November 29, 2005 (HOSTSEARCH.COM) In a move that highlights a strategy to build relationships with telecommunications and hosting service providers to deliver services to businesses, Microsoft Corporation has announced enhancements to version 3.5 of its Microsoft Solution for Hosted Messaging and Collaboration, a hosted solution that enables service providers to offer a range of services including enterprise-class email and mobile device data access to small and midsize businesses (SMBs).
Version 3.5 of Microsofts solution incorporates mobile synchronization capabilities and security enhancements alongside new tools that reduce management time and improve hosting providers ability to acquire new customers. The new version of the solution offers SMBs business-class communication tools with minimal upfront costs thus helping reduce the need for internal IT resources - particularly attractive to companies that might find running email and document-sharing servers difficult to manage due to issues such as spam, virus prevention, storage, archiving and compliance requirements, and would prefer a solution driven through their hosting provider.
More and more small and midsize businesses require advanced enterprise-class features once reserved only for corporations with extensive IT budgets. The latest release of Hosted Messaging and Collaboration addresses that issue with unprecedented new features for these organizations, said Pascal Martin, general manager of Worldwide Hosting at Microsoft. Hosting providers are clamoring for ways to meet the demands of their customers while keeping a tight rein on costs. By providing a consistent platform, we give our hosting partners the tools to upgrade to the latest software and thereby differentiate their offerings with minimal effort and cost.