18 June 2008

At NXTcomm08 Microsoft and Concentric announced new hosted e-mail service offerings for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

Concentric, a large-scale e-mail service provider, is to deploy Microsoft Hosted Exchange with the aim of combining the productivity benefits of Exchange Server 2007 and Microsoft Office Outlook with its enterprise-class applications hosting platform.

Concentric’s business customers will be able to add Hosted Exchange mailboxes to their Concentric account and easily manage all services and add-ons via a single online control panel, as well as have access to Concentric customer support and professional services.

The Hosted Exchange service is designed to enable productivity gains, platform reliability, security features, and support at affordable prices and with minimal startup costs. With Outlook Web Access also available, the solution fits closely with Concentric’s target market of online, mobile businesses. In addition, Concentric will gain access to e-mail via Windows Mobile-based devices using built-in Microsoft ActiveSync.

“Our long history of providing security-enhanced and reliable e-mail solutions enables us to deliver Microsoft’s industry-leading messaging and collaboration software on one of the most secure and reliable applications hosting platforms available today,” said Barbara Branaman, president at Concentric. “SMEs can now enjoy the same level of functionality that large enterprises have, with the added productivity gains from the robust collaboration tools in Hosted Exchange.”

The Concentric Hosted Exchange e-mail packages are available now.