123Together BlackBerry Exchange Hosting
Editorial Rating
Overview:123Together is a Microsoft Certified Gold Partner and has over 9 years experience providing Microsoft Exchange Hosting to small and medium businesses. They offer shared and dedicated Exchange.Pros: With both shared and dedicated Exchange, 123Together is able to cater to more than just smaller businesses; in fact, with their dedicated Platinum plan, they can host companies of up to 500 people. The prices for their plans aren’t bad, either – about the middle range for most hosting companies. They offer tiered plans so that users can personalize their service. Users get free ActiveSync for their Windows PocketPC or Smartphone, a 30 day trial, immediate set-up, shared calendars, daily backups, and more. The Website asserts that they are rated #1 in Exchange hosting. You also get free VPN access. As well, 123Together is a Tier 4 datacenter. Storage is cheaper than some other companies – you pay $4.99 per 100 MB. Cons: You have to pay a small fee for anti-spam filtering beyond what’s included in Outlook. For the bigger plans, there is a maximum number of mailboxes that you can have. Detailed Provider Information:Version of BES: 123Together uses Microsoft Exchange 2003 and 2007.Plans and Pricing: Whatever the size of your company, 123Together has a plan for you. Their shared Exchange plans cater to smaller businesses, and have three different tiers so that users can personalize their services. The Professional 500 plan gives users 500 MB of storage, has a free spam filter, includes virus scanning, Microsoft Outlook 2000, 2002, 2003 or 2007, VPN access and unlimited public folders. You pay a monthly fee of $14.99 and a set-up fee of $14.99. The Power 1,000 account includes 1,000 MB of storage and everything that the Professional 500 plan includes. It costs $19.99 a month with a $19.99 set-up fee. The third plan, Executive 3000, gives you 3000 MB and everything that the Power 1,000 account holds. It costs $39.99 a month and has a set-up fee of $39.99. If you’re looking for dedicated Exchange services, 123Together also offers these. They offer four tiers based on how many users the company has. The Silver plan includes 25 user licenses and has a maximum of 150 mailboxes. You have 50 GB-60 GB of data space depending on what server you get (2003 or 2007) and 100% uptime guarantee. The set-up fee is $699 and the monthly fee is $699 for 2003 and fees are $849 and $849 for 2007. The Gold plan has 100 user licenses and a maximum of 500 mailboxes. You also get data and logs on separate drives. For 2003, you get 135 GB of space, but you pay set-up fees of $1299 and a monthly fee of the same price. For 2007, you get 200 GB of space and pay set-up fees of $1599 with monthly fees of the same price. The Diamond plan has 200 user licenses included and has a maximum number of 750 mailboxes. It also includes 280 GB of space for 2003 and 400 GB for 2007. Prices for Exchange 2003 are $2,499 set-up fee and $2,499 monthly fee. For 2007, set-up fees are $2,999 and the monthly fee is the same price. Lastly, the Platinum plan has 500 user licenses included and a maximum of 1500 mailboxes. It includes 270 GB for 2003 and 1,000 GB for 2007. Prices for 2003 are $5,999 set-up and $5,999 monthly fee. For 2007, you’ll pay $6,999 set-up and $6,999 monthly fees. If you are looking for a wireless solution, 123Together offers BlackBerry plans and Good Messaging plans if you have a hosted mailbox with them. If you want a BES, it will cost you $9.99 a month with a $39.99 set-up fee. For Good plans, the set-up fee is $19.99 and the monthly fee is the same price. Firewall Protection: 123Together is a Microsoft Gold Partner with all the network tools that the certification entails. As well, they provide links to secure software on their Website so that you can protect yourself even more. Anti-Spam and Virus Protection: 123Together offers a few free third-party anti-virus and spyware tools on their Website. These include Trend Micro and several spyware programs. However, they do offer anti-spam with their plans and you can choose to get more protection optionally added to your plan for $1.99 a month. Set-up Fee: Set-up fees of $39.99 for BlackBerry and $19.99 for Good Messaging servers are charged when you sign up for a wireless account. You pay set-up fees of $14.99-$39.99 for an Exchange mailbox, depending on the plan tier that you sign up for. As well, dedicated Exchange hosting has set-up fees of $699-$5,999. Other Devices Supported: 123Together supports BlackBerry, Treo, Pocket PC, Windows mobile handhelds and Smartphones, and all Good Messaging devices. Customer Service: 123Together provides 24/7 U.S.-based phone and email support for all their plans. Backup History Storage: 123Together gives you daily, weekly and monthly backups. They hold daily backups for 7 days; weekly backups for one month, and monthly backups for one year. This is all included in the plans. Uptime Guarantee: 123Together offers 99.9% uptime guarantee. Additional Services: The company offers email archiving and SharePoint services. Fee to Change BlackBerry for Current Customers: There is no charge for this service. |
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