Office 365 vs Server – What is the best email server solution for your business?

When it comes to Microsoft email servers, there are two options for you to consider: Exchange Server 2016 and Office 365.

Both options have their advantages and implementation challenges and finding the right solution for your business can be extremely daunting. In essence, the main difference is one is a self-hosted system (Exchange 2016) and the other is cloud based (Office 365).

Both services other the same functionality: email communication, calendar and meeting scheduling, and contact management. The main difference is control.

Exchange 2016 is a self-hosted software package running on Windows networks that sits on a company’s own hardware. The investment in both hardware infrastructure and software licensing is an extremely costly investment. The Exchange solution requires a highly specified server running Windows Server with Exchange 2016 installed.  Each client will then require a Microsoft Office Licence that comes with Microsoft Outlook. Additionally, a client license will be required for Windows and Exchange mailbox for each user connecting to the server.

Realising that this is a rather large investment for a small business just to get their emails up and running, Microsoft built a subscription based model to their popular email server called Office 365. Using this solution, all that is needed for users to have a mailbox for their business is a monthly subscription and the server is hosted by Microsoft.

Most Office 365 subscriptions come with the latest version of Microsoft’s Office Suite. This includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook. Which allows you to standardise your business on the Office 2019 platform in a cost effective manner.  

Apollo IT are Microsoft Certified Partners and are ready to help your business move to locally-hosted Exchange 2016 or to migrate to Office 365.

Call us today to discuss how we can help on 01803 444 555

Discover more about Server installs and 365 options.