It seems every week we have a new article about either a business or vendor trying to “kill” email. Simply put, email isn’t going anywhere, anytime soon. Yes, it will evolve, e.g., SaaS and mobile, but the intent of email remains the same, which is providing users with a tool for continuous conversation, file sharing and supplying a single pane of glass for multiple conversations.
In this four-part series, we will briefly discuss four key considerations when selecting a new email solution. These considerations are pulled from an Osterman Research whitepaper, What You Should Consider When Planning Your Next Messaging and Collaboration System, sponsored by Zimbra.
Deployment Options
While the cloud is an attractive deployment model, it shouldn’t be your default option because of costs, see the TCO blog on that. Two key determining factors in what deployment model you adopt are your existing infrastructure and the long-term infrastructure plans and requirements. This should include an understanding for the need to support existing legacy systems.
Some questions you may want to ask:
- What systems will remain on premises?
- Are you comfortable moving your user directory to a cloud-based alternative?
- Will you migrate to a cloud CRM that offers improved functionality and makes management easier?
It should be noted, there is no “right” answer for which deployment model(s) you adopt. It is possible you could determine there is a need for a hybrid model that maintains certain elements on premises and puts the rest into a private or public cloud. The need for data privacy, whether for industry compliance or national legal requirements, will help guide you here. Some countries have exercised and continue to exercise sovereignty over data located within their national jurisdiction, which may affect if a cloud option is even possible. And as previously mentioned, the future infrastructure considerations are important, but other factors like workforce location, company size, internal expertise, needs for high availability and disaster recovery can influence what model(s) will work best.
Aside from price, likely the most important thing to remember is the need for flexibility. If deployments are to be successful, organizations need confidence that the selected solution can meet their current and future needs. This requires a solution that can be run in many manners and environments without difficult migrations or software changes. This myriad of considerations is why Zimbra Collaboration provides customers and partners with the ability to select the deployment option that meets their needs, and makes sure they can grow and adapt as their company changes.
Download the entire Osterman Research whitepaper for more expert advice on the considerations that go into the selection of your new email solution. Be sure to stay tuned for the next blog in the series. We will discuss user experience.
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