- How is Managed Exchange premium email different to the basic POP email accounts included with my hosting plan?
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Managed Exchange is WebCentral’s premium email service which can be used in place of the POP mailboxes included with your hosting plan. It is a business-grade service that provides anti-virus, anti-spam, back-ups and flexible access options, including support for mobile devices.
Some of the key differences between POP3 email and Managed Exchange are as follows:
- Virus and Spam Management: Managed Exchange incorporates comprehensive virus management which scans each email four times against the latest virus databases whether it is in the Inbox, in Sent Items or filed in a storage folder. This helps to ensure that your staff computers better protected against virus-led 'downtime', and can also help save you time and money as we are responsible for the purchasing, installing and managing of the anti-virus software on your behalf. Managed Exchange also includes spam filtering capabilities.
- Email Backup: The risk of losing your email records (eg. through PC or laptop corruption) is greater with a POP3 mailbox because emails get downloaded over the internet from a service provider's mail server to your PC or laptop - and copies generally do not remain on the server. Managed Exchange on the other hand stores your email, as well as your valuable contact lists and calendar schedules, on the secure Exchange servers at WebCentral. This means that if you are a Managed Exchange user and your PC or laptop is corrupted, your valuable information should be effectively backed up at WebCentral and can be immediately accessed through any computer with an internet connection and web browser.
- Easier and Better Access: Trying to access POP3 mailboxes from multiple locations to send and receive email can be a complex task, which is generally more time-consuming than most busy working people can afford. Managed Exchange eliminates this difficulty in two ways:
1. Multiple access points - including your work PC or laptop, your home PC or any PC or laptop with an internet connection; and
2. Synchronisation - however you access your mailbox, the information is continually updated back at the WebCentral exchange server. This means that people can work while out of the office and easily access their email, contacts and calendars by simply going to a web site and entering their mailbox username and password. Users can also be assured that any changes made through the Outlook Web Access (OWA) interface (eg. emails sent, contacts added or updated and calendar items moved around) will appear when they next use their mailbox through their PC or laptop in the office.
Click here to learn more about the differences between POP and Managed Exchange, and the benefits that Managed Exchange can deliver to your business.
- How can Managed Exchange help my business?
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Managed Exchange can help your business in three key ways:
1. It converts Microsoft Outlook from an email communication device into a critical work tool that staff use to:
- Better access to critical and frequently used information (eg. client and supplier contact details);
- Coordinate their daily schedules through personal calendar tools;
- Work with other staff to arrange and prepare for meetings using the 'Meeting Planner' function; and
- Book or reserve popular shared company resources (eg. meeting rooms, data projectors, cars etc)
2. Staff can access their email and Outlook work tools (mentioned above) through a number of web-enabled devices such as: Desktop PCs, laptops, PDAs with GPRS, WAP mobile phones with GPRS, BlackBerry mobile devices with GPRS, and internet kiosks. Data (eg. email inbox, sent items, calendar items, contact records, etc.) is constantly synchronised and updated, so no matter how staff access their work tools, they always have the most up-to-date information when online.
3. It helps staff be more organised and get more out of their day. By using Public Folders (ie. 'shared' calendars, contact lists and email stores of information), staff can better plan and access vital work information. Outlook work tools allow staff to:
- Set tasks - an electronic 'to do' list;
- 'Flag' emails for follow-up attention;
- Review colleagues' availability for meetings;
- Send, receive, accept and/or decline meeting invitations; and
- Access shared contact lists of important groups such as clients and suppliers to ensure everyone has up-to-date details.
- Who should use Managed Exchange?
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Managed Exchange is ideal for any business whose staff:
- need to work together using frequently shared information;
- have to make the most of their time;
- need to have flexible access to critical work tools such as email, contacts and calendar when they cannot make it into the office.
The power of Managed Exchange has been available to large companies with substantial budgets for some time now, by purchasing Microsoft's full Exchange solution. However, through more than two years of research and development (working closely with Microsoft), WebCentral has made this product available to all businesses.
This is a significant win for small and medium-sized businesses who want to take full advantage of this powerful business tool, without having to make the significant investments and commitments required to run a full Microsoft Exchange system inhouse.
- We have our own server - can we run Managed Exchange on that?
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No, Managed Exchange's power and benefits exist because the software and servers are located in WebCentral's data centre. WebCentral's Managed Exchange reduces the capital expense, ongoing maintenance, upgrading, security and technical support hassles of running an in-house Microsoft Exchange server.
Your existing server could be redeployed into your business as a network or file server.
- Do we have to sign up for a certain time period (eg. 12 months)?
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No, there are no long-term contracts with Managed Exchange. Fees for Managed Exchange are charged per mailbox on a month by month basis, so you can cancel your mailboxes at any time by logging a job and the notice will be effective at the end of the current month. You will need to take steps to save your mailbox data on another server before cancelling your Managed Exchange service.
- Do my domain name and web site need to be hosted at WebCentral for me to use Managed Exchange?
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No, neither your domain name or web site need to be located on WebCentral's domain name and web servers, but your mailboxes must be hosted with WebCentral in order to utilise our Managed Exchange service. You can arrange to have your mailboxes hosted at WebCentral by pointing all of the 'MX' (mail) records from wherever the domain name is hosted to the mailboxes that reside at WebCentral.
- Can some staff have Managed Exchange and others just have normal POP3 mailboxes (ie. the mailboxes that I already receive as part of my hosting plan with WebCentral)?
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Yes, you can choose any combination of Managed Exchange Web Access, PC & Web Access and PC & Web Access Ultra, or POP3 email for your business' mailboxes.
- What is the difference between Managed Exchange Web Access and Managed Exchange PC & Web Access?
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Using Managed Exchange Web Access allows you to access your email, calendar, contacts etc through an Internet Explorer browser using a unique program called Outlook Web Access (OWA). OWA is a web browser version of Outlook which looks and feels almost exactly the same as the full software version of Microsoft Outlook.
Managed Exchange PC & Web Access, on the other hand, includes a copy of the latest full software version of Microsoft Outlook (not Outlook Express) as a means of accessing your mailbox. Effectively, it is the same software tool that you are probably already using to access your POP3 mailbox. In the future, when a new version of Microsoft Outlook is available, you will be able to download a copy of this software as well as part of the PC & Web Access product.
Apart from the familiarity of using the same software, the biggest advantage of Managed Exchange PC & Web Access is the ability to work offline (ie. when you are not connected to the internet), because the Outlook software stores a local copy of the email, calendar, contacts etc updated to the point before you disconnected from the internet. This means that you could, for example, work on documents that are attached to emails in your inbox on your laptop while you are in transit. Another benefit of this is that, any changes you make (ie. drafting emails, updating or adding contacts and making new appointments in your calendar) whilst offline, will be automatically synchronized from the Managed Exchange servers when the laptop is re-connected to the internet and you use Microsoft Outlook again.
- What is the difference between Managed Exchange PC & Web Access and PC & Web Access Ultra?
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There are no differences in the functionality provided by Managed Exchange PC & Web Access and PC & Web Access Ultra. The only difference between these two types of mailboxes is that PC & Web Access Ultra provides an extra 100MB of storage space for mailbox content (ie. 200MB as opposed to the standard 100MB allocation offered by PC & Web Access).
This makes PC & Web Access Ultra mailboxes ideal for users or companies that receive large files and attachments via email, as the larger mailbox storage contribution increases your company's total monthly Managed Exchange storage allocation which can help to reduce your exposure to excess storage charges from month to month. Customers on PC & Web Access using greater than 149MB of storage may like to upgrade to PC & Web Access Ultra to help avoid excess storage charges.
- Can I give some staff the ‘Web Access’ and some the full 'PC & Web Access’ version of Managed Exchange?
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Yes, you can mix and match your Managed Exchange mailboxes, and there are no minimum quantities of either type of mailbox that have to be purchased.
- What is Outlook Web Access and what does it allow me to do?
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Managed Exchange mailboxes can be accessed from any internet connected PC with a web browser. This type of access is known as Outlook Web Access (or 'OWA' for short).
It gives staff the ability to work from home with no set-up and complicated configuration of software programs (ie. you simply need a web browser). The 'look and feel' of OWA is almost identical to the full version of Microsoft Outlook that you install on your PC or laptop. This powerful access tool significantly reduces the 'when' and 'where' limitations that exist with Microsoft Outlook POP3 email.
- What options do I have for accessing my Managed Exchange mailbox via a mobile device?
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With Managed Exchange, staff are able to access their mailbox from wireless devices such as GPRS-enabled PDAs, BlackBerry mobile devices and mobile phones with WAP 2.0 functionality. This is ideal for staff who must have instant, real-time access to the information in their mailbox, calendar and contacts no matter where they are.
This mobile functionality can be accessed in the following ways:
1. Active Sync with Microsoft Pocket PC - This is a similar looking interface to Microsoft Outlook - but it has been altered to fit onto the much smaller screens of mobile phones and PDAs. If your staff have Pocket PC based devices that are GPRS-enabled, they can use Active Sync to access their Managed Exchange mailbox. With this option staff can:
- write and send emails from their PDA or mobile phone
- review and respond to emails
- access, change or add contacts
- review appointments in their calendar and even send meeting invites
- respond to emails with a voice message that is saved in a wav file and sent as an email (Microsoft 'Smart-phone' only).
2. Outlook Mobile Access (OMA) via WAP 2.0 - This is a text-based version of your email and other Outlook work tools in your mailbox (i.e. calendar, contacts, etc.). Staff can:
- write and send emails from their mobile phone
- review and respond to emails
- access, change or add contacts
- access, change or add appointments in their calendar.
3. BlackBerry via GPRS - Access your email, calendar appointments and contacts in real time. Staff can:
- write and send emails from their BlackBerry
- review and respond to emails
- access, change or add contacts
- access, change or add appointments in their calendar.
*Please note that the Managed Exchange service does not include any mobile carrier data charges or device costs. Calendar functionality not available with the Managed Exchange Basic Access product.
- What is a Public Folder?
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The Public Folder facility provided with the Managed Exchange Web Access, PC & Web Access, and PC & Web Access Ultra mailbox products enables staff to share valuable information amongst one another - from emails received about a particular topic or project (ie. a shared email inbox), through to bookings and usage of company resources such as a meeting room (ie. a shared calendar).
A shared email inbox can also act as a basic file storage tool, by simply ‘attaching’ files (ie. Word documents, Excel spreadsheets etc.) to emails that get sent to the specific email inbox.
Another typical use for shared folders is to create a calendar, which is allocated to a team or department for publishing ‘events’ (ie. a Marketing Events calendar).
* Public Folders are not available on the Managed Exchange Basic Access and Solo Access products.
- Can we trial Managed Exchange, and if so, is there a cost?
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Managed Exchange Web Access demonstration accounts are available for prospective customers to trial on our Managed Exchange Test Drive page. There is no cost to use these test drive accounts. It is not possible for customers to trial Managed Exchange on their live mailboxes.
- How do I install Managed Exchange?
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Signing up and installing Managed Exchange is a straightforward process. There are three main options:
1. Do-it-yourself - detailed, easy to follow instructions are available by clicking here.
2. Call WebCentral's Technical Support Team on 1300 886 540 and we can walk you through the process; or
3. Ask your IT services provider to provision and configure Managed Exchange for you.
Any further support you may require in relation to your Managed Exchange service is also available from the WebCentral Technical Support Team 24 hours a day, 7 days a week on 1800 800 099 (ext. 1).
- Does Managed Exchange need to be installed after hours?
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Installation does not necessarily need to be done after-hours. However, some configuration is required for each computer and mailbox if Managed Exchange PC & Web Access or PC & Web Access Ultra are being activated. This is best undertaken when your staff do not need access to their mailbox, which may indeed be outside of office hours.
- Will my staff lose any email, calendar items or contact records from their current Microsoft Outlook during the transition to a Managed Exchange mailbox?
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Staff moving onto Managed Exchange PC & Web Access or PC & Web Access Ultra who are already using Microsoft® Outlook will not lose any data as long as they follow the simple set of instructions which can be accessed via the Sign Up & Install tab at the top of this page. Essentially, their data will need to be exported, saved to a secure location during the provisioning and configuration of Managed Exchange and then imported back into Microsoft Outlook.
Staff moving to Managed Exchange Basic Access, Solo Access or Web Access will need to follow a slightly more complicated process:
1. Users will need to export their data ('.pst' files of email, calendar items, contact records, etc.) and save it to a secure location during the provisioning and configuration of the mailbox;
2. Users will then need to send these files to WebCentral's Technical Support team to be imported back into the Managed Exchange Web Access mailbox for a fee of $135.
WebCentral staff are required to import the data because Managed Exchange Basic Access, Solo Access and Web Access do not have sufficient interface functionality for you to be able to move the information into the new mailbox yourself (ie. the import takes place on the server which can only be accessed by WebCentral staff).
Alternatively, you could choose to sign up to Managed Exchange PC & Web Access or PC & Web Access Ultra for one month, follow the steps to migrate your email, calendar and contacts from your previous version of Outlook found in the Sign Up & Install section. Once the migration is complete, you can then downgrade your account to Managed Exchange Web Access.
- Are there any extra costs associated with Managed Exchange apart from the monthly per mailbox costs?
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In some cases, yes. Each company receives a total monthly storage allocation (comprised of the individual storage contributions of each Managed Exchange mailbox enabled under that account, as well as the Public Folder allocation if applicable) to cover all the data stored in each users’ inbox, sent items, calendar, contacts and the Public Folder. If the company’s total average monthly storage usage exceeds the allocation, a fee of $0.099 per excess MB per month will apply.
Customers are able to pre-purchase 100MB Storage Add-Ons in advance for $5.00 per 100MB per month (an effective rate of $0.05 per MB, compared to the standard excess storage rate of $0.099 per MB). You may activate an unlimited number of 100MB Storage Add-Ons on your account to help to reduce your company’s exposure to excess storage charges.
If you wish to use a BlackBerry mobile device to access your email, calendar and contacts, the Managed Exchange BlackBerry Add-On product is an additional $15 per month per mailbox.
- How does excess storage get calculated?
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Excess storage is calculated at company level, based on the combined total of the average daily storage usage of each Managed Exchange mailbox and the Public Folder (if applicable) under the account across the given month.
Each enabled Managed Exchange mailbox, plus your company's Public Folder (if you are using either Web Access, PC & Web Access or PC & Web Access Ultra), contribute a value to your company's total monthly Managed Exchange storage allocation (eg. 100MB for each Basic Access, Solo Access, Web Access and PC & Web Access mailbox; 200MB for each PC & Web Access Ultra mailbox; and 100MB for the Public Folder facility).
Each day, we take a snapshot of each of your Managed Exchange mailboxes and the storage being consumed at that time. On your web hosting account's anniversary date, we add the daily storage usage of each Managed Exchange mailbox and divide it by the number of days in the month to get the average daily storage usage of each Managed Exchange mailbox for that month. Each of these figures is then added together to calculate your company's total average monthly Managed Exchange mailbox storage.
If your company's total average monthly Managed Exchange mailbox storage is greater than the sum of your company's total monthly Managed Exchange storage allocation plus any pre-paid 100MB Storage Add-Ons that you may have added during the month, then an excess storage invoice will generate for the difference between these two figures. Excess storage is charged at $0.099 per MB per month.
- Can you provide some example scenarios of where excess storage charges would and would not be incurred?
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The two scenarios below demonstrate examples of how excess storage is calculated and in what circumstances you would be liable for excess storage charges.
Scenario A: Excess Storage Charges Will Not Generate
Managed Exchange
Mailboxes Enabled |
Mailbox Storage
Contribution |
Average Storage
Used in Month |
| Mailbox 1 - PC & Web Access Ultra |
200MB |
300MB |
| Mailbox 2 - PC & Web Access |
100MB |
50MB |
| Mailbox 3 - PC & Web Access |
100MB |
37MB |
| Mailbox 4 - Web Access |
100MB |
10MB |
| Mailbox 5 - Web Access |
100MB |
150MB |
| Public Folder |
100MB |
80MB |
| Total |
Company Storage
Allocation = 700MB/mth |
Storage Used
= 627MB |
In this scenario, no excess storage charges will generate because the total average storage used across the company in the month is less than the total Managed Exchange storage allocation.
Scenario B: Excess Storage Charges Will Generate
Managed Exchange
Mailboxes Enabled |
Mailbox Storage
Contribution |
Average Storage
Used in Month |
| Mailbox 1 - PC & Web Access Ultra |
200MB |
306MB |
| Mailbox 2 - PC & Web Access |
100MB |
94MB |
| Mailbox 3 - PC & Web Access |
100MB |
55MB |
| Mailbox 4 - Web Access |
100MB |
72MB |
| Mailbox 5 - Web Access |
100MB |
168MB |
| Public Folder |
100MB |
105MB |
| Total |
Company Storage
Allocation = 700MB/mth |
Storage Used
= 800MB |
In this scenario, excess storage charges of $9.90 (100MB X $0.099/MB) will generate because the total average storage used across the company in the month is 100MB more than the total Managed Exchange storage allocation.
- Is there any way to help to avoid excess storage fees?
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To help to avoid excess storage fees, customers have the option of pre-purchasing 100MB Storage Add-Ons at the rate of $5.00 per month. The below scenario demonstrates how pre-purchasing one 100MB Storage Add-On assists this company in reducing their exposure to excess storage charges:
Managed Exchange
Mailboxes Enabled |
Mailbox Storage
Contribution |
Average Storage
Used in Month |
| Mailbox 1 - PC & Web Access Ultra |
200MB |
306MB |
| Mailbox 2 - PC & Web Access |
100MB |
94MB |
| Mailbox 3 - PC & Web Access |
100MB |
55MB |
| Mailbox 4 - Web Access |
100MB |
72MB |
| Mailbox 5 - Web Access |
100MB |
168MB |
| Public Folder |
100MB |
105MB |
| 100MB Storage Add-On |
100MB |
n/a |
| Total |
Company Storage
Allocation = 800MB/mth |
Storage Used
= 800MB |
In this scenario, no excess storage charges will generate because the total average storage used in the month across the company is equal to the total Managed Exchange storage allocation. Therefore, this company has saved $4.90 this month by pre-purchasing a 100MB Storage Add-On for $5.00, whereas without this Add-On activated, standard excess storage charges of $9.90 would apply (as per Scenario B above).
In addition to activating 100MB Storage Add-Ons, customers utilising Managed Exchange PC & Web Access or PC & Web Access Ultra also have the option of creating archive folders (.pst files) on their PC or laptop to further assist in reducing their exposure to excess storage charges. These archive folders will appear in your Microsoft® Outlook as folders. Generally speaking, the inbox, followed by the sent items, are the biggest folders in a mailbox, so it is recommended that you set up archive folders for these two important resources. Once this has been done, it is a simple task of 'dragging and dropping' from your live inbox and sent items to the separate inbox and sent items archive folders.
- Can the BlackBerry Add-On be used with any type of Managed Exchange mailbox?
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Yes, the BlackBerry Add-On will work with any of the five different types of Managed Exchange mailboxes. However, if you are using Managed Exchange Basic Access, it is important to be aware that you will have no access to the calendar function on your BlackBerry device from your Outlook Web Access (OWA) interface. This is because Managed Exchange Basic Access does not provide any calendaring functionality, so there will be no calendar available for the BlackBerry calendar to synchronise with.
It is also important to note that if you are using Managed Exchange Basic Access, Solo Access or Web Access and are also using a BlackBerry device with system software earlier than version 4.0, you will have to follow a slightly different process for activating your BlackBerry device than normal.
- What is Mission Control?
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Mission Control is your online, self-service control panel that WebCentral provides free of charge as part of your web hosting account with us. It allows you to more efficiently manage your web site and email services, as well as your account administration, with us and to do so at your convenience. You can access your Mission Control panel by going to https://mc-au.server-secure.com and entering your Username (VS Number) and password.
- What can I do using Mission Control?
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Some of the main things you will need to use Mission Control to perform include:
- Upload your web site files to our web servers;
- Create your mailboxes (ie. staff email addresses), and set auto-responders and auto-forwarders on these mailboxes;
- Request technical assistance using our Job Logging System; and
- Check the statistics of your web site.
Mission Control also gives you a quick and easy way of:
- Changing your contact details;
- Upgrading to a higher hosting plan;
- Searching our Online Help Tool to find useful technical articles and FAQs;
- Enabling technical components on your web site, including setting security tokens for restricting access;
- Adding additional products and services to your account;
- And much, much more!
Click here to download a copy of our 'Take Control' brochure that provides detailed information on the types of tasks you can perform using your Mission Control panel.
- Do you provide Technical Support for free?
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Yes, technical support is available free of charge to all WebCentral customers 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days of the year. You can request support from one of our technicians in a number of ways:
- By logging a job in your Mission Control panel via the “Add Job” link; or
- By phoning our Technical Support Team on 1800 800 099 (ext. 1) and providing your username (VS Number) and password, as well as stating your name (as the main contact on the account).
Please also note the following:
- Technical support for our DSL Broadband services is only available Monday to Friday, between 6:00am and 9:00pm;
- Data Recovery from Back-Up Tape is an additional service that falls outside our free technical support. Please contact our Technical Support Team on 1800 800 099 (ext. 1) for more information on the charges associated with this service.
- How can I change my contact details with WebCentral?
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All your account details (except your company name) can be updated in your Mission Control panel via the 'Edit Your Details', then 'Your Address Details' links. Alternatively, call our Accounts Team on 1800 800 099 (ext. 3) and quote your username (VS Number) and password to change these details over the phone or to find out how to change your company name.