Considerations for Specific Organizations

  • Article

 

Two types of organizations that primarily may consider Windows Server 2003 with its POP3 service appropriate for their use are small businesses and service providers.

  • Small businesses   Small businesses have a small number of users and, therefore, can be served with one store location. Decentralized storage is seen as sufficient and centralized backup is often not required. Most small businesses are cost sensitive and often only want the ability to send e-mail. Their users don't require collaboration features such as shared calendaring, public folders, and resource management. These users might not have a need for access from any computer through the Internet.

    For small businesses that require sophisticated messaging and collaboration, access from any computer, and antivirus and anti-spam protection, Exchange Server offers these services. If a small business wants high data availability and centralized backup for e-mail retention (for example, for legal reasons), Exchange Server may offer the right solution.

    Small Business Server 2000 provides Exchange Server functionality combined with installation and administration wizards that help deploy and manage a small messaging environment. Small Business Server is a lower-cost alternative for smaller businesses.

  • Service Providers   Service providers for whom messaging and collaboration are not business goals, but just desirable enhancements, may find that Windows Server 2003 e-mail services are a satisfactory offering. These organizations should consider the administrative advantages in Exchange Server regarding backup and antivirus and anti-spam protection to provide quality of service.

    However, any service provider who wants to take advantage of messaging and collaboration as a business opportunity and create value on messaging and collaboration for its users, Exchange Server is a better option. The rich feature set in Exchange enables service providers to extend different service offerings to a wide range of customer segments. They can move customers from basic messaging feature to rich collaboration and increase their average revenue per user (ARPU). At the same time, providers can reduce costs through using a single, extensible platform that enables these multiple, value generating services at high scale. They can also take advantage of a set of tools, such as provisioning, that are added to Exchange Server to manage the business efficiently.