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Advantages of Progent's Hosting and Management Services for Microsoft Exchange
By utilizing a hosting provider for Exchange, small and midsize businesses can gain a range of benefits. The most straightforward advantage is monetary. Gartner Group has calculated that colocation can eliminate from 20-35% of the cost of building and operating an internal data center. Benefits like decreasing management distraction and increasing system reliability and security are harder to quantify, but these are clearly significant advantages. Some of the specific advantages of using an outsourced hosting provider for Microsoft Exchange include:

• Lower Capital Requirements
  By utilizing a hosting provider for critical applications such as Microsoft Exchange, small and midsize businesses on a tight budget can eliminate the significant costs of designing and building a computer facility with adequate physical access security, environmental control, uninterruptible power, fire protection, and fault-tolerant Internet connections. Hosting services also save the expense of software and of fault-tolerant computer equipment like clusters and fault-tolerant disk subsystems. Increasing network capacity as your company grows is also inexpensive and simple.

• Savings on Operational Costs
  Progent's Hosting and Management Services for Exchange reduce operational costs by leveraging the expertise of Progent's network support engineers and Help Desk group. Small companies get the advantages of having a big network services staff without needing to finance one. Small and midsize companies also avoid the cost of the computer facility's round-the-clock internal security personnel and 24-hour operations center.

• Improved Management Focus
  By utilizing Progent's Hosting and Management Services for Microsoft Exchange a small organization's executive management group avoids the time loss and hassle of ensuring that the crucial email environment stays continually available, protected,up to date, safely backed up, and effectively administered. Real or imagined user issues can be handled by Progent's Help Desk Call Center, and administrative duties such as adds, deletes, and security authorization modifications can be taken care of by Progent's Exchange experts. These support services allow executive to focus on fundamental business issues where they can add the greatest help to the enterprise.

• World-class Security
  The site security offered by Progent's world-class data center is well beyond the quality that typical small to midsize companies could reasonably expect to achieve within an internal facility. In addition to a full-time staff of onsite security personnel, Progent's hosting facility features state-of-the-art access detection and blocking devices plus reinforced structures to prevent unapproved access. Progent also integrates software protection such as a high-level firewall, 24x7 network monitoring, spam filtering, fast and thorough security patch installation, and an experienced online team of system recovery professionals.

• Improved Fault Tolerance and Reliability
  Progent's facility for hosting Microsoft Exchange features UPS electrical power, fault tolerant cooling, and non-stop Internet connectivity to deliver a high level of availability. The site is also located in a seismically stable region for safety against earthquakes. Progent's virtualized architecture for hosting Exchange offers additional availability through technologies such as clustering and redundant disk arrays.

• Regulatory Adherence
  If your company must or wishes to comply with regulatory requirements such as SOX, Gramm-Leach-Bliley, or HIPAA, utilizing Progent's Hosting and Management Services for Microsoft Exchange helps your IT organization to meet even the toughest security mandates.

• Business Recovery
  The fault-tolerant and secure infrastructure of Progent's hosting facility reduces the likelihood that an incident will disrupt your Microsoft Exchange server. If there is a disastrous failure, Progent's disciplined data back up routines and virtualized architecture enable rapid data restoration to make sure that you can immediately continue operations.

Enterprise-class Hosting Facility
No small business can afford the expense of designing, implementing, and maintaining a world-class hosting facility. Progent allows small businesses to leverage their IT investment by offering Exchange Hosting Services based on a hosting facility trusted by some of the world's biggest companies for hosting crucial applications. Important features of the data center Progent utilizes for hosting Microsoft Exchange are:

• 24-hour Onsite Security Plus Sophisticated Security Electronics
  Progent's hosting facility features high-level security for controlling and monitoring physical entry to the site. Internal security officers are present on a 24-hour basis and an advanced security system includes surveillance cameras, motion sensors, pin pads, and biometric access control systems. The exterior of the facility is surrounded by armor plated glass and inside locations are protected by steel reinforced security barriers.

• Full-time Staffed Operations Center
  Progent's data center for Microsoft Exchange features a full-time operations center with Certified engineers and technicians who monitor and manage the infrastructure and security of the facility and troubleshoot technical problems.

• non-stop Broadband Internet Connectivity
  Progent's data center for Microsoft Exchange hosting offers non-stop Internet access via a sophisticated switching architecture that includes double, spatially isolated fiber vaults interfaced to multiple carriers. Each fiber cabinet is supported by a different TELCO office. Two fault-tolerant SONET rings provide dual network routing to hosts. Internet connectivity is served by tier 1 providers.

• In-depth Power Backup Infrastructure
  The facility utilized by Progent for Exchange hosting has its own municipal utility district substation and transformer on the property. The substation is fed by multiple regional substations. The facility has four diesel generators, each with backup failover components. The generators have switch systems for fast delivery of backup power and are fueled to run the entire facility for one week. The data center also has uninterruptible power supply systems, power distribution units, and gel cells (N+2) capable of handling the entire facility during the interval when the diesel generators are switching.

• Fail-safe Environmental Control
  Progent's data center for application hosting features redundant computer area air conditioning units set up in a closed loop configuration with water-cooled chiller components that are rotated each month.

• Smoke Detection and Fire Suppression
  Progent's facility for application hosting features a Very Early Smoke Detection System monitored by the round-the-clock network operations center staff and by an outside third-part service. The fire suppression system includes a double interlock dry pipe system that uses 10-foot square zones to reduce the impact on servers adjacent to any fire.

• Seismically Neutral Location
  The data center that supports Progent's Exchange hosting servers is situated in a seismic-neutral region with no discovered tectonic faults and no history of earthquakes. The data center building is also built with a steel-beam system designed to hold up against a substantial earthquake.

Progent's Integration and Ongoing Support Services for Microsoft Exchange Hosting
Progent's hosting services for Microsoft Exchange include complete incorporation of Exchange with your current network environment and also include a variety of continuing support services designed to keep your email performing optimally with enterprise-level security, fault tolerance, management control, and client service. All operating system and application products are purchased by Progent and are Progent's property, and all servicing of systems and other equipment is performed at no cost to customers. Progent's high-speed and fault-tolerant Internet interfaces offer 3 MBPS throughput.

Configuration and support services offered as part of Progent's Exchange hosting include:

• Transparent Integration with Your Network
  Progent's hosting for Microsoft Exchange is transparent to your employees, customers, and partners. Your existing domain name is preserved in addition to your internal email addresses, contact information, file set up, and work groups. Your Exchange Server will also be available anywhere via Outlook Web Access (OWA) or Exchange mobile service. Progent will also set up Exchange to support remote synchronization with Window Mobile-powered handheld appliances such as Windows Pocket PCs and smartphones.

• Spam/Virus Screening and Email Encryption
  ProSight Email Guard is Progent's email spam and content filtering platform that uses the technology of leading data security vendors to deliver web-based control and world-class protection for all your email traffic. The hybrid architecture of Progent's Email Guard managed service combines a Cloud Protection Layer with a local security gateway device to offer complete protection against spam, viruses, Denial of Service Attacks, Directory Harvest Attacks, and other email-based malware. ProSight Email Guard's Cloud Protection Layer serves as a preliminary barricade and blocks most unwanted email from making it to your network firewall. This reduces your vulnerability to external threats and conserves system bandwidth and storage space. Email Guard's onsite gateway device adds a further level of inspection for inbound email. For outgoing email, the onsite gateway provides AV and anti-spam protection, DLP, and encryption. The onsite security gateway can also assist Microsoft Exchange Server to track and safeguard internal email that originates and ends inside your security perimeter.

• Continual Network Monitoring
  Progent's hosting service for Exchange features continual monitoring of the efficiency and security of Exchange Server using System Center Operations Manager (SCOM), an advanced network monitoring solution that proactively detects network problems and trends. Microsoft System Center Operations Manager works by proactively tracking event history, then screening, organizing, and analyzing these events based on an extensive built-in database. When Microsoft Operations Manager detects problems or a potentially dangerous trend, it can run customizable repair routines or transmit warnings to alert Progent's messaging maintenance experts.

• Update and Patch Management
  As part of the support offered with Progent's Microsoft Exchange hosting, Progent's Microsoft-certified support professionals ensure that patches, security revisions, and Microsoft service packs are implemented consistently and non-disruptively. Progent will also make sure that additional software associated with Microsoft Exchange Server is kept current. In case the MS Exchange Server host system must be temporarily shut down for ordinary maintenance, Progent uses a maintenance window from 10:00 pm Friday evening to 6:00 Saturday morning PST. Progent alerts clients in advance of any planned downtime in order to minimize business disruption.

• Daily Backup and Rapid Restoration
  Progent's backup procedures for hosted Exchange systems feature one month of per-day data backups, full server backups every week, differential backups every day, and full backups with off-site archiving monthly. Progent's virtualized architecture facilitates quick data recovery in the event of a disaster, and in case a severe hardware failure Progent will move the hosted Microsoft Exchange Server environment to another host system within four business hours.

• Contact Center Support
  Progent's Helpdesk services are available to support Progent's hosted Exchange environment. Progent's (Technical Response Center handles all Helpdesk support and is accessible via phone, email, or the web. Supported by Microsoft-expert professionals who are experienced at delivering email support, Progent's TRC group can efficiently resolve virtually any problem associated with Exchange and can also provide high-level help for a wide array of IT issues including network infrastructure, business software, multi-platform integration, and system security. Progent's Help Desk can in addition escalate the most complicated problems to Progent's world-class engineering group which offers Cisco CCIE network specialists, CISSP and CISM accredited security engineers, Linux consultants, and macOS and Mac OS X consultants.

• Email Administration Services
  Progent's Help Desk Call Center handles all Exchange administration needs such as adding or deleting users, modifying security privileges, or troubleshooting performance problems. As with every service provided by Progent based on Progent's Helpdesk model, Progent's Technical Response Center offers the extensive and deep technical knowledge and dependable service of an enterprise-class service organization, as well as the visible trouble-ticket monitoring and follow-up of an efficiently run Help Desk Call Center.

Progent's Private Cloud Hosting Services
Progent's Private Cloud Hosting and Management service provides full-service hosting for a small or midsize organization's network and application in a setting that delivers the highest levels of availability, data protection, and scalability and is in addition affordable and easy to move to a different host environment. Progent's Data Center Hosting services are built on proven virtualization technology that allows small and midsize businesses with mixed networks to save dramatically on the expense of computers and peripherals, infrastructure support, and IT administration while achieving enterprise-class availability and an unprecedented degree of vendor independence.

Unlike conventional Software as a Service (SaaS) hosting packages, Progent's Private Cloud Hosting supports all network and application servers in one unified-management environment and can handle multi-OS and non-standardized environments that are typical of small businesses but pose a challenge to most hosting services. Progent's Virtual Server Hosting and Management services put ownership of the software platforms in the customer's control so that migrating to a different virtualized system is fast, safe, and inexpensive. This avoids becoming a prisoner to your initial hosting service while still offering all the investment benefits associated with Application Service Provider and SaaS hosting models.

Find out additional information about Progent's ProSight Virtual Hosting Services.

Progent's Consulting Services for Microsoft Technology
For businesses of any size anywhere in the United States, Progent's Microsoft-authorized consultants offer affordable remote computer assistance and IT consulting services for the entire family of Microsoft .NET Enterprise Servers. Progent can provide Microsoft Windows Server 2022 solution design and integration services, Windows Server 2019 migration consulting, Windows Server 2016 hybrid cloud integration, Microsoft Windows Server 2012 R2 migration help, Windows Server 2008 R2 consulting, and Windows Server 2003 maintenance. Progent's migration, installation, optimization, and consulting capabilities cover system design, configuration, and administration outsourcing for project management and documentation, local and remote IT help and network repair, Help Desk Services, certified security consulting, full-service outsourcing, and ProSight Virtual Hosting service.

Progent in addition offers a broad range of online PC desktop support including Windows 11 system design and upgrade assistance, Windows 10 configuration support, Microsoft Windows 8.1 configuration and support, Microsoft Windows 7 technical support, upgrading to 64-bit computing, Microsoft Office desktop and Microsoft 365 integration, and streamlining Business Desktop Deployment.

In case your company needs immediate online support from a Microsoft certified network expert, go to Progent's Urgent Online Technical Support.

Find out more about Progent's Consulting Services for Microsoft Servers.

If you wish to get in touch with Progent about consulting support for MS Exchange Server technology, phone 1-800-993-9400 or go to Contact Progent.