Peer to Peer Magazine

54 PEER TO PEER: THE QUARTERLY MAGAZINE OF ILTA | SPRING 2017 FEATURES Here or There: Exchange On-Premises Versus Exchange Online Although you have an SLA with the company, you still might not feel as highly prioritized as you'd like. Outlook in online mode works with Exchange Online but is oen challenging due to complete dependence on internet connectivity to the mailbox. This is in contrast to an on-premises model, where Outlook in online mode connectivity occurs to an Exchange server on a firm's corporate network. Cost of the Cloud Not least among law firms' concerns for the cloud is cost. It is hard to say which option will be more cost-effective for you. While Exchange Online is considered the less expensive option, it depends on your firm's size, upgrade cycles and the level of services you get. There will not be a big one-time expense such as with Exchange on-premises upgrades, but firms that go longer between upgrading could find that their expenses are higher since cloud services represent a recurring cost. That being said, it is not an entirely equal comparison since, with Exchange Online, new features and functionality are released continuously, and that represents a value that cannot be quantified easily. Maintenance costs are another factor to consider. Overall, Office 365 requires less IT oversight, making it appropriate for smaller firms that don't have a full IT department. Picking a licensing plan will depend on which features you want. Optional components include Office 365 desktop Office licensing, single sign-on, voicemail and more. Licensing can be confusing. It is important to monitor the timing and be careful not to pay for duplicate features. For example, Office 365 Plans E1, E3 and E5 include on-premises Exchange Standard Client Access License equivalent use rights while E3 and E5 also provide Exchange Enterprise Client Access License equivalent use rights (Exchange server licenses are still required unless a firm purchases specific bundles). Exchanging One for the Other The cloud model can be cheaper for some firms. The licensing is flexible, though confusing. It's more resilient, with higher uptime, and always has current security patches applied. Your data in Exchange Online, however, are not fully managed by you. Your uptime will be reliant on your internet connectivity, and you will have no control over upgrades and fewer customization options. Compared to a few years ago, there are fewer technical barriers in the way of adopting a model like Exchange Online. Many firms are choosing a hybrid environment with some combination of an on-premises and cloud implementation to allow for an easier transition to the cloud now or in the future or, potentially, as a permanent solution to allow dynamic moving of data between environments. If your firm does not have concerns regarding geographic locality, complete data sovereignty, blind subpoenas, etc., hybrid coexistence or a complete migration to Exchange Online could make the most sense as the next step for your messaging environment. If some or all of these things are concerning, a firm should consider whether hybrid coexistence or a full on-premises deployment is the right solution. P2P LICENSING PLANS MONTHLY PRICE PER USER $4.00 Exchange Online Plan 1 Similar to on-premises Standard CAL $8.00 Exchange Online Plan 2 Similar to on-premises Enterprise CAL $8.00 Office 365 E1 Similar to EO Plan 1 plus other O365 services $20.00 Office 365 E3 Similar to EO Plan 2 plus other O365 services AND desktop Office $35.00 Office 365 E5 E3 plus Equivio, ATP, Power BI, Delve, PSTN conferencing, Cloud PBX and optional PSTN calling

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