These accounts are more than large email accounts, they include shared calendars, contacts, and possibly an Intranet and/or shared document space. They are also tightly integrated with Microsoft Outlook (PC) / Entourage (Mac) Email Clients.
They used to also require running a server, though now you can get ‘Hosted Exchange’ services where you don’t have to. Exchange now also includes a webmail experience which is very much like having Microsoft Outlook in your web browser.
If you haven’t already got an email setup for your organisation then you are best looking at IMAP4 or POP3 Accounts as they do most of what you need already – Exchange Accounts tend to be charged per account per month whereas IMAP accounts are usually in bundles, or with ourselves unlimited 400Mb accounts.
Who needs them?
We find that clients requiring this level of Email/Account tends to be best suited to organisations of at least 5 people who need to work together tightly and have rapidly changing calendars and other integration needs. We would also recommend using Microsoft Outlook and Entourage for your email program, to some level of skill, though there are other programs which work.
There are also some free alternatives, for example Google Calendar Sync allows you to merge calendars online with other users (all our web clients use Google accounts) and indeed the webmail allows allows a simpler calendar sync option. So you can get quite a few of the benefits without needing to spend anymore.
