assess the internal controls of a service organization and issue a service auditor’s report.

Our hosted exchange provider has undergone SAS 70 certification in order to show its customers that its controls and security processes are of a high standard.

What is PCI?

Payment Card Industry (PCI) compliance is reached when a company meets the guidelines set forth by the major credit card companies as a guideline to help organizations that process card payments prevent credit card fraud, hacking and various other security issues. A company processing, storing, or transmitting credit card numbers must be PCI compliant or they risk losing the ability to process credit card payments. The requirements of the standard are as follows:

Build and Maintain a Secure Network

       Requirement 1: Install and maintain a firewall configuration to protect cardholder data.

       Requirement 2: Do not use vendor-supplied defaults for system passwords and other security parameters.

Protect Cardholder Data

       Requirement 3: Protect stored cardholder data.

       Requirement 4: Encrypt transmission of cardholder data across open, public networks.

Maintain a Vulnerability Management Program

       Requirement 5: Use and regularly update anti-virus software.

       Requirement 6: Develop and maintain secure systems and applications.

Implement Strong Access Control Measures

       Requirement 7: Restrict access to cardholder data by business need-to-know.

       Requirement 8: Assign a unique ID to each person with computer access.

       Requirement 9: Restrict physical access to cardholder data.

Regularly Monitor and Test Networks

       Requirement 10: Track and monitor all access to network resources and cardholder data.

       Requirement 11: Regularly test security systems and processes.

Maintain an Information Security Policy

       Requirement 12: Maintain a policy that addresses information security.

Our hosted exchange provider has completed all of these requirements and is PCI compliant.

Tier-4 Datacenters

Our hosted exchange provider’s multiple datacenters are some of the world's few tier-4 data centers.

Better Technologies

One of the world's most advanced Microsoft Exchange 2010 infrastructures:

Our hosted exchange provider uses ultra-robust premium facilities to minimize email downtime. The tier-4 category is for facilities "fundamentally immune to planned and unplanned downtime," according to the Uptime Institute.

Infrastructure

• Environmental control units that give a 100% SLA-guaranteed temperature and humidity within a certain range, plus the most advanced pre-action fire-suppression systems available.
• Raised floors and zone-4 certified for earthquakes

Security

• All premises are closely monitored and guarded, 24x7x365, with sophisticated pan/tilt CCTV covering every part of the facility and security guards posted at all entrances.
• Access to servers is restricted to a limited number of authorized engineers and security is strictly enforced using the very latest technology, including man-trap technology, motion sensors and controlled ID key-cards.

Power and Cooling

• Dual-feed 12KV power supply from PG&E, plus N+1 redundancy with redundant power feeds.
• Powerware UPS modules and PDUs with static switches on front end and 6 emergency redundant back-up diesel generators.
• Fully-redundant, roof-mounted, 1500-ton, Liebert system with common ducting, plus security via the elimination of water-filled piping from the datacenter space.
• CRAC units in the electrical and UPS rooms.

• Market Post Tower is home to Verizon's MAE-West facility.
• The West Coast's most important communications hub, with carriers including AT&T, Global Crossing, Level 3 Communications, MCI/Verizon, Singapore Telecom, Sprint.
• Failover arrangements to two additional Intermedia California facilities ensure constant uptime.

Dell Servers

Our hosted exchange provider has invested thousands of dollars in its Exchange infrastructure, which includes premium Dell servers.

• All servers are 64-bit Dell PowerEdge servers, with multiple multi-core processors.
• Adheres to Microsoft best practices for Exchange deployments.
• Passive-active cluster server configuration for ultimate resilience, plus seamless failover when a cluster node is unavailable or taken offline for maintenance.
• Redundant and load-balanced Exchange servers increase reliability.

EMC Storage

Our hosted exchange provider uses only the best in hardware, including EMC for the most advanced in storage.

• New EMC SAN-based storage with disk clusters in an advanced RAID array for seamless failover.
• Full tape back-ups ensure there no single point of failure anywhere within the storage system.

Premium Network

A premium network from Cisco and other leading vendors ensures the highest possible reliability.

• Routers and switches with full redundancy powered by Cisco
• Netscreen firewalls for enterprise-grade network protection
• HP rack switch technology