Many agencies have already upgraded to Microsoft Exchange Server2007. Gaining control of e-mail and maximizing the collaborationbenefits provided by an Exchange server are compelling reasons whyuse of this software should continue to grow in 2008.
Exchange Server is a messaging and collaborative software product.It joins the Windows application server and the Web server as themost common servers used in insurance agencies. Exchange Server isdesigned to deliver increased protection for your business andprovide employees with anywhere access, as well as being efficientto deploy, manage and maintain.
If your agency is considering Exchange Server as an in-houseinstallation or via outsourced hosting, here are seven reasons itmight be a wise technology investment for 2008 and beyond.
1) Increased control over e-mail. E-mail hasbecome much more than simply a good way to communicate. It's now amission-critical part of doing business, so it's essential for anagency to ensure cost-effective and uninterrupted service.
By upgrading to Exchange Server, e-mail is hosted by the agencyitself rather than a third-party vendor. Therefore, unless theproblem is highly technical, the agency can usually monitorperformance and resolve problems locally. Exchange Server allows asmany e-mail addresses as needed without additional cost, as well asan unlimited number of domain names. For example, an agency mighthave e-mail addresses for myagency.com, myagency.biz andmyagency.net.
2) Access e-mail, voice mail, calendar and contacts fromvirtually anywhere, anytime.
Another benefit of upgrading to Exchange Server is the ability todo business virtually anywhere. Make that literally anywhere: Inboxitems can be accessed from anywhere in the world with an Internetconnection and a desktop computer, laptop or mobile device such asa cell phone or PDA. As you've likely noticed, in our 24/7 wiredsociety, mobility is rapidly becoming a business necessity.
3) Ease of deployment and management. Mostagencies do not have a full-time IT person. Fortunately, ExchangeServer makes it comparatively easy for an agency of any size todeploy and manage its own e-mail server. Exchange Server takesadvantage of a server role approach that allows an agency toorganize services and features across one or more servers. As aresult, potential errors are eliminated because of the reduced needfor manual configuration. This means that day-to-day servermanagement is significantly reduced, allowing smaller agencies tobenefit from the technology without a large technologybudget.
4) Ability to increase compliance with e-mailretention. As we've discussed in this space before,compliance with federal electronic communication standards israpidly becoming an important legal issue for every agency.Exchange Server incorporates features that can help an agencycomply with requirements for e-mail use and retention. Thesefeatures allow an agency to:
o Apply and enforce retention rules, such as how long e-mailremains on the server. With the cost of e-discovery in theevent of a legal action, reducing the number of e-mails for anattorney to examine can be a significant benefit.
o Scan and act on messages while still in transport.E-mails can be managed before showing up in an inbox, making iteasier to control unwanted e-mail and spam.
o Perform rich text searches for multiple mailboxes.Exchange Server makes it possible to search for e-mails in multiplemailboxes. This can be an important benefit for larger agenciesthat need to locate e-mail when the recipient is unknown.
5) Assurance of real-time e-mail. Real-time e-mailmeans that an agency controls when e-mail is sent and how often theserver checks for incoming mail. Third-party vendors can often takehours to process incoming and outgoing e-mail. Considering the needto receive and deliver requests (i.e., certificates) as quickly aspossible, real-time e-mail has the potential to significantlyimprove customer service, thus offering the agency a competitiveedge.
6) Easy administration and maintenance. Withstandard POP3 e-mail, everything is stored on each user's PC. WithExchange Server, all data is stored on the server. The benefitsinclude:
o All e-mail, contacts, calendars, etc. are backed up daily whenthe server is backed up. Even if an individual PC crashes, e-mailis not lost because it remains on the server. When a servercrashes, e-mail can be restored from the tape backup, along withall your other data.
o When a user gets a new computer, it's not necessary to manuallymove e-mail and contacts from one PC to another. With ExchangeServer, you just tell the new PC which mailbox you want toaccess.
o Virus software for Exchange Server prevents viruses from gettinginto mailboxes, removing them before they get to the PC. Withtraditional POP3 e-mail, virus software cannot detect a virus untilit reaches the user's inbox.
o Anti-spam software should allow much tighter control of unwantede-mails.
7) Easy-to-use features. Microsoft continues toincrease the functionality available with Exchange Server. Thesefunctions include:
o Centralized address lists. All e-mail accounts areautomatically added to a global address list.
o Centralized groups. Groups of users (departments,producers, etc.) can be created and added to the global addresslist.
o Public folders. Public folders are centralized foldersthat can be accessed by all users. Access can be restricted (byuser or group) to provide whatever level of security is needed.Public folders can contain any kind of information, includingcontacts (name, address, phone, e-mail, etc), appointments(calendars), tasks or e-mail. For example, calendars are availableto schedule the use of shared resources, like meeting rooms.
o Group-enabled Outlook features. With Exchange Server,everything in Outlook becomes “group enabled.” Your calendar, tasklist, inbox, etc. can be viewed or modified by other users. Ofcourse, you decide how much access, if any, you want to allow. Nowanyone can find out where you are and when you'll be back just bychecking your calendar. (Not everyone will see this as such a goodthing!)
o Meeting planner. Exchange Server features a meetingplanner that lets the user select other users for a meeting, checkseach user's calendar to determine a free time, and then notifieseach one and updates their calendars with the scheduledmeeting.
o Outlook Web Access. Outlook Web Access is abrowser-based version of Outlook with almost all the same features.You can access everything from any PC, anywhere in the world, via aWeb browser.
While I've listed some benefits of having an Exchange server onsite, entrusting it to a third-party vendor is still a perfectlygood option. Outsourcing hosting services is an excellent way forany size agency to refocus its energy on writing new businessrather than maintaining an IT system. The benefits of outsourcinginclude:
o Reliability–A third-party vendor has service standardsthat detail their responsibilities, meaning less downtime andincreased dependability.
o High security–A third-party vendor can provide moreeffective firewalls and spam/virus solutions to reduce cyberthreats.
o Immediate access to expertise–A third-party vendor willhave expert staff available to assist the agency in locating,identifying and resolving potential problems and threats.
o Reasonable fixed monthly costs–Typically, outsourcingcan significantly impact the financial investment of an Exchangeserver by reducing the cost of upgrading server hardware,maintaining current licenses and maintaining IT staff to installand troubleshoot server and software.
Pricing for Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 varies according to thefunctionality desired. Be sure to contact past clients to get apicture of how a vendor has lived up to its commitments.

Tom Baker is the Solutions coach for Advanced Automation'sSolutions agencies. For the past 17 years, Advanced Automation hasoffered agency consulting services to address a variety ofmanagement and agency development issues. He is also an author andfrequent conference speaker. Tom can be reached at [email protected].