Affordable web hosting for small business w/ iPhones

Visiontron · 6 Nov 2008, 12:33 AM

I'm looking for an affordable email hosting solution for my company.
I need emails to come from user@company.com - it cannot be user@emailhost.com on behalf of user@company.com.
I need our current Outlook folder structures to be the same in the iPhones and Outlook (read mails appear the same on both, moving an email from the inbox to a specific folder, etc.) It would be nice if the same thing happened in a webmail client as well. (I guess I just describing IMAP or exchange)

I have approx 25 users in total - 5 have iPhones. The iPhone users outlook .pst files are between 2-5 GB. The remaining 20 users have about the same mailbox sizes, about 5 more would benefit from a IMAP setup and the rest would be fine with a POP3 setup based on multiple backups of the pst files.

gmail is out for requirement #1
mobileme is out for the same reason.
In house exchange is too expensive.
Hosted exchange is a little more than we want to spend (I've seen around $15 per user w/ a 2 GB mailbox limit. The majority of the users won't benefit from Exchange and I can't justify $4500 a year when we're using the included email hosting from our website hosting for $0.)

I checked our Fusemail and Simplicato. Both were the most affordable and seemed like the right fit. $2 per month per user w/ 10 GB and 5 GB storage respectively. I found a several bad reviews saying that both services were unreliable. Many of the those reviews said they went with Mailtrust and are much happier. (Some I found here and hence registering. I found similar comments on other sites as well)
http://www.mailtrust.com/noteworthy/features/mobile
Calenders and contacts don't synch w/ iPhones. Push mail and instant sync is not supported w/ the iPhone. (Push email sounds nice, but the decreased battery life would probably stop us from using it.) If necessary, we can use the hybrid account - some users on hosted exchange around $15/mo and others on the basic imap account for $3/mo. The iphone users would get get all the features they want. Going with the hybrid account nearly doubles the cost ($840/yr for 25 Noteworthy users to $1587/yr for 5 Exchange accounts and 20 Noteworthy)

Inhouse hosting
We used to use IPswitch Imail, but stopped hosting it ourself when we got a virus. We can implement that again w/ some antivirus software, but that involves $1000 for a new workstation to run it (I don't think a P4 2.4 GHz workstation we have lying around will run it so smoothly.) It would be the cheapest the implement at around $1500.

A checked out a couple other packages, SmarterMail 5.x seems like a good alternative. It claims to have iphone over the air sync. It would be around $1500 - $2000 for the new workstation and software. It seems like a good alternative, but it comes with the headaches of hosting it ourselves. https://www.smartertools.com/Smarter...uirements.aspx Taking a look at that, it says the max incoming connection can be 10 on non windows server based setups. I guess that didn't affect us before because we used POP3.

Any recommendations? Any experience with the companies I mentioned?

theog · 6 Nov 2008, 04:40 AM

http://*******.com/ -- they would be my choice... then purchase more space for those who need it or talk to their support and maybe work out another deal since you will host 15 accounts.

http://1and1.com - I don't really recommend them, but they might do you some good... they have $7 exchange accounts

and

you can get 1&1 MailXchange accounts for $3.99 per user (for 15 users). http://order.1and1.com/xml/order/MailXchange (don't know if this supports iphone... is dumping the iphone an option?)

You lost me when you started putting money restrictions and so forth... maybe these cheap alternatives can help. I don't care for one and one due to their bad support and sometimes shaddey business practices, but the fact is they remain one of the largest (up there, don't know where they rank now) hosting providers.... you never hear people complain of their uptime. Good provider, if you need to go cheap.

I would not host email or anything else "in house" unless you have the expertise and people to do it. Can someone be there on x-mas at 3 pm when the server goes down? (working all day long?).

Visiontron · 7 Nov 2008, 01:58 AM

Wow, $ 7 and $9/mo for hosted Exchange is cheap compared to what I've seen. Thanks for those suggestions.

Dumping the iphones is not an option. We just got them a month or so ago and have a 2 yr contract. Now I have to determine if the features are worth the additional cost. AT&T says you need to upgrade to the enterprise data plan for an additonal $30 a month when used with MS Exchange. My brother's company hosts their own Exchange 2003 server and he's able to use the standard plan

Price is a big concern, but I'm not blinded by it. Most likely it's going to come down between Mailtrust and 1&1 with their exchange-like packages. I've heard about the shadyness of 1&1 for a while now too. When it comes down to it, my selection will be based on:
1. Reliability
2. Price
3. iPhone support/features
4. Storage size
5. antispam effectiveness (had to resort to Postini, wouldn't mind dropping it and saving $40/mo)
6. customer support (a big plus would be walking me through the switch, it saves me from calling in tech support)

Mailtrust vs. 1&1
$2.80 vs. $2.99
10 GB/50MB limit vs. 5 GB/? Limit + 2 GB storage.
Good reputation vs. large but questionable
IMAP to sync mail & folders vs ? (waiting to hear back)
Not much else vs. document versions + smart link (saves alot of headaches)

Now that I did that, the lower storage but collaboration features seem like the better choice for an additional $60/yr. The only thing holding me back is the reputation.

George_B · 7 Nov 2008, 04:04 PM

I might be wrong but I don't think the iPhone supports Exchange service.

Most likely what you need is just IMAP service.

adam15c · 7 Nov 2008, 08:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by George_B

I might be wrong but I don't think the iPhone supports Exchange service.

Most likely what you need is just IMAP service.

Yes you are wrong. iPhone 3G supports MS Exchange

link to Apple site

George_B · 7 Nov 2008, 09:45 PM

I stand corrected

theog · 8 Nov 2008, 02:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Visiontron

Most likely it's going to come down between Mailtrust and 1&1 with their exchange-like packages.

Unless you can find a good reason to not go with mailtrust, that is who I would pick.

I can't guarantee it, but I have a thought (or some call a "feeling") that you will be happier with mailtrust rather than 1and1.

This is my personal opinion.... after dealing with both companies over the years....

1and1 always "sounds" nice, but seems to always fall short. Then again, I've never tried the package you are looking at so what do I know....

I have tried 1and1 exchange, and it was funky (setup... and when it did work, errors with devices -- outlook etc... but always different issues on different computers...).

But that collaboration part is really tempting. Why don't you setup "tiger teams" to test each service... maybe 2 to 5 users try each service... see how it works out. I believe each one have a trial period. 1 iphone user per group... see how it works. (1and1 is 90 days... mailtrust is 14 days (although, I'd bet you could get that out to 30 days, if you spoke with them).

Visiontron · 8 Nov 2008, 04:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by theog

But that collaboration part is really tempting. Why don't you setup "tiger teams" to test each service... maybe 2 to 5 users try each service... see how it works out. I believe each one have a trial period. 1 iphone user per group... see how it works. (1and1 is 90 days... mailtrust is 14 days (although, I'd bet you could get that out to 30 days, if you spoke with them).

Would I use the current existing email accounts for these tiger teams or set up new dummy addresses? I guess the big question is, can I separate the 25 accounts I have w/ 2 email service providers? If so, I would leave the 15 - 20 accounts on the existing free (part of web site hosting) email host that I currently use. I would only need to put 5-10 accounts on this new upgraded service and prevent unnecessary expenses. I thought the visiontron.com MX record can only point to one provider.

I sent an email to 1&1's sales team to recommend a package. I would have gotten a better response from a turd. Usually companies don't skimp there in order to entice new customers. I'm worried if that's the response they use with potential customers, what type of response will I get if I have a technical problem during the initial setup.

How was the antispam filters with mailtrust? My web hosting company used SmarterMail 4.3 for email and it claimed to have spam protection, but it was horrible. Tons of false-positive, good mail not being delivered, etc. I had to enable Postini again and since then haven't had issues with spam. It would be to nice not to resort to Postini.

Question about IMAP: If our network goes down, would we lose all emails in outlook (we use 2003 and 2007) until it comes back up? Will I be able to clean up my some folders in Outlook while I'm on the road w/o an internet connection?
I like the idea of my emails being in sync, but sometimes I don't have internet and need to find an email. It would be nice if we can set it up to download a copy to outlook so we can view it without an active connection. Would it still sync w/ the server (delete an email w/o an internet connection. once you connect again, it syncs and sees that we deleted it out of outlook and deletes it off the server.)
I have my gmail account setup on my iphone. It downloads a copy to my phone so I can still view emails if I'm in a dead zone or put my phone in airplane mode. I just tested it. I deleted an email while I was in airplane mode. I turned internet/cell service on again and it deleted it out of gmail on my computer when I refreshed the mailbox on my phone. Cool!!!

theog · 8 Nov 2008, 06:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Visiontron

Would I use the current existing email accounts for these tiger teams or set up new dummy addresses? I guess the big question is, can I separate the 25 accounts I have w/ 2 email service providers? If so, I would leave the 15 - 20 accounts on the existing free (part of web site hosting) email host that I currently use. I would only need to put 5-10 accounts on this new upgraded service and prevent unnecessary expenses. I thought the visiontron.com MX record can only point to one provider.

for the mx record, that is why I keep several "email" domains for this purpose. I test services with those domains.

I would request the accounts from 1and1 and mailtrust... I know mailtrust will work with you (or they have worked with people in the past) about setting up accounts and allowing you to test the service. I can't say what your experience will be 100% but in the past, even pat, the owner, stepped in to take some questions from me... and I'm a nobody.

Far as the tiger team, it was only a suggestion... I'm not sure how you are setup, your experience level (of your it staff/employees), how important email is to your business... I respectfully suggest that only you can know the best route. The best route might be a full cut-over.... I'd definitely not suggest that... but that might be what works for you. Personally, I like to test services before attempting to use them in a "real" work environment. I have some horror stories to backup why I do this. lol

I've been testing ******* for maybe two months now on a spare domain... only now am I cutting it over for real use (although, I have been using it for "real" use lately, but need to make it official).

Quote:

I sent an email to 1&1's sales team to recommend a package. I would have gotten a better response from a turd.

I think this is telling you how much faith you should put in 1and1 with a crucial part of your business.

Quote:

How was the antispam filters with mailtrust? My web hosting company used SmarterMail 4.3 for email and it claimed to have spam protection, but it was horrible. Tons of false-positive, good mail not being delivered, etc. I had to enable Postini again and since then haven't had issues with spam. It would be to nice not to resort to Postini.

Someone else would have to answer this... I've not tested mailtrust in a while (or I should say, I've not used my account with them in a while... I have a test account that I've had for over a year... not even sure it still works)... I communicate with mailtrust every now and again, nice team.

Quote:

Question about IMAP: If our network goes down, would we lose all emails in outlook (we use 2003 and 2007) until it comes back up?

No... well, if you download the entire email... if you only download headers, you are screwed.

Quote:

Will I be able to clean up my some folders in Outlook while I'm on the road w/o an internet connection?

Yes.

Visiontron · 4 Dec 2008, 02:05 AM

I ended up going with Mailtrust. I have nothing but rave reviews about their support team. I had to move 20 pop accounts over to imap and basically ran into issues with every account. Their support team has gone out of their way to help any way that they can. I've only been with them for about 2 weeks now and I'm glad I chose them.

ankupan · 4 Dec 2008, 08:53 PM

Very true, Mailtrust is really excellent one for Email Hosting.

This is my third year with them.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Visiontron

I ended up going with Mailtrust. I have nothing but rave reviews about their support team. I had to move 20 pop accounts over to imap and basically ran into issues with every account. Their support team has gone out of their way to help any way that they can. I've only been with them for about 2 weeks now and I'm glad I chose them.

6 Nov 2008, 12:33 AM	#1
Visiontron Junior Member Join Date: Nov 2008 Posts: 4	Affordable web hosting for small business w/ iPhones I'm looking for an affordable email hosting solution for my company. I need emails to come from user@company.com - it cannot be user@emailhost.com on behalf of user@company.com. I need our current Outlook folder structures to be the same in the iPhones and Outlook (read mails appear the same on both, moving an email from the inbox to a specific folder, etc.) It would be nice if the same thing happened in a webmail client as well. (I guess I just describing IMAP or exchange) I have approx 25 users in total - 5 have iPhones. The iPhone users outlook .pst files are between 2-5 GB. The remaining 20 users have about the same mailbox sizes, about 5 more would benefit from a IMAP setup and the rest would be fine with a POP3 setup based on multiple backups of the pst files. gmail is out for requirement #1 mobileme is out for the same reason. In house exchange is too expensive. Hosted exchange is a little more than we want to spend (I've seen around $15 per user w/ a 2 GB mailbox limit. The majority of the users won't benefit from Exchange and I can't justify $4500 a year when we're using the included email hosting from our website hosting for $0.) I checked our Fusemail and Simplicato. Both were the most affordable and seemed like the right fit. $2 per month per user w/ 10 GB and 5 GB storage respectively. I found a several bad reviews saying that both services were unreliable. Many of the those reviews said they went with Mailtrust and are much happier. (Some I found here and hence registering. I found similar comments on other sites as well) http://www.mailtrust.com/noteworthy/features/mobile Calenders and contacts don't synch w/ iPhones. Push mail and instant sync is not supported w/ the iPhone. (Push email sounds nice, but the decreased battery life would probably stop us from using it.) If necessary, we can use the hybrid account - some users on hosted exchange around $15/mo and others on the basic imap account for $3/mo. The iphone users would get get all the features they want. Going with the hybrid account nearly doubles the cost ($840/yr for 25 Noteworthy users to $1587/yr for 5 Exchange accounts and 20 Noteworthy) Inhouse hosting We used to use IPswitch Imail, but stopped hosting it ourself when we got a virus. We can implement that again w/ some antivirus software, but that involves $1000 for a new workstation to run it (I don't think a P4 2.4 GHz workstation we have lying around will run it so smoothly.) It would be the cheapest the implement at around $1500. A checked out a couple other packages, SmarterMail 5.x seems like a good alternative. It claims to have iphone over the air sync. It would be around $1500 - $2000 for the new workstation and software. It seems like a good alternative, but it comes with the headaches of hosting it ourselves. https://www.smartertools.com/Smarter...uirements.aspx Taking a look at that, it says the max incoming connection can be 10 on non windows server based setups. I guess that didn't affect us before because we used POP3. Any recommendations? Any experience with the companies I mentioned?

6 Nov 2008, 04:40 AM	#2
theog = Permanently banned = Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: 1 Microsoft Way Posts: 2,119	http://*******.com/ -- they would be my choice... then purchase more space for those who need it or talk to their support and maybe work out another deal since you will host 15 accounts. http://1and1.com - I don't really recommend them, but they might do you some good... they have $7 exchange accounts and you can get 1&1 MailXchange accounts for $3.99 per user (for 15 users). http://order.1and1.com/xml/order/MailXchange (don't know if this supports iphone... is dumping the iphone an option?) You lost me when you started putting money restrictions and so forth... maybe these cheap alternatives can help. I don't care for one and one due to their bad support and sometimes shaddey business practices, but the fact is they remain one of the largest (up there, don't know where they rank now) hosting providers.... you never hear people complain of their uptime. Good provider, if you need to go cheap. I would not host email or anything else "in house" unless you have the expertise and people to do it. Can someone be there on x-mas at 3 pm when the server goes down? (working all day long?).

7 Nov 2008, 01:58 AM	#3
Visiontron Junior Member Join Date: Nov 2008 Posts: 4	Wow, $ 7 and $9/mo for hosted Exchange is cheap compared to what I've seen. Thanks for those suggestions. Dumping the iphones is not an option. We just got them a month or so ago and have a 2 yr contract. Now I have to determine if the features are worth the additional cost. AT&T says you need to upgrade to the enterprise data plan for an additonal $30 a month when used with MS Exchange. My brother's company hosts their own Exchange 2003 server and he's able to use the standard plan Price is a big concern, but I'm not blinded by it. Most likely it's going to come down between Mailtrust and 1&1 with their exchange-like packages. I've heard about the shadyness of 1&1 for a while now too. When it comes down to it, my selection will be based on: 1. Reliability 2. Price 3. iPhone support/features 4. Storage size 5. antispam effectiveness (had to resort to Postini, wouldn't mind dropping it and saving $40/mo) 6. customer support (a big plus would be walking me through the switch, it saves me from calling in tech support) Mailtrust vs. 1&1 $2.80 vs. $2.99 10 GB/50MB limit vs. 5 GB/? Limit + 2 GB storage. Good reputation vs. large but questionable IMAP to sync mail & folders vs ? (waiting to hear back) Not much else vs. document versions + smart link (saves alot of headaches) Now that I did that, the lower storage but collaboration features seem like the better choice for an additional $60/yr. The only thing holding me back is the reputation.

7 Nov 2008, 04:04 PM	#4
George_B Cornerstone of the Community Join Date: Jan 2008 Posts: 704 Representative of: PolarisMail.com	I might be wrong but I don't think the iPhone supports Exchange service. Most likely what you need is just IMAP service.

7 Nov 2008, 09:45 PM	#6
George_B Cornerstone of the Community Join Date: Jan 2008 Posts: 704 Representative of: PolarisMail.com	I stand corrected

4 Dec 2008, 02:05 AM	#10
Visiontron Junior Member Join Date: Nov 2008 Posts: 4	I ended up going with Mailtrust. I have nothing but rave reviews about their support team. I had to move 20 pop accounts over to imap and basically ran into issues with every account. Their support team has gone out of their way to help any way that they can. I've only been with them for about 2 weeks now and I'm glad I chose them.