Steps to Undertake before choosing a Email Server Hosting Provider

Emails are nothing short of lifeblood for business communication these days. Not being able to send mails within the company network could mean significant loss of man-hours and hindrance in business processes. This is why, shifting the communication set up to an email server hosting provider should be a well thought out one. It is important to undertake preparatory measures for readying the systems for the switch. All said and done, switching to an external server hosting provider for your Email communications could help in bringing down IT costs. Besides, outsourcing these solutions will also free up server space. Listed below are some important steps and considerations to undertake before choosing an external server solution for email hosting.

Steps to Undertake : Understanding Requirements: Before you can choose an email server hosting provider, make sure you understand your email requirements. Take stock of your current situation and attempt to identify whether there is any data that you wish to be archived before making the move.

Outlining the Services : Outlining the services you wish to include in the system provided by your email server hosting provider, is important. Do not ignore data protection issues, continuity in service delivery as well as security among other issues. Also, if you have user groups interacting with one another using their mailboxes, you will need to mention the same while making your request.

Choosing Carefully :  Selecting the email server hosting provider carefully, is important. It is important to check on its published features and costs. Make sure you conduct a fair evaluation before jumping into any offer. Also, never forget to check on the service record of your provider before signing a contract.

Checking Software Versions : It is important to check, if your email service provider is using the latest software version. Most email hosting solutions of repute are constantly evolving. So, you will need a service provider that keeps pace with software evolution cycles and always uses the best solution possible.

Verifying Service Levels: Verifying service levels that can be expected from your email server hosting provider is equally important. You will need to check if there are interruptions likely, during upgrades and so on. In case stoppages are inevitable, how long would they last? Can your business afford these interruptions? If not, what should you do? These are some of the questions to find answers to.

If you are especially struggling with your internal IT systems, it pays to get a email server hosting provider. However, being able to choose the right one is important. Unless you are looking for a specific location and you are receiving the desired level of service, you really wouldn’t care about from where your service provider is. And paying would never be a problem as long as the requirements are being met. Remember, outsourcing a email hosting solution would be the best solution to opt for especially if you happen to be struggling with your in-house team of IT professionals. It will take the load off them and their efforts can be utilized elsewhere.