Is Gmail the best email solution? Not for everyone.
When I first started this blog I posted an article on how to use Gmail to host your domain for and use Gmail to manage your email. What is Great about this solution is that cost is zip, zero, nada.
Is this the best solution? No. My main gripe is lack of syncronization to smart phones and Outlook. Yes I am a Microsoft Outlook junkie. I keep everything in there, Contacts, Calendar, Task, Email, RSS feeds, Reminders, Appointments.
What is Hosted Exchange?
Easy answer: Its a email server that handles your email. (but its more than that)
Technical answer: Hosted Exchange is a platform built on Microsoft Exchange Server. Exchange server is used in most business from small to huge. Exchange server is used in conjuction with Outlook (My favorite mail client). Exchange server provides many features. The best features is email syncronization and access from ANY device.
Why is it better than hosted exchange?
The main reason is the access from any device and all items stay in sync. I have 3 computers and a Smart phone. All of my computers and my phone need to stay in sync because I need access to my import data at all times (Outlook keeps 80% of my important data). If I make a change to a contact on one machine that change is replicated to all my other machines and my phone without any having to do anything.
Direct Push
I can now be like any crackberry (Blackberry) user and have instant notification of email to my phone.
Outlook Web Access
If I can’t get to my phone or any of my computers (not likely) I can check my mail or make a calendar entry from any web browser and those changes sync to my devices.
Availability
All my information is available to me at all times and I can respond to emails quickly.
Backups
If all my computers are stolen and my phone is stolen too my contacts are not lost.
Will Gmail ever be what exchange will be? Maybe but not anytime soon. There are products out there to sync outlook to gmail but it is quality business solution IMO.
Here are some vendors.
Your Outlook Online?(shameless plug for my sponsor)
More on Hosted Exchange and Outlook to come.
Loren Nason
Future of Real Estate Technology