Today's businesses rely on their email and scheduling solutions to be accessible from anywhere. While there are numerous solutions currently on the market that can offer baseline capabilities for communication, calendars and online portals, not all of these platforms can meet the needs of every business.
One powerful provider of enterprise-level solutions is Microsoft – a name that everyone in technology knows. Today, we'll take an in-depth look at two of their top solutions, Exchange and SharePoint, analyzing their most important features. How do companies benefit from their usage, particularly when hosted by an industry-leading provider?
Microsoft Exchange: What capabilities and advantages does it offer?
Microsoft Exchange, a platform providing scheduling and mail server capabilities, is a customizable system that can be accessed from any mobile device. The solution includes email, calendars and contact lists, as well as features for productivity and security.
This platform enables users to create as many email addresses as they need, and includes a considerable amount of disk space per mailbox to help prevent users from having to delete important messages. Users can also share and collaborate with the ability to send files up to 1GB through email.
In addition, the calendars and contacts sections enable the creation of both shared contact lists and calendars, ensuring that everyone in the organization stays on the same page. Its task management feature can help streamline activities with the creation, assignment and delegation of specific tasks through the platform.
Microsoft noted that users are able to adjust the solution so that it specifically aligns with the needs of the organization. The system can be deployed on-premises, in the cloud or in a hybrid environment. Some helpful features include a web-based admin center, role-based access controls and archiving.
Exchange also includes built-in security measures, such as protection against viruses, spam, phishing attacks and other malicious activities. In addition, data loss prevention capabilities help keep an eye on particularly sensitive data, informing key stakeholders of any policy violations before they take place.
Overall, this solution provides a number of the key functions a business needs to support its brand and remain productive. Valuable features including email, calendars, contact lists, access controls and the ability to delegate specific tasks make this platform an excellent tool in nearly any industry.
Windows SharePoint: What features and benefits are included?
Another beneficial solution is Microsoft SharePoint, which enables the creation of websites or online portals while also facilitating collaboration among varying stakeholders. SharePoint Services 3.0 allows users to completely customize their online portal in order to establish a secure platform for an array of purposes.
SharePoint comes with discussion boards to reduce long, difficult-to-follow email chains, as well as the ability to create custom spaces for each department within the business. In addition, the solution also has document versioning and check-in/check-out features that allow all changes to the platform to be made in a single place, keeping everyone on the same page.
"While these platforms are valuable on their own, they're even more beneficial when hosted by a leading provider like Hostway."
SharePoint can also boost efficiency within an organization by providing a single location for large files. As opposed to sharing these via email – which can consume considerable bandwidth – employees can simply access these important items via the SharePoint platform.
This solution also includes security features, including access levels, permissions and privileges.
The Hostway difference
While these platforms are valuable on their own, they're even more beneficial when hosted by a leading provider like Hostway. A hosted solution shifts much of the responsibilities – including maintenance and upkeep – onto the provider, allowing the business's internal IT team to focus on other mission-critical initiatives. This is particularly helpful for smaller enterprises that may not have a dedicated IT team.
Hostway also provides a secure, reliable infrastructure from which these platforms are hosted. Our 99.99 percent uptime guarantee ensures that the business will always have access to the critical materials and platforms provided by Exchange and SharePoint.
To find out more about how your business can benefit from a hosted Exchange or SharePoint solution, contact Hostway today.
Startups in every industry have their work cut out for them. In recent years, this community has had greater access to cost-effective technological solutions. Still, the vast majority of startups fail.
Working against the odds
According to Forbes contributor Neil Patel, nine out of every 10 startups fail. Several factors can contribute to these failures, according to CB Insights:
Tackling these pain points to better position your startup to succeed can hinge on managed hosting.
"Nine out of every 10 startups fail."
Increased adoption
Managed hosting, in which a company leases dedicated IT equipment and resources, has become increasingly popular in recent years, a trend projected to continue. According to a January 2015 Markets and Markets report, the managed services market will likely experience considerable expansion through 2019 thanks to boosted adoption across a range of industries, including the startup sector.
"Organizations of all sizes are showing an increased interest in outsourcing their expensive in-house IT-related infrastructure to third party managed service providers to attain better efficiency from these resources as well as to use their costly IT personnel for more creative tasks, such as forming new policies and to smoothen out their current processes," the report stated.
Why do startups need managed hosting?
There are several advantages that startups can reap from managed hosting, including more cost-effective access to high-performance IT equipment. Because it is a leased service, a startup avoids the high cost of investing in on-premises top-notch servers and hardware components. Instead, the company can rent these from its service provider, reserving its limited capital for other purposes.
Managed hosting also offers savings when it comes to internal IT and overall maintenance. Many startups, limited by available resources, can't afford to have a team of IT workers to update equipment – some groups may have a single individual taking care of these responsibilities, or count on an employee to take on these tasks in addition to other duties. Outsourcing this to an expert team ensures hardware is properly maintained at all times. Not only does this save considerable time and money, but it also enables workers to focus on other mission-critical aspects of the company.
This style of hosting can also be a boon when it comes to security and compliance. The expert management it provides better ensures that critical, sensitive resources are maintained in a protected environment. In addition, some vendors like Hostway take extra steps to guarantee compliance with industry regulations like the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard.
Managed hosting is also inherently reliable, ensuring that the startup is never without access to its important applications or customer portals. In this way, the company can provide the best possible service to its clients while having the peace of mind that its critical infrastructure will always be available.
In addition, managed hosting offers scalable, secure resources that can grow alongside the business. Because equipment can be dedicated to a single client, the environment is more protected. Since managed hosting providers inherently operate at scale, resources are readily available for expansion. In this way, the managed hosting provider can support the organization's demands and requirements at every stage in its lifecycle.
Overall, managed hosting offers a range of advantages for startups, many of which directly address the top reasons for failure in the industry.
To find out more about managed hosting can be considerably beneficial for startups, contact Hostway today.
E-commerce is about more than offering products and services. The marketplace is more competitive than ever, with online companies and brick-and-mortar brands boosting their e-commerce capabilities every day. Now, these businesses must focus not only on increasing profits and carving out a niche, but also on making an impression on their customers.
But how can brands drive revenue and connect with their client base? There are a few key strategies:
Bring user experience and customer service to the forefront
With so many technological systems at their disposal, e-commerce companies need to ensure that user experience is not an afterthought. When establishing or updating the website, business leaders should consider the possible pain points users might have when utilizing the platform, and address these to offer the best user experience possible.
The same idea can be applied to customer service. Nowadays, businesses have an array of available channels to leverage. Offering consumers several contact options helps ensure they use the channel that best suits their needs. In addition, this strategy can go a long way toward guaranteeing a positive user experience.
"It is expected that online stores will place greater focus on providing excellent customer service to distinguish themselves from the rest," TechCocktail noted. "There is a need to create a smooth shopping experience to prevent customers from going to a competing online store as they enjoy better experiences."
Always open: Can your services keep up?
A robust online presence doesn't just mean that customers can locate your online platform anytime. They must also be able to make purchases and arrange for services at all hours. This "always open" strategy is a main reason clients interact with e-commerce brands over brick-and-mortar facilities. However, Shipwire contributor Nate Gilmore pointed out that the company's service must be able to keep up. This includes the overall supply chain, fulfillment centers and customer service capabilities. Even the United States Postal Service makes deliveries on Sunday - your brand should be able to respond to customers' needs just as quickly and efficiently.
In order to effectively fulfill these needs, a brand's available channels must be unified to allow consumers to interact with different channels during their purchase journey. This is particularly key now that services like buy online, pick up in store are becoming increasingly popular.
"Retailers are evolving the in-store experience so that you can browse online and use the store as your personal pick-up center," Gilmore wrote. "[It] all comes down to being faster, cheaper and more convenient."
Mobile is a must
For years, experts have been harping on the importance of a robust mobile presence, ensuring that consumers are able to use any device they please to connect with a brand. Now that the mobile platform has considerably developed, having mobile capabilities is now an absolute must.
"For online sellers, the need to serve the needs of those who do their shopping on the mobile platform will no longer be just an option," according to TechCocktail. "As more and more people rely on their mobile devices to do various things. it will be illogical not to optimize shopping experiences for mobile users."
TechCocktail noted that those that refuse to optimize will likely fall behind their competitors.
Overall, these strategies will not only serve to improve the customer experience, but can help boost the brand and its revenues.
Years ago, the only way to pay for goods was with cash, check or credit. Consumers had to travel to stores with payment in hand and pick up their items. With e-commerce, all this has changed.
Nowadays, all you need to complete a transaction is a click of a button and a few key pieces of information. Digital payments enable shoppers to sidestep purchasing forms while paying for their goods.
There are many options when it comes to digital payments. Let's take a look at a few of the top payment options accepted by e-commerce companies today, and how these payment avenues can benefit your business.
What are today's top payment options?
What technologies enable today's shoppers to purchase items from their favorite brands without a credit or debit card, and how do they work?
Digital payment platforms save a consumer's payment information for later use. PayPal largely blazed the trail for these services.
Small Business Trends contributor Joshua Sophy pointed out that PayPal has become an industry standard for digital payments. The platform is integrated with a retailer's online store and directs shoppers to a PayPal checkout page, where consumers can log in to their PayPal account and use a saved debit or credit card, money order, or other forms of payment to purchase goods. According to Search Engine Journal, more than 137 million shoppers have PayPal accounts, which they utilize in 193 markets across 26 different countries.
Another popular digital payment option is Google Wallet, which works similarly to PayPal. Google Wallet enables shoppers to utilize their stored account information to pay for items. Google also announced that they are creating a physical card for consumers to use at physical store locations.
Apple also created its own payment platform, Apple Pay, which is integrated into users' Apple devices, enabling them to purchase apps, music and more from Apple's store. This payment option is becoming more popular in e-commerce, and comes with the added benefit of a fingerprint scan to confirm payments, noted About Payments.
"There are a range of advantages for businesses that accept digital payments, including a better, easier shopping experience for customers."
What are the benefits of accepting digital payments?
Digital payments can create a better, easier shopping experience. Consumers no longer have to fill out lengthy forms for every transaction. With digital payment platforms like Google Wallet and Apple Pay, users are able to create accounts and save their payment information. Even when a person's debit card isn't accessible, they can still use their digital account to pay.
These systems also boost security for both users and retailers. Having shoppers log in to their digital wallet accounts adds an extra layer of protection, making it much harder for a cybercriminal to intercept or otherwise disrupt the payment. Apple has upped the ante here with the fingerprint scan, implementing an additional safeguard that makes it nearly impossible for a third-party breach to occur.
Digital payments also help support an increasingly mobile world. Today's shoppers are increasingly leveraging their smartphones, tablets and laptops to browse and make purchases. Being able to utilize a payment portal that is supported on these devices streamlines the transaction process.
Overall, accepting digital payments is about providing choices and enabling customers to pay for goods in a way that best suits their needs. Many consumers are beginning to appreciate the ease that comes with digital payments as opposed to repeatedly entering their credit or debit information. Supporting these technologies can help a company maintain a favorable position in the marketplace as they seek to address customer pain points related to paying for goods and provide for shoppers' needs.
Join Hostway at the second annual Meet Magento NY, a community conference that will take place on September 21 and 22nd at the state-of-the-art Digital Conference Center in Downtown Manhattan.
This event, produced by interactiv4, will feature two learning tracks that will focus on the latest in technology and business.
The keynote presentation, "Weaponizing Retail: Building Great Companies and Brands in a Technology World," will come from Bob Schwartz, CEO of 47B.
Learn more at the event website.
Join Hostway and our partners Indaba, Clustrix, Avalara, and others on September 16 in San Jose, California, to learn how you can improve the online shopping experience and drive more sales this holiday season.
For online retailers, no time is like the holidays. Massive profits are there to be had, but the substantial increase in traffic can cripple an online presence. Can your site handle massive spikes in traffic? Can your customers use mobile devices on your site? Will their personal data is safe within our system?
Attend this free event on September 16 at 5:30 pm at The Garage at San Pedro Square Market in San Jose for tips on navigating and finding answers to these important questions and more. Register here.
This interactive panel brings together six e-commerce partners to cover everything from database preparation and site-side improvements to streamlined shopping carts and marketing optimizations.
Attending for Hostway is Strategic Partnership Manager Ken Carter. He has over 10 years of channel experience and is responsible for driving our Magento-focused e-commerce strategy.
Learn about:
Don't miss this valuable learning opportunity.
Companies of all sizes benefit from application hosting. Removing the complications of on-site equipment and infrastructure management is attractive to even large enterprises with robust IT teams. However, the sector helped most by this approach is small businesses.
Small businesses tend to have one common hurdle to overcome as they grow and develop: the lack of support resources. When it comes to application hosting, many small businesses need an easy solution to help them with time-consuming tasks such as patching software or upgrading hardware.
The needs of small businesses don't stop there, and neither do the benefits of application hosting.
The software-as-a-service industry has grown considerably in recent years, particularly as business managers become more comfortable with cloud technologies. Now, SaaS companies have a full range of offerings, including a variety of popular applications that can be hosted in the vendor's data centers. This means small business administrators don't have to look far to find the hosted application services they need.
When comparing IT resources, small businesses typically have a long way to go before they catch up with larger enterprise that have larger IT budgets and can devote more time and effort to their technology. However, smaller companies don't have to stay in the dark ages.
Application hosting removes the worry of building out an IT department. Because the service provider makes the required applications accessible via its own infrastructure, users are able to utilize these resources in the same manner as a large enterprise.
"[B]ecause many small businesses don't have an on-site IT team, web hosting services provide technical support that can help get a site up and running should any problems occur," BusinessNewsDaily contributor Chad Brooks pointed out.
In this way, the small business has a partner in place to assist with the establishment of services, as well as resources to fall back on should any problems or concerns arise.
Service providers can also ensure that small businesses have the proper security protocols in place. Data protection is often a main concern for this industry, as many smaller organizations don't have the robust safeguarding resources needed. This is where a partnership with a SaaS vendor can become valuable. Instead of scurrying to guard against the latest threat, small business owners can rest easy knowing their sensitive data is protected by the service provider.
Establishing and hosting the infrastructure required for today's business processes is an expensive endeavor. This makes managed application hosting even more attractive for smaller companies that may not have the capital needed for such an undertaking. SaaS can help a small company save considerable time and resources, enabling administrators to devote this money and effort to other important areas of the organization.
Overall, managed application hosting is often the most beneficial for small businesses with less IT resources as it allows administrators to focus on mission-critical projects and initiatives while still ensuring that application needs are met. This approach not only helps fill resource gaps and save funds, it can also boost operational efficiency and guarantee that employees have all the tools they need to complete important tasks. In today's business environment, the ability to arm staff with robust, affordable technologies is paramount.
With a managed hosting partner like Hostway by its side, a small business can devote its attention to growing itself without having to worry about maintaining or managing its application infrastructure. To find out more, contact Hostway today.
These days, e-commerce companies have more than a few options at their fingertips when it comes to supporting their websites and online presence. One of these solutions is Magento, an industry-leading e-commerce software that has become increasingly popular in recent years. With the release of Magento 2 just around the corner, with merchant availability scheduled for November, now is the time to examine Magento and what it can offer your organization.
While there are numerous capabilities and benefits provided by the Magento platform, today we'll focus on the top three things you should know about this all-encompassing e-commerce solution.
1) More retailers use Magento than any other platform
We weren't kidding when we said Magento has become popular. Magento has held the top spot in e-commerce software for a number of years now, and currently, 1 in 4 online businesses utilizes Magento to support its brand. This translates to over 240,000 retailers across the globe that leverage the platform for their e-commerce needs. Thanks to Magento, these businesses rake in a combined $25 billion or more in online transactions every year.
"Over 240,000 retailers across the globe leverage Magento."
With the next version of the solution, Magento 2, set to be released by year's end, it's safe to say the platform's popularity won't wane anytime soon.
2) Magento makes PCI compliance easy
One consideration for every retailer is conforming to the guidelines set by the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard, which helps ensure that the payment information and personal customer details remain protected. PCI compliance can be complicated, and any strategy to streamline it is helpful.
Magento has special capabilities built in to help ensure merchants' PCI compliance. This includes the Magento Secure Payment Bridge, a PA-DSS certified feature that comes with a subscription to the Magento Enterprise edition.
"Magento makes PCI compliance easier by separating the Magento Secure Payment Bridge application from our eCommerce platform," Magento states on its website. "This enables updates to the core Magento eCommerce application with new marketing, merchandising and content management capabilities, without having to go through PCI compliance reassessment of the entire Magento eCommerce platform."
To ensure full PCI compliance, Magento must be installed in a secure environment that meets 12 requirements.
With its specialized capabilities and features, businesses utilizing Magento can work to achieve PCI compliance in a way that won't disrupt transaction processes or interfere with the brand's goals.
3) Keeping customers in the loop
Magento is also ideal for maintaining interactions with clients in order to keep the brand top of mind. Website Magazine contributor Danial Wright pointed out that the solution's unique Product Alert Notification feature ensures that customers never miss a beat when it comes to the newest available items. Alerts can be sent to notify customers about new products that align with shoppers' recent interests, providing a customized experience. These notifications also provide an easy path to the featured product page on the brand's website, ensuring consumers can easily find what they're looking for and complete their purchase.
Magento can make the difference when it comes to a brand's e-commerce capabilities and online presence. To find out more about how Magento can benefit your company, contact Hostway today.
For months now, retailers have been anxiously awaiting the second iteration of the world's most popular e-commerce platform, Magento. The first Magento has been a smashing success, with its Community Edition capturing more than 25 percent of the market. Overall, nearly 30 percent of all e-commerce retailers utilize either Magento Community or Magento Enterprise, according to research from aheadWorks released in May 2015.
In mid-July, the Magento team made a very exciting announcement: It had released the Merchant Beta version of its Magento 2 platform, representing the final stop on the road to general availability, slated for the fourth quarter of this year.
Right now, a specially selected group of merchants and Magento partners are testing out the Merchant Beta version, a good indication of what's to come with the full version of Magento 2.
"Magento noted that this pre-release will offer a sneak peek of what retailers can expect when the solution is fully available."
Merchant Beta: What can retailers expect with Magento 2?
In a blog post announcing Merchant Beta, the Magento team noted that this pre-release will offer a sneak peek of what retailers can expect when the solution is fully available. Magento noted that Merchant Beta "will be fairly close in look, feel and function to the GA product." In addition, it pointed out that the purpose of the Beta version is to enable certain vendors to test the platform in real-world conditions "to fully vet the software before general availability later in the year."
Those currently testing the Merchant Beta platform have been asked to leverage the system in actual working conditions, deploying new websites and upgrading existing ones. Magento noted that it recruited a wide range of retailers to ensure diversity during the testing process.
"We have signed up a variety of merchants across multiple industries and regions, and of various sizes and complexity, to ensure we are testing across [a] varied set of use cases," Magento stated. "We're deeply committed to ensuring that our merchants have the best platform possible at GA and that our robust partner ecosystem is prepared to help merchants through the upgrade process."
The retailers with access to Magento 2 Merchant Beta aren't working alone – Magento's team of expert consultants, support agents, system integrators and technology partners have been involved with businesses' Beta projects as well.
What's new in Magento 2 Merchant Beta?
Because Magento has noted that the similarity of its Merchant Beta to the full Magento 2 release, many are studying the Beta version's new features and capabilities. According to Magento and Amasty contributor Ksenia Dobreva, the Merchant Beta version comes equipped with a number of upgrades:
Overall, these updates and enhancements promise to provide a platform with considerably improved performance, on both the merchant and client sides.
Worth the wait: Preparing for general availability
While the magnifying glass is currently on retailers testing out the Merchant Beta version, Magento hasn't left other vendors out in the cold. The team has a number of assets – including its white paper on the new Data Migration Tool – and training sessions available for enterprises in order to prepare them for the launch of Magento 2.
"As we complete the final vetting of the platform, we encourage developers and partners to start taking advantage of the resources and tools that we have made available to prepare for general availability of Magento 2 later this year," Magento stated on its blog.
In addition, it's also helpful to have an expert Magento hosting partner by your side. Hostway ensures that Magento operates at its best, and also provides hundreds of extensions and resources to boost your site's performance and features.
To find out more, contact Hostway today.