hosted exchange - ongoing operations...to help you research and evaluate a hosted exchange solution....
TRANSCRIPT
HOSTED EXCHANGE
A POwErful OPTiONfOr YOur CrEDiT uNiON
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ONGOING OPERAT IONS’ HOSTED EXCHANGE
ONGOiNG OPErATiONS’ HOSTEd ExcHANGETAblE Of cONTENTS
PART 1: INTROducTION TO HOSTEd ExcHANGE
Hosted Exchange Benefits 3Hosted Exchange compatibility 4Hosted Exchange Pricing 5Impact to credit union Information Technology 7ENTERPRISE VS. STANdARd: clarifying the difference 8
PART 2: THE TEcHNIcAl bREAkdOwN
Ongoing Operation’s Hosted Email features 10Hosted Exchange Migration 13Hosted E-Mail Anti-Spam Overview 15Hosted Exchange and Mx Records 18Hosted E-Mail: Archiving Options 19Hosted Exchange: whitelists And blacklists 20Hosted Exchange Outlook client 21
PART 3: BiTs AND ByTEs: BONUs iNfORMATiON
Hosted Exchange In Hosted Virtual desktop 22Hosted Exchange Mobile Device Compatibility 23Hosted Microsoft Exchange 2013 features 24Hosted Exchange Applications 26Outlook web App in Microsoft Exchange 27
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PArT 1INTROducTION TO HOSTEd ExcHANGE
Email is one of the most critical communication tools for your credit union. by hosting your email
services with a trusted 3rd party, you can increase efficiency, improve up-time and even reduce the
total cost of ownership vs. internal management. we’ve compiled the best information available
to help you research and evaluate a hosted exchange solution. If the information isn’t here – pick
up the phone and call us (no kidding, we’ll answer!).
Most of us think of Exchange as our email, but it is so much more than that. Exchange is Microsoft’s
group productivity tool integrating email with scheduling, contacts and tasks. Email has become
a “critical” application for credit union leaders and their staff to communicate with each other,
vendors and members. Over time, the complexity of email administration has grown exponentially,
not to mention the legal requirements for record keeping have increased the demand for long-
term storage/retrieval. But you’re a credit union, not a post office! Hosted Exchange solutions offer
credit unions cost effective answers to this growing challenge.
So what is “Hosted Exchange”?Simply speaking, Hosted Exchange is the transition from owning the hardware, software and
infrastructure associated with running your own e-mail server to leveraging a Cloud Hosted E-mail
provider. We’ll begin our eBook by reviewing the many benefits and features Hosted Exchange
offers.
Hosted Exchange Benefits
Scalabilityyou only pay for the services you use. A detailed invoice is provided each month outlining all the
services so you can establish a more predictable budget. If your business experiences seasonality
in requirements for IT resources, you can quickly scale to meet those needs.
SecurityAs an Ongoing Operations customer, your information is protected: protected from loss,
protected from unauthorized access and protected from environmental conditions that could
impact availability. Certifications to validate processes, protocols and environment meet strict
requirements -PcI, SAS 70/SSAE 16.
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ReliabilityNetwork uptime guarantee 99.9% Redundant systems are in place to reduce risks for downtime.
conveniencewith hosted Exchange, you no longer need to purchase, support and maintain server equipment.
The complexity of managing your iT infrastructure is significantly reduced. if you ever need
assistance, simply call our help desk for support. we actively manage the rest so you can focus on
strategic initiatives.
IT Resource Optimizationyour iT team can focus on your core business while Ongoing Operations takes care of the required
maintenance needs
Hosted Exchange CompatibilityTo reap the benefits of Ongoing Operations Hosted Exchange, you need to make sure it’s
compatible with your software and devices. There are several categories of compatibility to
review:
Operating Systems/Mail client SoftwareThe following are all compatible with OGO Hosted Exchange:
• windows – All e-mail clients
• linux – Thunderbird
• MAc – Standard e-mail client
• IOS – Standard e-mail client
Mobile devicesThese days, this is probably one of the main areas that you will want hosted e-mail accessibility.
Ongoing Operations hosted e-mail works with:
• droid
• iPhone
• Samsung
• iPad
• blackberry
• Pretty much every mobile device with
internet access
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Internet browsersIf you don’t have your smart phone or tablet handy, you may want to use a browser to access
your e-mail. The solution includes Outlook web Access (OwA) built in. chrome works better than
Internet Explorer, but regardless, most browsers will work with OwA.
Versions of Microsoft OutlookOngoing Operations hosted exchange works with the following versions of Outlook
• Outlook 2003
• Outlook 2007
• Outlook 2010
• Outlook 2013
As you can see, Hosted Exchange works with almost anything!
Hosted Exchange PricingHosted e-mail pricing can vary quite drastically
based on what options the client selects. There are
different classes of hosted e-mail (pop vs. gmail
vs. exchange), and there are different add-ons
such as archiving, secure messaging and mobile
devices. Each component and decision impacts
the price. The following presents an overview of
the options and general pricing:
POP MailPOP Mail is the cheapest but essentially strips out
most of the security features. It can be a good
option for people who are looking for really
inexpensive e-mail. Generally, POP mail will be
free or cost $1 or $2 per month per user. Ongoing
Operations doesn’t offer POP Mail.
The biggest disadvantage of POP mail is that it does not support mobile devices and only works
in a batch mode, which means that mail is not delivered as it comes in—only when a user checks
the server.
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G-mail G-mail can also be less expensive than an enterprise e-mail platform, and for those who don’t
deal with regulators, sensitive data or need support, it can be a great option. Anyone who needs
e-mail add-ons or wants to make sure their data meets their corporate privacy standards should
beware. corporate g-mail will run you about $5 per user per month.
Hosted Microsoft ExchangeHosted Exchange is perhaps the most expensive variation of e-mail. This is because it is basically the
best of the best. Almost all features and functionality are built into exchange including calendars,
scheduling, Outlook and a lot of other functionality.
while Hosted Exchange in aggregate is more expensive than other versions, it is generally less
expensive than trying to run a Microsoft Exchange server on your own. Ongoing Operations
provides hosted e-mail where every component is delivered on a per user/per month, a la carte
pricing model. it is completely scalable, and you can add and remove components on the fly
each month. fees are prorated on a monthly basis based on actual usage. A prominent feature
of Hosted Exchange is the ability to choose features for specific users and not have to pay for
everyone.
E-mail Account (includes storage, anti-spam, support) – per user/per month (based on volume)
Add-Ons• Secure messaging – per user/per month – based on Volume Mobile device – per user/per
month (based on volume)
• Archiving – per user/per month– based on Volume Secure Messaging – Per user/Per Month
(based on volume)
• Outlook Client (get the latest outlook client available) – per user/per month
• mobile Devices - droid, iPhone, blackberry etc. per user/per month (based on volume)
General Price range with Add-Ons = Approximately $10-$20 per user/per month.
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impact to Credit union information TechnologyThere are a number of ways in which the transition from owning the hardware, software and
infrastructure associated with running your own e-mail server to leveraging a cloud Hosted E-mail
provider will impact your IT department. let’s discuss those different effects now:
staffingThe biggest impact here is that you will no longer need an in-house technician or administrator.
Instead, Ongoing Operations will handle all of the administration. This means the following things
are taken off your plate:
• Patching (security or Microsoft)
• black list Management
• Spam filtering
• Product Enhancement
• Help desk
• Mobile device Integration (iPhone, droid, blackberry)
• backups, Replication, or Offsite data Vaulting
• Secure Messaging
• Troubleshooting
• Archiving or Journaling
The reality is that when Microsoft Exchange is working, it works well and requires very little day-to-
day attention. However, when it goes wrong, it can go very wrong. delivering e-mail reliability and
consistency requires a special expertise and knowledge that most credit unions never truly have.
Instead, the responsibility is assigned to one or more generalists who are probably mediocre at
administering the system. ultimately, when you look at all the soft costs associated with maintaining,
enhancing or managing e-mail, it really can be quite distracting and keep you from delivering key
business value to the credit union.
when you co-source Hosted E-mail, you get a fully staffed help desk team that can deal directly
with your end users as well as a portal that allows pretty much anyone to add or remove users,
functions or access to secure messaging, archiving or content filtering applications.
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InfrastructureThere are two main components here that get better quickly.
1. you will no longer need to worry about licensing any of the above software.
2. you won’t need to worry about hardware, disk space, event logs or networking associated
with your e-mail environment.
it is all bundled into the solution!
SecuritySecurity improves in a number of ways. Every Outlook client and user now uses a fully encrypted
certificate-based authentication. This means your e-mail is always secure and protected from
traffic sniffing or other vulnerabilities. simultaneously, you can get secure messaging on a per user,
per month basis. finally, anti-virus and anti-spam are bundled in and delivered using enterprise
grade solutions like cisco Iron Port. consequently, you get a lot less spam while also greatly
reducing your quarantined items.
disaster Recoveryyour team will no longer need to worry about Hosted Exchange disaster Recovery or hosted
e-mail business continuity. Instead, we run a clustered replicated exchange environment that runs
between two data centers 2500 miles apart. If one cluster fails or one site goes away, everything
runs out of the other. Also, if your data center or connectivity experiences a problem, as long as
you have internet, you have access to your e-mail.
ENTErPriSE vS. STANDArD: Clarifying the DifferencePeople talk a lot about Hosted Exchange and how their offering is “Enterprise” in our marketplace.
Now, we’re going to review what actually makes a Hosted Exchange environment enterprise
quality.
Experienced Engineers Maintaining, Patching and updating the Hosted Exchange Environmentwhen something hiccups with your Hosted Exchange Provider’s Exchange Server, you are going
to want top engineers troubleshooting and fixing the issue. ideally, nothing would go wrong in the
first place, but that just isn’t realistic.
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A clustered Exchange EnvironmentThis goes back to our last point. you want experienced Exchange operators to have properly
configured a large multi-tenancy environment if you are going to utilize them for Hosted Exchange.
A server cluster is the linking of many servers to maximize uptime, reliability and availability. It is
a must. It allows your provider to spread Exchange data across multiple hardware setups and
possibly data centers.
Enterprise Appliances and ApplicationsThere are certain features of Exchange that need some help from third party providers. The
best Hosted Exchange providers will have fulfilled these needs with the best technologies. A
good example is what gets used for Anti-Spam/Virus, which can make or break the usability of
an Exchange environment. OGO has deployed a cisco Ironport device. This device has never
provided a false positive, let through a piece of spam or required us to edit a white or blacklist.
Period. It is arguably the best device on the market for this feature, and we went out and got a
few to beef up our Hosted Exchange Offering.
Multi-Provider and Multi-Path bandwidth to the Provider’s data center Internet connections are essential to hosted services. If your Hosted Exchange provider doesn’t
have a high quality (dare I say “Enterprise?”) connection to the internet, your Hosted Exchange
from them will not be that great. Hosted Exchange Providers should be going that extra mile
to make sure they are always connected to the internet and that their clients can access their
services.
Hosted Exchange Served out of Multiple data centersThe ultimate Enterprise Hosted Exchange feature: Redundant Exchange clusters running
simultaneously in two data centers, both with a minimum of 1Gb/s multi-path/provider internet
that are geographically independent. This means you are covered for almost all eventualities and
should be able to access your email 99.999% of the time.
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PArT 2THE TEcHNIcAl bREAkdOwN
Now that you’ve had an introduction to the array of benefits and features Hosted Exchange
offers, it’s time to get into the details of how Hosted Exchange actually functions, starting with an
overview of Ongoing Operation’s Hosted Exchange features. Are you ready for Part 2?
Ongoing Operation’s Hosted Email features
control Panel “cirrus”A user-friendly administrative tool allows you to manage Ongoing Operations’ cloudworks services
and scale as needed, 24 hours per day. There are many tasks that can be easily managed including
applications, storage, permissions, user account modifications, passwords and more. The control
panel is custom and was built specifically for Ongoing Operations’ Cloudworks product offering.
There are two versions: user and company administrator, which have different functionality.
SupportA team of u.S.-based and highly trained help desk technicians are available 24/7 to address
any questions or troubleshoot any problems. All user requests are entered and captured in our
comprehensive help desk software for tracking, monitoring and reporting the status of help desk
tickets. call 877-552-7892 or submit a help desk ticket at https://support.cloudworks.com
Hosted Exchange Spam filteringcisco Ironport’s industry-leading device is built for security and deployed at the gateway to
protect the world’s most important networks and enable a powerful perimeter defense.
Hosted Exchange data loss Prevention (dlP)Ongoing Operations offers cisco Ironport’s dlP solution. data loss Prevention allows you to set an
active pattern filter at the perimeter that watches for things like social security numbers or other
information and prevents that data from leaving your organization via e-mail.
dlP key features • Provides content, context and destination knowledge
• Empowers credit unions and companies to control who can send what information
• Prevents accidental or malicious data loss
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• simple policy configuration
• Enables monitoring and enforcing data security across all communication channels
• can support protecting data at rest and data in transit
Hosted Exchange data loss Prevention Solution - credit union ProtectionProtecting key member information is crucial. The DLP sensor can be configured to match the
following kinds of data:
• Social Security #s (###-##-####)
• Routing Numbers
• Member #s
• IP Addresses
• Other critical consumer information
When a user tries to send this type of information, the DLP solution will reject the e-mail and provide
notice to the employee that they have tried to send sensitive data. A permanent log is created
and tracked. The e-mail is not sent outside of the organization, and critical information is kept
secure within the walls of the credit union, or in this case the Ongoing Operations cloud.
Hosted Exchange Archiving/Journalingif you need to store e-mails and be able to find things forever (or at least for 3-7 years), Hosted
Exchange Archiving is a key feature.
Hosted Exchange Secure MessagingIf you have private information or key competitive data that you want to make sure doesn’t
end up in the wrong hands, you need Secure Messaging. Secure messaging is generally an add-
on server or service that enables each user in the credit union or company to encrypt e-mail
messages to outside parties. Generally, the secure messaging service forces the receiving party
to enter in a password or go through some process of verification before delivering the contents
of the e-mail.
Top uses• member Service or Call Center representative Communicating to a member via E-mail -
Send private member information like loan documentation, a social security number, PIN
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or credit card number via e-mail.
• Credit union to vendor - Send critical member information between you and your outside
vendor. Secure messaging can protect that data.
• Confidential Information - Send data, plans, diagrams etc. to outside parties and ensure
they get delivered.
• member E-mail to Credit union - your member needs to e-mail you critical documentation
or proof to finish funding a loan or open an account. secure messaging ensures nobody
else get’s the information.
Top challenges• initial Setup - we have used several different secure messaging products including Zix,
Symantec’s, Global cert and others. In general, they require the receiving party to go and
set up a username and password to receive the e-mail. This can add an extra layer in the
process and increase the time it takes to get the data to the receiving party.
• Time between uses - If you don’t regularly e-mail the same person, and they haven’t used
the account in a few months, it can be tough and frustrating to remember one more
password.
• Administration - your Credit Union Technology department will have to budget, purchase,
install and maintain yet another server to provide secure messaging in the organization.
for a small number of users, this adds a lot of burden, distraction and cost for the credit
union.
Is Secure Messaging required by the NcuA?No. It depends on your situation and credit union. Sometimes the NcuA will recommend it.
ultimately, it is governed under part 748 b rules, which dictate the need to appropriately measure
and take action to offset risk within your IT Security program.
does Everyone in the credit union Need it?In our opinion - no. All of your internal communication is secure within your lAN or credit union
wAN. It is really only necessary for those people who send proprietary information to third parties or
people who regularly e-mail with members. Since most credit union employees (tellers, accounting,
branch employees) only e-mail internally, buying secure messaging for all users can be pretty
expensive. Going with a service might allow you to purchase on a per user per month basis.
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Virus ProtectionIndustry leading multiscan antivirus in place for threat detection. Preventing data breaches and
ensuring business continuity is our priority. The antivirus provides multiple layers of protection, scans
and detects malware in real time and combines intrusion detection and prevention, firewall,
integrity monitoring, log inspection and agent-less anti-malware capabilities.
built-in backup & Redundancy (Outsourced Email disaster Recovery)Ongoing Operations has several strategically located data centers to provide for reliability and
built-in backup. we eliminate all need for disaster recovery on your end. wherever you are,
whether you’re vulnerable to floods, storms, snow, etc., all you will need to continue receiving
your email once it is outsourced is an internet connection.
StorageStorage includes Exchange mail, notes, contacts and calendar. Additional Storage can be added
to any account at any time.
Outlook web Accessweb-based access with the same look and feel of Outlook.
MigrationOngoing Operations will plan, implement, test and communicate all project tasks to ensure
migration to MS Exchange is successful and easy for the organization.
Automated MessagingInforms users when mailbox is at 90% capacity to avoid your contacts getting an undeliverable
message.
specificationsThe basic Exchange offering includes Outlook web Access and 1 gigabyte of Exchange storage.
The Standard Exchange offering includes 10 gigabytes of storage, MS Outlook 2010 or 2011 and
full Outlook integration.
Hosted Exchange migrationIn the beginning phases of the Exchange Implementation, Ongoing Operations collects all
Exchange user information into an Excel document that is eventually imported into our Exchange
environment. This information includes all usernames, size of each mailbox, aliases, Active Sync
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and distribution groups. This information is used for the implementation team to create the new
mail accounts prior to the hosted exchange migration.
Ongoing Operation has a new query tool that can collect this information directly from your
exchange server in just a couple clicks. The OGO Data Collector is a .Net application that will
query the mailbox user and group details from Active directory (Ad) and the Exchange Server. It
will create a “user.csv” and “groups.csv” file that will be setup in our implementation data form for
import and user setup.
Approximately 80% of data is collected from the OGO data collector, with the remaining
data collection of public folders, user permissions and admin selection left to complete for our
implementation team. This tool allows you to provide hundreds of user’s account information in
minutes.
Hosted Exchange Integration OptionsOngoing Operations Cloudworks’ E-mail solution is extremely flexible. Out of the box, the following
integration options are available with simple options:
Integrated Options• Microsoft Exchange + Microsoft lync
• Microsoft Exchange + Secure Messaging (Zix, cisco Iron Port)
• Microsoft Exchange + Archiving/Journaling
• Microsoft Exchange + Sane box
• Microsoft Exchange + contactually
• Microsoft Exchange + Microsoft SharePoint
• Microsoft Exchange + Microsoft dynamics (cRM)
• Microsoft Exchange + On demand conference bridge and Screen Share + Video + chat
features Included with all purchases• 10 gb mailbox (can be expanded)
• Anti-spam provided by cisco Ironport
Add-on features• Outlook client license
• Mail Relays
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• Additional Resource Mailboxes (think your conference room calendar)
Mobile Integration• blackberry
• Apple Iphone
• droid
• Other
Hosted E-mail Anti-Spam OverviewOngoing Operations uses the cisco IronPort Anti-Spam solution to provide enterprise Anti-Spam
management as part of its Hosted Exchange offering. The solution is bundled into the hosted
e-mail offering and is provided in the base price. Now, we’ll provide an overview of how anti-
spam works as part of Hosted Exchange.
why use Anti-Spam?Internet criminals constantly evolve techniques to penetrate an organization’s defenses. Email
threats have expanded beyond simply annoying spam to dangerous phishing and fraudulent
spam. cisco IronPort Anti-Spam uses conventional techniques and innovative context-sensitive
detection technology to eliminate a diverse range of known and emerging email threats.
The cisco IronPort context Adaptive Scanning Engine (cASE) and cisco IronPort Reputation filters
provide protection against sophisticated blended threats.
In our experience, the cisco solution greatly reduces spam and almost entirely eliminates false
positives.
what are the key features?• Powerful multi-layered Approach - cisco IronPort pioneered the technique of reputation
filtering for a powerful outer layer of spam defense. ironPort Reputation filters stop up to 90
percent of incoming spam at the connection level. cisco IronPort appliances also support
a unique rate-limiting capability to intelligently delay suspicious senders, thereby greatly
reducing spam without the risk of false positives.
• Accuracy with Context-based Scoring - In addition to reviewing sender reputation, IronPort
examines the complete context of a message. In combination, the cASE score and sender
reputation result in more accurate spam filtering than do traditional techniques.
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• Cisco ironPort web reputation Technology - Measures the behavior and traffic patterns of
a website to assess its trustworthiness. The cisco IronPort cASE determines the reputation
of any uRl within a message body to facilitate an accurate analysis of messages. This
technology helps to immediately protect cisco IronPort Anti-Spam users from spam, viruses,
phishing and spyware threats.
• Automatic updates and Comprehensive Controls - Marketing message detection allows
administrators to configure treatment of unwanted marketing messages.
• Automatic, Timely, and Highly Secure rule updates - Part of the IronPort solution is a
subscription service that provides regular updates to the appliance, meaning it is always
up-to-date with the best information.
• The Cisco ironport Spam Quarantine - A powerful spam-reporting plug-in for Microsoft
Outlook allows users to send missed spam directly to the cisco IronPort Threat Operations
center for review.
• real-Time and Centralized reporting - cisco IronPort Email Security Monitor delivers
complete real-time visibility into who is sending email. It also alerts Ongoing Operations
administrators to suspicious traffic so that they can take immediate action.
• Cisco ironPort message Tracking - Allows administrators to find the status of any message
that has crossed their infrastructure. with this centralized reporting tool, administrators
and support staff can quickly answer end-user inquiries such as, “what happened to my
email?”
what is Included in Hosted Exchange Anti-Spam?Ongoing Operations’ use of the cisco IronPort solution includes a 24-Hour Threat Operations
center. The center uses extensive technology and infrastructure to help ensure effectiveness. All
together, the center’s analysts speak more than 32 languages and have powerful tools to:
• Maintain a massive email collection
• Manage a knowledge base of latest trends
• Publish real-time rule updates to help ensure new spam attacks can be blocked immediately
• Provide closed-loop verification of customer reports
What are the Benefits of Using Hosted Email Anti-spam?• Eliminates a broad range of Email Threats - cisco IronPort Anti-Spam addresses a full range
of known threats, including spam, phishing and zombie attacks. It also addresses hard-to-
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detect, low-volume, short-lived targeted attacks such as 419 scams. Additionally, cisco
ironPort Anti-spam identifies new and evolving blended threats, such as malicious content
through a download URL or an executable file.
• Provides Great Accuracy - The key to effectiveness is data captured by the cisco IronPort
senderBase Network, the world’s first, largest and most accurate traffic-monitoring
system. In addition to exceptional technology, cisco IronPort Anti-Spam is backed by an
interdisciplinary team of experts with backgrounds in email security, machine learning and
human genomics. As a leader in preventive threat detection techniques, cisco employs
security experts who constantly innovate to stay ahead of emerging threats. cisco IronPort
Anti-Spam is integrated with the cisco IronPort Threat Operations center, which helps
ensure a high level of accuracy and responsiveness.
• Adds a Global Solution - Cisco ironPort Anti-spam uses locale-specific, content-aware
threat detection techniques. It also takes full advantage of globally representative SMTP
and HTTP content-independent data contributed by more than 120,000 ISPs, universities
and corporations on six continents.
• Not Your Problem - Probably the biggest advantage of all of this is that the solution just
works, and it is Ongoing Operations’ problem. if your users need to find a trapped message
or the solution has a bug, Ongoing Operations engineers will work to fix it immediately.
Additionally, the whole solution is redundant and hosted out of multiple data centers, so
single points of failure won’t cause you problems.
Hosted Exchange Spam filtering StatisticsOne of the key ways in which Ongoing Operations measures the success of its Hosted Microsoft
Exchange solution is by the quality of our Anti-Spam measures. Here are some of our daily e-mail
stats to demonstrate its effectiveness.
Ongoing Operations weekly E-mail Statistics• 2.3 million emails processed
• 230k clean messages (ONLy 10% of E-mail is GOOD - Totally nuts!)
• Thousands of E-mail boxes
• Over 1000 spam/virus messages per user filtered
So while we aren’t perfect, eliminating 90% of spam with very few false positives is pretty impressive.
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Hosted Exchange and mX recordsIn order to move from your own e-mail server to Ongoing Operations cloud e-mail, you will need to
not only migrate mailboxes but also change your Mx Record. Here are the most frequently asked
questions about Mx Records in a hosted exchange environment:
what is an Mx Record?• The Technical Answer: An Mx Record is the mail exchanger record and is a type of
resource record in the domain name system (DNs) that specifies a mail server responsible
for accepting e-mail messages for a domain.
• for the rest of us: An Mx Record is like the phone number for your e-mail server. It is how
the internet knows to send your message to Ongoing Operations and not to someone else.
How is the Mx Record Managed/Maintained in Hosted Exchange?Mx Records are part of the dNS management system. when you switch your e-mail over, Ongoing
Operations will update its DNs records with your MX Record(s), and mail will begin flowing and
routing to our e-mail servers. Think of it like call forwarding.
who is responsible for the Mx Record?in reality, it can be you, OGO or another third party. We are pretty flexible, though ultimately it is
whoever handles your dNS (domain Name Service)
Where can i find my MX Record?There are several tools used to research and find your record. A great one is the Mx lookup Tool.
To use the tool, go to the website, enter your domain name and the site will tell you everything
you need to know.
How long does it Take for the Internet to update my Mx Record?depending on how close you (or your internet provider) are to the dNS hosts around the world will
dictate how quickly the record change will propagate. for Ongoing Operations, it usually takes
from a few minutes to an hour or so. for others, it can take as long as several days.
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Hosted E-mail: Archiving OptionsPerhaps you are a broker-dealer. Maybe you
are one of those people that wants to be
able to pull-up an e-mail from four years ago
to prove a point. Or maybe you use e-mail
as your filing system. Whatever the reason,
e-mail archiving is a great tool for keeping
historical e-mail accessible and searchable.
Ongoing Operations hosted e-mail enables
you to add archiving on a per user, per
month basis. Here is a list of our top archiving
questions:
• what is E-mail Archiving? Email Archiving is the process of capturing, preserving and making
easily searchable all email traffic to and from a given individual, organization or service.
Email archiving solutions capture email content either directly from the email application
itself or during transport. for organizations that must meet regulations, the latter is most
often utilized, as the message is captured by the archive before the end-user can tamper
or delete it. Then, the messages are typically stored on magnetic disk storage and indexed
to simplify future searches.
• Do All of my Employees Need E-mail Archiving? No. you can purchase archiving for just
the people who need it. Often, we find most positions in the organization won’t require it.
with OGO’s hosted e-mail archiving, you can pay per user, per month for e-mail archiving.
• Can i Archive All of my messages? yes. Archiving is provided as an add-on feature. Also,
users probably won’t need to archive their e-mail locally anymore, as your e-mail boxes will
be a lot bigger going forward.
• How long Are Archived messages retained? Archiving can be for 3 years or 7 years based
on each user’s preference. Prices vary accordingly.
• what Solution Does Ongoing Operations Hosted E-mail use for Archiving? Ongoing
Operations currently uses Symantec Vault for its archiving solution.
• How Do i Add Archiving to an Existing E-mail Account? log on to the Ongoing Operations
portal, select the users and check the box for archiving. Or if you can’t remember another
password, call OGO Support, and we will happily do it!
• Can i remove Archiving from an Existing E-mail Account? yes. Log on to the OGO portal,
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select the users and remove the check box for archiving. Or call the support hotline.
Primary Goals of E-mail Archiving• Regulatory compliance
• litigation and E-discovery
• backup of old messages
• Monitoring of inbound and outbound messaging
• Records management
Hosted Exchange: whitelists And blacklists
what is a blacklist?According to wikipedia a blacklist or block list is a basic access control mechanism that allows
through all elements (email addresses, users, uRls, etc.), except those explicitly mentioned. Those
items on the list are denied access.
what is a whitelist?The opposite of a hosted exchange blacklist is a hosted e-mail whitelist, which means only items
on the list are let through, whatever gate is being used.
Want to find Out if you are on a Blacklist by Accident?click here.
Can you import your List features Over to Ongoing Operations Hosted E-Mail?No. The good news is that our cisco Ironport solution is really good at blocking and preventing
SPAM, so you probably won’t need to move over existing lists. The bad news is that there will
probably be a couple of things that get through, and you will just have to trust that OGO engineers
will configure and update the solution properly.
Hosted Exchange blacklist SolutionOGO’s Hosted Exchange platform leverages multiple cisco Ironport appliances to handle anti-
virus and anti-spam services for all users. The ironport appliance is so proficient at anti-spam that
we rarely, if ever, have a false positive, and very little spam gets through to a mailbox. If a client
believes they’re having messages blocked mistakenly or are receiving spam they did not sign up
for, they should contact OGO Support or submit a ticket to have the issue resolved. because the
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Ironport devices are shared across all users, we do not provide individual organizations access to
the platform’s white/blacklists.
ultimately, if you are using the Ongoing Operations Hosted E-mail solution, you are paying us to
provide this service. If you are used to managing it yourself, your life is going to get a lot easier.
Hosted Exchange Outlook ClientIf you are like most credit unions we speak to about Hosted Exchange, then you probably have a
couple different versions of Outlook running in your office, depending on the last time you updated
your licenses for employee groups A, b and c. The great news is that with Hosted Exchange, the
painful days of supporting 2 or more versions of Outlook are gone.
Thanks to the additional options we have with Microsoft licensing via our special Service Provider
licensing Agreement, we are able to provide a credit union Outlook client for free inside the
cloud (Hosted Virtual desktop) and for $1 per user per month on local hardware. both of those
options also have no requirement to purchase the rest of the Ms Office suite.
Another underlying advantage to handling your licensing on a monthly basis is that there is no
additional charge to upgrade your credit union Outlook client when a new version comes out.
we will notify you when it is available, point you to our download site and help you set up your
latest and greatest credit union Outlook client.
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PArT 3:BiTs AND ByTEs: BONUs iNfORMATiON
Hosted Exchange in Hosted virtual Desktoplet’s now discuss how Hosted Exchange functions in the Hosted Virtual desktop.
How Does your Mail Travel in the virtual Desktop?Exchange is a powerful messaging tool that has been the industry standard for some time. when
you take this server technology, remove it from your IT closet and move it into a world-class data
center with redundant power, cooling and guaranteed up-time, it becomes that much more
reliable and that much less of a headache for your IT staff.
How does that Relate to Hosted Virtual desktop? Once you have outsourced your Exchange Server (thereby making it “hosted”), all of your
emails are distributed internally via the internet. in this specific example, if OGO were to host your
exchange, the model would actually be closer to a traditional office because the Exchange
Server and the Virtual desktop Server would be in the same data center, allowing for direct
distribution without traffic over the open internet for internal email messages or messages to any
other individual hosted in our environment.
How Does your Mail Travel Outside of the virtual Desktop?Our Exchange Server cluster is not that different from an Exchange setup you may currently have in
your office. The main differences are the total size of our cluster and the high quality of appliances
we have attached. basically, there is no difference in how your mail travels to and from parties
outside of our environment.
local Options for those power users or people who travel, you may want to have a local Microsoft Outlook copy
on your laptop with all of your e-mail in cache mode. This will enable you to sit on an airplane,
work in e-mail and sync up when you land. in Hosted Exchange 2013, this will be possible without
a fat outlook client. Instead, you will be able to use a web browser (probably IE only) to cache
e-mail and continue working offline.
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Hosted Exchange mobile Device CompatibilityThe following are some of the best devices and applications we have seen work with Hosted
Exchange:
Apple (iPad, iPhone)
Native Client: does Gmail and Exchange (and other pop, web, or IMAP clients).
Overall: b+
Performance: b+
Calendar, Tasks: b. we seem to constantly have challenges with arranging meetings via
iPhone or iPad.
features: b-
Cost: A
Security: b. Responds to remote wipes and security policies forced down. May not
support all policies possible with newest versions of Exchange.
Notes: Apple IOS 6.1 is the version everyone should be running (small ActiveSync bug
can cause big issue with Exchange)
blackberryNative Client: does Gmail and Exchange (and other pop, web, or IMAP clients).
Overall: b+
Performance: b+
Calendar, Tasks: b. This works pretty well on blackberry.
features: b-
Cost: c (blackberry server increases the costs)
Security: A-
droidNative Client: does Gmail and Exchange (and other pop, web, or IMAP clients). They improved
exchange significantly as they released new versions. We don’t use it for Exchange because we
like more control. for example, we prefer to sync certain folders and handle calendaring better.
Overall: b
Performance: b+
Calendar, Tasks: b
features: c
Cost: A
Security: b. Responds to remote wipes and security policies forced down. May not
support all policies possible with newest versions of Exchange.
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k9Haven’t used it since a beta version early on.
MailroidHaven’t used it.
TouchdownOverall: b+. All the options for a high price.
Performance: b-
Calendar, Tasks: b
features: A
Cost: d. $20, unless you catch it on promotion.
Security: b. Encryption, acknowledge server policies, wipe, can also wipe Sd card &
allows for user wipe separate from Server Admin wipe.
windows 8 Phone (RT) and TabletNative Client: does Gmail and Exchange (and other pop, web or IMAP clients).
Overall: b+
Performance: b-
Calendar, Tasks: b. The tile layout and the sync functions work well.
features: b
Cost: A
Security: b
if you are struggling to come up with a ByOD policy, or you just don’t want to deal with the hassle
of integrating with a lot more devices, using a Hosted Exchange provider and leveraging their
infrastructure and security can help substantially.
Hosted microsoft Exchange 2013 features Over the years, Microsoft has continually worked to improve Exchange and enhance Outlook.
Every few years, it takes a major step forward, and 2013 is no exception. The most significant
improvements come from the integration with other Microsoft products such as Sharepoint
and lync. These new ways of collaborating on work and communicating continue to improve
productivity and enhance our ability to work from anywhere. The following is a list of the main new
features in Exchange 2013.
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Microsoft Exchange 2013 Administrative improvements• Data loss prevention (DLP) is a new feature in Exchange 2013
• Exchange 2013 offers greater integration with Microsoft sharePoint 2013 and Microsoft
Lync 2013 through site mailboxes
• Mail routing in Exchange 2013 recognizes DAG boundaries as well as Active Directory site
boundaries. Also, mail routing has been improved to queue messages more directly for
internal recipients (This means better disaster recovery and better uptime).
• Public folders now take advantage of the existing high availability and storage technologies
of the mailbox store. The public folder architecture uses specially designed mailboxes to
store both the hierarchy and the public folder content.
• Exchange 2013 integrates with sharePoint 2013 to allow users to collaborate more
effectively by using site mailboxes.
• Lync server 2013 can archive content in Exchange 2013 and use Exchange 2013 as a
contact store.
• The Outlook web App user interface is new and optimized for tablets and smartphones as
well as for desktop and laptop computers.
Outlook 2013 improvements (End-Users)• Reminders for when you forgot to add the attachment
• improvements in Local E-mail Cache (you no longer have to store everything. you can
pick time periods such as 1 month of e-mail.)
• Outlook mailboxes take 40% less space locally
• People Hub - Integrates your Outlook contacts with Social Media Information
• Outlook 2013 starts and exits faster
• weather forecast on your calendar
• Ability to forward your calendar to outside parties for easier meeting scheduling
As an Ongoing Operations Hosted Exchange customer, you get quick and consistent access to
new Server and Outlook features as they become available. If you ever have any questions or
issues, we provide support to your users to help them learn how to use these new components.
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Hosted Exchange ApplicationsOne of the big advantages to being a secure community cloud provider is that your clients
regularly submit ideas and feedback about how to improve your solutions. This year has been no
different, and with thousands of people using Ongoing Operations Hosted Exchange, we have
learned about some great new applications. let’s go over a few of the ones that we’ve found
to improve worker productivity and the usefulness of your e-mail: Sanebox, doodle, contactually
and the OGO collaboration Suite.
SaneboxIf you receive lots of content and news delivered to your e-mail box, you may be going nuts with
the volume. Sanebox will learn how you sort your mail and do it for you. It is a great tool for helping
slim down your active e-mail items and cut through the noise so you can focus on key contacts
and issues. unfortunately, we have found the support at Sanebox to be lousy to deal with, but the
product seems to be solid, and we have several customers that are very happy with it.
contactuallyThis is a great tool for busy executives or top networkers. Once configured, you can bucket contacts
each week by playing a fun little bucket game. Each bucket is created with different rules. Then,
based on the rules, contactually will send you an update regularly reminding you to follow up with
various contacts or clients. you no longer need to remember the last time you checked in on a
client; instead, the system remembers for you. This product is still in beta mode, so sometimes it is a
little buggy. but regardless, we have many users that have found it to be a big help.
cisco IronPortAlready built into the OGO Hosted e-mail offering, cisco IronPort keeps your spam to a minimal
level. It doesn’t catch everything, but it is pretty good at keeping all the random weight loss and
Nigerian money laundering e-mails at bay, so you won’t be tempted to suddenly get in shape or
earn some money on the side.
doodleAre you sick of trading e-mails or trying to find a time to meet with a large group? doodle is a great
tool to simplify this process. Just fill out your schedule, e-mail it to everyone else (who then add their
availability) and you can easily schedule a good time that works for everyone.
OGO collaboration SuiteIf you want chat, video conferencing, screen shares and all of your phones to work as one, the
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OGO collaboration Suite combines all of these technologies with one killer integration, making it
easy to work from anyplace, anytime and anywhere.
Outlook web App in microsoft ExchangeHave you ever been stuck in a situation when you need to type an email, but you don’t have
access to a computer with your Outlook client on it, and typing the email on a mobile device
just won’t suffice? OWA is an excellent alternative. OWA allows you to log into your email from
any computer securely using only your standard email login credentials. OGO Hosted Exchange
users can navigate to http://mail.cloudworks.com to access their email from any computer, from
anywhere in the world. Here is what Microsoft has to say about the latest version of Outlook web
App:
The new Exchange and Microsoft Outlook web App deliver a rich, familiar web-based email
experience that allows you to:
• Access email, voicemail and instant messages directly from your inbox using any of the
major web browsers (internet Explorer, safari, firefox and Chrome).
• use inline reply to respond to messages in context, making it easier to manage drafts more
efficiently.
• Take certain actions, like creating an email or reading received messages, on Outlook
web App content in the absence of web connectivity.
• customize your communications experience and spend less time switching between
applications with web-based Apps for Outlook and Outlook web App.
Now that you’ve read our ebook, we hope you’ve realized that Exchange is so much more than
just your email, and that by outsourcing your email services, you can increase efficiency, improve
up-time and more.
If you have any questions about the content in this ebook, please visit our website at www.ongoingoperations.com
or email us at [email protected].
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