Why Should You Migrate Your On-Premise Email System To The Cloud?

If you’ve been operating your small business for several years, like many of my clients, then you’ve probably been told by some IT expert in the past that hosting your own email server in-house is the best way to go. Well, that’s been the case until recently; with IoT (Internet of Things) fueling the trend of migrating business class email service to the cloud. But, how can you be sure it’s the right move for your business before making the leap to a cloud-based application? First, I’d like to share some “Pros & Cons” that I’ve noticed about hosting your email on-site, along with some benefits of cloud-based email which I think are worth your consideration.

What Are the Pros & Cons of Hosting Your Own Email Using Microsoft Exchange Server?

Pros:

  • Microsoft Exchange Server (the program that handles your emails) is already integrated in the Windows 2003/2008/2011 Small Business Server OS.

    This really is the main reason why hosting your own email service became an accessible option to most small business owners in the first place, and it made a lot of sense at the time. Plus, Exchange Server has been a stable platform with Microsoft Outlook becoming the staple application for hosting in-house business class email service.

  • Create an unlimited number of email accounts for your business.

    This feature in Microsoft Exchange Server has been attractive for many small business owners who are spooked by having to pay a monthly subscription fee for a cloud-based email service.

Cons:

  • You have to keep your server up and running at all times.

    If you are hosting your own email service and your server crashes or is not online, you won’t receive any emails. Period. These days, emails are just as important as receiving a phone call (maybe even more so) and, when your server is down for any reason, those emails will bounce back to the sender – leading your prospect or customer to believe your business does not exist anymore, and that could be a problem.

  • SPAM SPAM SPAM SPAM SPAM!

    Configuring the spam filters correctly on your in-house server can be a complicated process and, if you’re using the same server for other types of hosting, it could really slow down your performance. Otherwise, If you didn’t want to purchase and run sophisticated spam filtration software on your main business server, you could pay a monthly subscription fee for a service to scrub incoming emails before they reach your server. Either way you have to find a way to control the spam when you are hosting your own email, and whatever method you choose will always have a price tag attached to it.

  • Your provider could cut the connection for your email server.

    Whether you have Comcast, U-Verse, or some other internet service provider, if they notice that your server is being used to send a lot of spam, they will cut your connection. When that happens, you will be forced to pay an additional monthly fee for a service that will allow you to send messages out.

  • Your email server is prone to get hacked and be used as a relay.

    That means a “spammer” could actually use your server as a spam server to send out massive amounts of unsolicited spam, which will really slow down your server’s performance just for starters. A lot of times you won’t even know you’ve been hacked until it’s too late and the damage has been done, possibly even compromising or corrupting crucial files that you keep on your server, and at the same time, blacklisting your server.

What Are the Benefits of Using Cloud-Based Email Service?

  • Your systems for email will stay current with the latest devices, without the cost of upgrading your equipment.

    When you host your own email server, you are faced with trying to keep pace with the latest advances in technology – which means you can expect to fork over a lot of money to purchase and configure a newer and better machine every so often. On the other hand, you could let a cloud-based email service provider (with enough capital and  infrastructure to handle it) worry about upgrading and staying compatible with the latest devices in exchange for your monthly subscription to their service.

  • Your business server will perform better and with significantly less downtime.

    It’s simple, if your server isn’t being bogged down with Exchange Server and sophisticated spam filtration software, it will be able to do what it really should be doing – which is serving your other critical business applications. Also, if your business server is down for any reason it won’t affect your ability to send and receive email messages in any way since it is hosted in the cloud.

  • You will spend less by relying on a cloud-based provider compared to hosting your own email on-site.

    When you add up all the costs and risks associated with hosting an email server, it’s really a lot more than what you would pay for the average subscription cost of cloud-based email services. For example, Microsoft Office 365 costs about $6.00 per user (or email account) each month compared to the cost of what you’re using for an on-premise server, how often you upgrade your equipment, how you calculate the cost and amount of downtime in your business, the cost of spam filtration software plus its annual license renewal fee, not to mention an additional monthly fee (if you’ve been flagged by your internet service provider) to send messages out. Really, when it comes to cost, there’s not much of a comparison.

  • You will have peace of mind knowing that your business can send and receive emails, day or night, whether your business server is online or not.

    Sure, it’s great to have the flexibility of creating as many email addresses as you want when you host your own server, but it’s not without risk. First of all, remember what I said about what happens if someone sends you an email when your server is down? Not only will you miss out on getting the message, but it will bounce back to the sender – which can be a little embarrassing, not to mention confusing. As I noted earlier, your in-house server is a soft target for hackers and spammers – which can affect your productivity and your reputation. When you subscribe to a cloud-based service, you’re paying for peace of mind as well as email exchange.

Things to Consider

Obviously, you want to make the best decision for your business and only you really know whether a cloud-based email service makes sense in your business compared to hosting it in-house. But, with an ever increasing amount of spam traffic and increasingly sophisticated ways to control spam, with hackers targeting and exploiting email servers, over time the risks of hosting your email in-house outweigh the benefits, in my opinion. Honestly, while hosting in-house actually does make sense for larger businesses, I wouldn’t recommend it for most small businesses.

about the author

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Ashley Smith-Jenkins

Ashley has vast experience in the information technology field relating to computer and network services, including web development. For the past 20 years, Ashley has provided computer consulting and implementation for his customers. Ashley’s educational experience includes a Bachelor’s in Business Administration at the California State University of Fresno, as well as a being a Fluke Networks Certified Cabling Test Technician (CCTT), and CompTIA A+ Certified. | LinkedIn