Azaleos Launches Remotely Managed Exchange 2010 E-Mail Service

Azaleos Corporation, the managed messaging and collaboration services company, announced its managed Exchange 2010 service and expanded new monitoring services for EMC storage area networks (SAN), Microsoft Data Protection Manager (DPM), BlackBerry Enterprise Server 5.0 and the new Google Android 2.0 phones.

These new services assist with the end-to-end remote monitoring and management of the Exchange 2010 technology “stack” by Azaleos experts in two network operations centers (NOC), and deliver dial-tone levels of availability for business e-mail systems. As a member of the exclusive Microsoft Technology Adoption Program (TAP), Azaleos has been testing and running its internal messaging infrastructure on Exchange 2010 since the release of Beta 1 in early 2009.

Tailoring Exchange 2010 to Business Needs
Azaleos is offering four different Exchange 2010 storage configurations designed to decrease hardware costs and meet each organization’s unique business requirements. Depending on the configuration chosen and the type of infrastructure already in place, companies can reduce their deployment costs by up to 40% when migrating from Exchange 2007 to Exchange 2010, and even more when switching from Exchange 2003.

These four configurations are:

• Traditional: generally no additional capital outlay for Exchange 2007 customers; saves money by leveraging existing hardware investments in Storage Area Networks
• Next Gen: minimizes new hardware expenditures by utilizing the new Exchange 2010 optimizations for RAID-less SATA disks
• Server-in-a-Box: runs both Exchange and its associated storage on a single server to create a cost-effective option for smaller businesses
• Green Computing: This virtual-only option deploys Exchange 2010 as a guest image (using Hyper-V or VMware) on existing hardware with unused capacity

EMC Partnership Delivers
Deep Monitoring for Storage Area Network
To help maintain the performance and availability of Exchange 2010 infrastructures connected to EMC Storage Area Networks (SANs), Azaleos is working with the information storage leader to integrate its patented monitoring system, ViewX, with the EMC CLARiiON family of networked storage platforms. This integration provides Azaleos with deep visibility into the health and performance of the EMC SAN, and enables Azaleos NOC experts to monitor and trouble shoot problems before they can impact Exchange e-mail services.

“EMC has had a long, successful history supporting mission critical Exchange environments and we will continue to do so with Exchange 2010,” said Mike O’Neill, EMC’s Vice President Technology Alliances. “The new Azaleos monitoring and management service for the EMC CLARION platform ensures these systems are operating and properly configured 24×7 and delivers more value to our mutual customers.”

New Top to Bottom Monitoring Services
With the availability of its managed Exchange 2010 service, Azaleos is offering an expanded set of monitoring capabilities designed to span the full stack of infrastructure associated with Exchange e-mail systems.

The new Azaleos services cover:

• Microsoft Data Protection Manager – ensures complete Exchange 2010 backup and recovery is operating 24×7
• BlackBerry Enterprise Server 5.0 – provides turnkey monitoring and management of BES 5.0. Azaleos is preparing to release the SP1 version of BES 5.0 which will provide complete support for Exchange 2010 environments
• F5 Local Traffic Manager (LTM) appliances – help maintain the high availability of the Exchange Client Access Service (CAS), which was redesigned to be the central hub of Exchange 2010
• Google Android 2.0 Mobile Phones – with Android now supporting Exchange synchronization Azaleos can provide management oversight and monitor the sync process between Android phones and all versions of Exchange

“Exchange 2010 is a complex infrastructure that is extremely reliant on a smoothly operating storage system. Our integration with EMC gives us deeper visibility into their storage area network solutions, and enables Azaleos to provide even more holistic monitoring and management of Exchange,” said Scott Gode, vice president of product management and marketing for Azaleos. “Meanwhile, the addition of new services for Google Android, Data Protection Manager, F5 LTM and the BlackBerry Server 5.0 enables organizations to offload to Azaleos the day-to-day management of virtually every piece of the Exchange ecosystem puzzle.”

Full Suite of Exchange Services
Azaleos offers the most complete and reliable set of remotely managed services for Exchange messaging, SharePoint Server, and Office Communications Server. In addition to the new services announced today, Azaleos’ full complement of add-on services includes:

• Filtering Services, cloud-based anti-virus/anti-spam for Exchange server
• Archive Services, e-mail archiving and storage for Exchange server
• Continuity Services, e-mail business continuity and disaster recovery for Exchange server
• Managed Hybrid Services, mixture of on-premise and cloud-based Exchange email
• Active Directory Services, remote monitoring and management of Active Directory

Availability and Pricing
The Azaleos remotely managed Exchange 2010 service is available immediately. Pricing for full Exchange monitoring and management services starts at $12 per user/month. The EMC, Data Protection Manager, and BlackBerry Enterprise Server 5.0 monitoring services are available immediately and also support Exchange 2007 configurations.

No Cost Exchange 2010 Upgrade Program
Through Dec 31st, 2009, Azaleos is offering a special Exchange 2010 program. Under the program, customers can choose a free upgrade to Exchange 2010 including the installation and configuration of Exchange 2010 infrastructure, and the migration of e-mail boxes.