Why not to use Microsoft Exchange for your enterprise email solution
Filed Under (Geekery) by Dan on 14-09-2007
Many, many, many companies use Microsoft Exchange for their email and directory solution, and in almost every case, this is a waste of resources and money. Now, I’m not an anti-Microsoft pundit, or anything of the sort. I personally own a Windows Server 2003 machine, two Windows XP Professional machines, and a Windows Vista Ultimate machine, in addition to some Linux servers. I feel that every operating system has an optimal task, and that there is no fix-all OS out there that is perfect for every user and purpose.
But that is not my point. This is about Microsoft Exchange. Small businesses are especially vulnerable to the problems that arise because of Exchange. It’s mostly about money, so listen up.
The way you pay for Exchange is interesting. You would think that you just buy the software, and all of your users have email once you have configured it. This is a logical assumption, but it’s just not the way Microsoft makes billions of dollars. When you buy Exchange, the real cost is in licensing, and leave it to Microsoft to make it as complicated and counter-intuitive as possible.
So, without an experienced professional to guide you in purchasing Exchange CALs (Client Access Licenses), you alone face this question:
Do you need per-device CALs, or per-user CALs?
Heh, well, if you are a small business, it doesn’t really matter. Allow me to explain. Let’s say, hypothetically, that you are the IT manager of a company with 30 employees, including yourself, the bosses, and everyone. Whole company, 30 employees. Everyone has a workstation, and everyone needs an email address. If you buy per-device CALs, you must purchase a CAL for each computer that will connect to the Exchange server. So, if you have 30 people with 30 workstations, that means 30 CALs. A 5-pack per-device CAL from a trustworthy vendor for Exchange 2007 costs about $300. You will need 6 of these to properly license your copy of Exchange. That will set you back about $1,800, not including what you already have spent on the Exchange software. Exchange costs $700 initially, and does not include any licenses. So, now you are looking at $2,500. Kind of expensive for a small business, eh? Not to mention the fact that you also have to purchase a copy of Microsoft Windows Server 2003. “Standard Edition” costs $999. Grand total: $3,499.
[Source: Microsoft 1, 2]
“Okay, but what about per-user licensing?”
Well, in the case of a small business, it’s really the same thing. You still have to buy enough licenses to cover every user that will connect. They cost the same, and the same number will need to be purchased.
“Doesn’t Microsoft have a Small Business suite?”
Yes, but you will spend even more money! Microsoft Small Business Server 2003 contains Exchange, but for the default configuration, with only a 5-user CAL, the price is $600, and it will cost $690 for each 5-user CAL beyond that. So for 30 users, the total works out to $4,050.
[Source: Microsoft]
So, what it boils down to, is that Microsoft server technologies are really not a wise choice for a small business that wishes to minimize initial cost and overhead. What happens when your company grows, and you need to hire more people? Now you have to pay $690 for every 5 (or less, you can only buy 5 at a time!) people. For a large corporation, this is pocket change, but for a company that has less than 50 employees, the costs of using Microsoft software can be crippling.
There are many free/open source, and low-cost solutions out there that will allow you to continue using Microsoft Office Outlook to connect to your email server, share calendars, and have email directories.
To name just a few:
- Low cost
- Low cost/Free version available
- Open source/completely free
- OpenGroupWare
- Sun Java Communications Suite (Free, paid support option)
- OpenChange (Not for the faint of heart, build your own frontend)
As you can see, there are plenty of alternatives out there. I’m sure there are even more than the ones I have found and included in this article. The bottom line is: If you are a small company, and you are looking into email/groupware solutions, open source / Microsoft-alternative software may be the best choice, both for initial cost, and TCO.