Microsoft Exchange Server is no doubt one of the renowned email server solutions. It is available as an on-premises that gives you full control over emails and other data. However, it requires sufficient storage space, computing, and other resources, which can be expensive, especially for a small and medium sized business. Due to these and various other reasons, businesses look for alternatives to Microsoft Exchange Server. In this article, we will be discussing top alternatives to the on-premises Exchange Server for the business email use.
Why you should look for a local Exchange Server Alternative?
There are many reasons why you would look for a local Exchange Server alternative. Let’s see some common reasons:
- For Local Exchange Server, up to version 2019 Standard/Enterprise, you need to incur most of the cost on Capital Expenditure (CapEx) and maintenance. Shifting to a cloud-based service would involve only Operating Expenses (OpEx), thus reducing the overall cost.
- When looking for a cheaper alternative or to cut down cost.
- When moving to a cloud-based service as it offers office mobility. This means that there is no need for a full server room to maintain.
- Shifting to a cheaper solution as most of the Exchange features are not needed.
Best Microsoft Exchange Server Alternatives
Here are some emailing solutions that can serve as an alternative to Microsoft Exchange Server.
1. Microsoft 365 (Office 365)
Microsoft 365, which was formerly named Office 365, is the Exchange Server equivalent which is hosted on the cloud. When coming from Microsoft products, Microsoft 365 is the most comprehensive business suite. You can benefit from a number of collaboration tools and multiple integrations.
Microsoft 365 offers the benefits of an email system, along with integration and collaboration. It provides various tools for authentication, security, and also productivity tools, such as Excel, Word, and PowerPoint. It also includes a full security stack compromising of Information Rights Management (IRM), Microsoft Defender for Microsoft 365, data and software manipulation with Power Automate, Single Sign-on, integration with other software such as Power BI, analytics software, and the Microsoft CoPilot for AI. Migrating to Microsoft 365 is the natural choice when having an Exchange Server.
However, when moving to Microsoft 365, you need to consider the operational cost of the system. You should also consider all the add-ons and their costs. It could be a bit costly when you consider the security stack.
2. Google Workspace (G Suite)
Formerly known as G Suite, Google Workspace is a cloud-based suite from Google that can serve as a compelling alternative to Exchange Server. It offers a robust email service, along with powerful productivity tools.
Google Workspace features a super-fast and intelligent email service with some advanced tools for productivity. It has one of the best search facilities and all the applications are web-based. Integration is key and Google has made seamless scheduling and integration between emails and meetings. It has enterprise grade security and compliance, along with different licensing options.
It provides a user experience where one can access Google Chat, files, calendar, tasks, and other apps from the interface of Gmail.
Google Workspace offers a quite streamlined and intuitive interface for the users. The tools are easy-to-use. Apart from providing a secure and powerful email system, it offers collaboration across different Google applications with flexible pricing and easy management, making Google Workspace ideal for businesses of any size.
However, when choosing Google Workspace, you need to consider the integration with other tools outside the Google Workspace. Also, there are no offline applications, which will limit the user experience. There are some other considerations, such as single sign-on with other systems like Active Directory, limited security features compared to other security systems, lower storage limits, and less advanced email management.
3. hMailServer
hMailServer is a free open-source email service, which is designed for Windows environments. The system provides a lightweight alternative to Exchange Server. The system features support for POP3, SMTP, and IMAP, which are compatible with most of the email clients, including SSL encryption to protect emails in transit. It has an easy installation process and configuration for managing the domains, accounts, and settings. It includes built-in spam protection, blacklist, SPF, and integration with ClamAV for virus scanning. It also features a web-based administration portal to allow remote management for administrators. For backup purposes, it includes a built-in backup functionality.
The system is ideal for small to medium businesses or individuals who need a self-hosted email solution. As the solution is free open-source, you need to consider future maintenance support and integration, along with software assurance, support, and compliance.
Things to Consider when Choosing the Emailing Solution
Before choosing an alternative to the Exchange Server or deciding the system to move to, consider the following:
- Dependency on the applications, such as Word, Excel, and others from Microsoft.
- Cost involved when shifting to a non-Microsoft system. You would need to consider the cost of Microsoft Office applications for compatibility with other applications and file formats.
- The need of having just email or collaboration features based on the company’s business and collaboration with other companies.
- Consider the near future integration with systems, like Artificial Intelligence (AI), Single Sign-On features, integration with devices, and other systems.
- Ensure that the system is fully supported, updated, and compatible with the current and future security and compliance with the business regulations, such as GDPR and NIS 2.
- Legal obligations related to data storage, depending on the business nature.
To Conclude
Above, we have mentioned some alternatives to the Exchange Server. However, considering the support and integration with Exchange Server, the best choice is Microsoft 365. If you decide to migrate the data and services to Microsoft 365, you need to ensure data integrity and success of migration.
There are a number of manual methods (cutover, hybrid, and PST upload) when it comes to Exchange to Microsoft 365 migration. But you should consider the challenges associated with these methods. To overcome these challenges, you can use third-party Exchange migration tools, such as Stellar Migrator for Exchange. With this tool, you can easily and granularly migrate user mailboxes, user archives, shared mailboxes, and public folders from a local Exchange Server to Microsoft 365 with ease, minimal configuration, and less point of failures. It features synchronization of data along with continuation in case the process is stopped. The tool supports all the Exchange Server versions – from 2010 till 2019. It also offers Microsoft 365 to Microsoft 365 tenant migration.
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