Exchange 2007 End of life is April 2017. What next?

[AstroTurf]

Hi,

Some background

We run a relatively small SBS 2008 domain at the moment with around 35 real users in total (varies, various accounts created for other things etc, probably around 70 user accounts in total, many of them disabled/redundant/dead).

We have around 80 computers in total but many of them are not connected to the domain or even the network for various reasons.

Exchange is as follows:
26 active external email addresses from 3 different external domains (Two very very old mweb email addresses, our companies website domain and then a company we bought a few years ago's domain).
Around 15 internal accounts.

I set this machine up in 2009 or thereabouts (had the company we bought it from set it up, lasted around 3 months and then needed to be reloaded) and now with the end of life of exchange looming I am trying to decide what to do next.

What I would like to do is upgrade the whole machine but the current Microsoft options seem a bit long in the tooth and I would like the next machine to last at least another 6 to 7 years before software forces an upgrade, I also don't think we need new servers at the moment, these just need much more storage and I think a reload.

What I think I will end up doing is either buying exchange server 2016 and running it one one of the two sbs 2008 machines I have available or buying kerio connect and scrapping exchange completely.

TLR version> sbs2008 with exchange 2007, 35 active users, 3 external domains, 26 external email addresses, 15 internal
What next?

 

[Genisys]

Google Apps or Office 365 sadly. No need for 24/7 support with those.

 

[The_Librarian]

Google Apps or Office 365 sadly. No need for 24/7 support with those.

This, but also keep in mind cloud computing = somebody else's computer.

Also, should you go that route, you will not be able to respond to funny issues like bouncy emails (for whatever reasons) or any of the little irritations as it will be out of your control.

The plus side is you won't have to worry about hardware, licencing, upgrades etc.

Hosting it yourself gives you more control, but then you have to worry about licencing, hardware, etc etc etc...

 

[RVQ]

Ditch the server and move to something like 'Office 365 Business Essentials'.

 

[TheMightyQuinn]

Like others have said: Microsoft Hosted Exchange or O365 Business Essentials or Premium if you want to kill 2 birds and have Office apps as well. Much smaller CapEx than buying Exchange and all the CAL's.

But if you want to go that route, the I suggest going through a VAR and enter into a SPLA agreement where you rent the software from Microsoft on a monthly basis and don't even pay for CAL's. It is a fraction of the cost of buying.

 

[AstroTurf]

Like others have said: Microsoft Hosted Exchange or O365 Business Essentials or Premium if you want to kill 2 birds and have Office apps as well. Much smaller CapEx than buying Exchange and all the CAL's.

But if you want to go that route, the I suggest going through a VAR and enter into a SPLA agreement where you rent the software from Microsoft on a monthly basis and don't even pay for CAL's. It is a fraction of the cost of buying.

Over a 7 year period it is still cheaper?

 

[TheMightyQuinn]

Over a 7 year period it is still cheaper?

It is never "cheaper" over a 7 year period. The point is the massive CapEx however. I'd rather Pay R250 per month for MS Server 2012 Std on a SPLA, than spending R 10 000 on the base license and another R17 000 on 25 CAL's

It is all about alleviating financial pressure. Money saved on one huge expense can rather be used elsewhere.

 

[AstroTurf]

My options seem to be more or less

Office 365 Business Essentials @ $7.50 per month x26 at present. currently around R3000 per month so R36k for the first year.
Just for the current email users.
Google apps for about the same cost.

Or Kerio Connect.
First year cost + 5 users = $495 for the deluxe version then $33 per additional user.
$1188 (around R16000) for the first year and then around 1/3'rd that price (Around R5500) per year thereafter.

Kinda leaning towards just using sbs 2008 as my domain controller and kerio connect for emails till 2020 or whenever microsoft decide to kill sbs 2008.

 

[Genisys]

Kerio is a firewall...

 

[AstroTurf]

Google Kerio Connect.

I already use Kerio Control.

 

[Genisys]

Google Kerio Connect.

I already use Kerio Control.

Ah yes, sorry. Confused the two. Also look at Mime cast for email protection. Seems to be another popular option.

 

[RVQ]

My options seem to be more or less

Office 365 Business Essentials @ $7.50 per month x26 at present. currently around R3000 per month so R36k for the first year.
Just for the current email users.
Google apps for about the same cost.

Or Kerio Connect.
First year cost + 5 users = $495 for the deluxe version then $33 per additional user.
$1188 (around R16000) for the first year and then around 1/3'rd that price (Around R5500) per year thereafter.

Kinda leaning towards just using sbs 2008 as my domain controller and kerio connect for emails till 2020 or whenever microsoft decide to kill sbs 2008.

Local ISP's like Voda offers Rand pricing at around R85 per user...

 

[AstroTurf]

Local ISP's like Voda offers Rand pricing at around R85 per user...

Kerio still works out cheaper but I will keep that in mind when putting all the options down on "paper"

 

[TheMightyQuinn]

My options seem to be more or less

Office 365 Business Essentials @ $7.50 per month x26 at present. currently around R3000 per month so R36k for the first year.
Just for the current email users.
Google apps for about the same cost.

Or Kerio Connect.
First year cost + 5 users = $495 for the deluxe version then $33 per additional user.
$1188 (around R16000) for the first year and then around 1/3'rd that price (Around R5500) per year thereafter.

Kinda leaning towards just using sbs 2008 as my domain controller and kerio connect for emails till 2020 or whenever microsoft decide to kill sbs 2008.

You can get the latest MS Exchange for about R500 per month from day one on SPLA. Nothing emulates Exchange or gives you the exact same functionality.

 

[TheMightyQuinn]

Ah yes, sorry. Confused the two. Also look at Mime cast for email protection. Seems to be another popular option.

Extremely expensive unfortunately, prohibitively so.

 

[RVQ]

You can get the latest MS Exchange for about R500 per month from day one on SPLA. Nothing emulates Exchange or gives you the exact same functionality.

What would be the solution for Antimalware and SPAM with this option?

Between the storage limits, archiving, security, admin costs, time... exchange online seems to have a decent 'sales pitch'

 

[TheMightyQuinn]

What would be the solution for Antimalware and SPAM with this option?

Between the storage limits, archiving, security, admin costs, time... exchange online seems to have a decent 'sales pitch'

Oh every time. I only mentioned SPLA since it seems the OP does not really want to go the O365 route.

 

[AstroTurf]

Storage limits... Some of the accounts here have 400gb email in them, one lady picks up around 10gb a month...

 

[FoXtroT]

Storage limits... Some of the accounts here have 400gb email in them, one lady picks up around 10gb a month...

how?

I simply can't imagine the amount of email that must equate to! I would lose my mind having to deal with all that mail just from a reading perspective. How does she get anything done?

 

[AstroTurf]

how?

I simply can't imagine the amount of email that must equate to! I would lose my mind having to deal with all that mail just from a reading perspective. How does she get anything done?

Large emails, lots of images and 3d content