Adding Google Hosted Mail to Exchange

Upon initial read of Cemaphore Systems announcement of their beta release of MailShadowG (MailShadow For Google Apps) I kept scratching my head and wondering what! After further thought and some lively discussions with my colleagues I think I actually see some real value in the MailShadowG product.

To understand where the value is, one needs to grasp what is being offered through the MailShadowG product….

With the MailShadowG product Google hosted email can be used as the backup solution for an Exchange environment. Using Outlook as the replication repository, MailShadowsG will sync / replicate the Exchange data to Google hosted mail services. In effect one can continue to use Exchange as their mail server solution while creating a backup solution via the use of Google hosted email.

Obviously the first thing an Exchange based organization can realize through the MailShadowG product is substantial savings in the a replicated email environment. Google hosted email is substantially cheaper than building a redundant Exchange environment.

While we at OMBNexGen don’t understand why organizations are not abandoning Exchange completely for Google hosted email, there are times when we appreciate the various legacy reasons preventing an organization from switching from Exchange to Google hosted email. MailShadowG offers a unique opportunity to provide a hybrid Exchange and Google hosted email solution.

Currently Cemaphore Systems is offering the MailShadowG product in a limited beta testing solution. Rumor has it that upon announcement of the beta product, the number of signees overwhelmed Cemaphore Systems initial beta testing slots. This is good news in terms of the “noise” and interest there clearly is for moving from an Exchange environment to Google hosted email.

MailShadowG can ease the anxiety of moving off Exchange and to Google hosted mail by effectively weaning organizations off of Exchange. In the meantime as a hybrid solution with Google hosted email serving as the backup / redundancy solution for an Exchange environment, there is a perfect opportunity to experience substantial cost savings.

We will continue to monitor the news around Cemaphore Systems MailShadowG product and hopefully get to report on the results of those lucky few who are made it into the beta program.