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cowboyro
Premium Member
join:2000-10-11
CT

cowboyro to OZO

Premium Member

to OZO

Re: Mail Server

doesn't pretty much every business already have the Windows servers and associated CALs? Isn't Office already part of the business tools used? If so you are only looking at a minor cost for adding Exchange, and that minor cost is absolutely worth it IMHO...

cdru
Go Colts
MVM
join:2003-05-14
Fort Wayne, IN

cdru

MVM

said by cowboyro:

If so you are only looking at a minor cost for adding Exchange, and that minor cost is absolutely worth it IMHO...

Define minor cost. $70 a user just for the exchange user CAL, which would NOT already be purchased puts your cost at $4200 before you even factor in the Exchange server license, Windows server license (which running exchange on it's own dedicated server is strongly encouraged if not required for the latest version) plus realistically a few thousand for decent server-grade hardware. If any of those users are external users, then the server CALs may not have been purchased.

I priced priced out a Exchange setup for my wife's work of ~35 people. Even with them qualifying for non-profit pricing through TechSoup for Microsoft, they were still looking at too much of a bill for them to easily swallow. They could absolutely make use of Exchanges features and even just their calendering alone would be invaluable enough to justify it if they had the money laying around. Not every company just has the money sitting there.

cowboyro
Premium Member
join:2000-10-11
CT

cowboyro

Premium Member

said by cdru:

Define minor cost.

You're presumably already spending $500 for a computer + $200 for Office = $700. That's $42k before even factoring in the cost of servers, support personnel, DR procedures, internet access and even salaries for those who work... And you're actually adding a productivity tool... I don't think any of the freebies have an actually usable web interface so you can access mail from anywhere or mail push for mobiles... what you pay is what you get...

cdru
Go Colts
MVM
join:2003-05-14
Fort Wayne, IN

cdru

MVM

said by cowboyro:

You're presumably already spending $500 for a computer + $200 for Office = $700. That's $42k before even factoring in the cost of servers, support personnel, DR procedures, internet access and even salaries for those who work... And you're actually adding a productivity tool...

All those are valid points. Yet it doesn't change the fact that it's still can be a large cost that hasn't previously been budgeted.

I don't think any of the freebies have an actually usable web interface so you can access mail from anywhere or mail push for mobiles... what you pay is what you get...

OP explicitly stated he just needed a mail server. Web interface, push for mobiles, etc I see as enhancements that go beyond just a mail server. Yes they can be helpful, useful, whatever. But they also may be completely unnecessary.

As to getting what you pay for, I guess exim, postfix, sendmail, and all the other open source mail servers must be crap since you don't pay for those either. Just ignore that any one of their market shares are as big if not bigger than Exchange's.

Exchange is a great product that has an extremely extensive feature list. Such a feature list comes with a price, and that price is paying for a lot of things that likely would not be used for just 60 users.