Shifting e-mail infrastructure to the cloud when it is time to refresh servers and licences could save firms as much as 70% of the cost of the replacement cycle.
Jeff Fletcher, co-founder of independent networking services company three6five, says it is possible to save as much as 70% of the cost of e-mail infrastructure by shifting to the cloud, based on a recent implementation.
Fletcher explains that savings will be company- and need-specific, but will aid operational and capital expenses if an entity is at refresh stage. "In most cases, I think the numbers are going to stack up in your favour, especially if it is time to refresh."
Working on a three- to five-year refresh cycle, around a quarter of companies will find that they need to replace equipment every year, says Fletcher. He says this is when they need to consider whether to invest in new infrastructure, or move to the cloud.
The company recently had a customer that was coming to end-of-life for its e-mail infrastructure, says Fletcher. The entity, which had about 200 staff, of which around 50 were based outside SA, needed to replace servers and server software.
The client company, which Fletcher did not name, needed e-mail functionality, but did not want the hassle of dealing with hardware, he says. The company required four servers as well as a storage area network and Microsoft licences.
Three6five calculated that the cost of the infrastructure and software - including capital expenditure, depreciation, backup and training - would come to around R160 a person each month, says Fletcher.
However, if the entire system was moved to the cloud and Google applications replaced the e-mail software, this cost came down to around R60 a person a month, including the increase in bandwidth needed, says Fletcher.
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