“Not today!” you exclaim as your email goes down right in the middle of sending your bid to a big developer. You see profits disappearing into cyberspace while productivity in the office grinds to a halt.

Fortunately, a call to your trusted IT support person, your nephew, will get the email fixed. You are lucky to have someone like that. Or, are you?

The profits and productivity lost from using a POP3 or IMAP4 email connection could be substantial when you add up the $75 per hour you pay your nephew and the opportunities and productivity lost to down time.

The better alternative to POP email is hosted Microsoft Exchange. The cost is minimal, $10-$12 per user, per month. It works great with Timberline Office and even better with Outlook. The combination of Outlook and Exchange lets you: 

• Securely access email remotely – via the Web or mobile device
• Manage and access your contact information anytime
• View and manage one calendar that is always synced from any computer or smartphone
• Share documents, your calendar and contacts with team members
• Relax knowing your data is secure, backed-up, and available with guaranteed uptime

Here’s what a growing design-build firm said about moving their email to hosted Exchange:

“The email is fabulous! I didn’t have any idea what we were giving up using our POP server, but the difference is night and day, especially when you’ve got smart phones.”

So, ask about moving your email to Exchange and your Timberline applications to TimberCloud. Then, say goodbye to email emergencies with their lost opportunities and productivity slowdowns. And, say goodbye to your nephew until the next family reunion. He’ll find a better job.

Do you have any concerns about hosted Exchange for email? Please share them with us.

For more information about this and other topics discussed in this forum please contact Kent Sorensen or visit Ledgerwood Associates online.

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