In June, we completed the first group of clients to migrate from Rackspace to Microsoft's Exchange email platform. We explained our reasoning in May's letter "Fact v. Fiction." In May's letter, we addressed our rationale for migrating, which includes:
- Aging technology with Rackspace's IMAP platform.
- Rackspace's deteriorating financial condition.
- Microsoft's recognized leadership position for email functionality and security.
- Increased concerns for AI used by cybercriminals in email exploits.
This month's newsletter reports on our experiences with clients during the migration process and encourages all Total Digital Security clients to consider migrating from Rackspace to Microsoft Exchange.
- This is not immediately urgent. We encourage clients to work with us according to their schedules and what is most convenient.
- But we consider migration a strategic priority that should be addressed before the end of the calendar year 2023.
✓ We encourage all clients to work with us toward migration from Rackspace to Microsoft Exchange before 12/31/23.
How's Migration Going for Clients?
To date, we have migrated about 10% of our clients. The process has gone well, with just a handful of clients feeling overwhelmed. These feelings stemmed from two primary factors:
- Lack of familiarity with authentication, authentication apps, and some terminology that is new to them.
- Microsoft's Fort Knox-like infrastructure is designed to protect us from hacking and privacy breaches. This is especially evident during the initial phases of onboarding.
Frankly, we consider it part of our job and the value we provide clients to nudge them gently but firmly toward agility and adaptation to digital technology and digital-driven change. It's not always easy or fun, but we view it as an imperative to our stated mission of "Cybersecurity for Life."
We are responsive and caring to our client's needs and will do whatever it takes to help them succeed. To see the FAQs regarding email migration, see the section just under my signature below.
✓ About 1/3 of our clients opted to use one of our "coaches" to assist in the migration process. Typically, the assist took between 30 minutes and an hour for each case.
A Review of the Costs to Migrate
We charged $50 per year per email box with Rackspace. For the Microsoft Exchange Plan 1 email box, we charge $65 per year per box. The $20 hosting fee remains. Hosting is per domain, not per box. So, for example, if you have two boxes with Rackspace, your annual expense is $120. For the same two boxes on Microsoft's Exchange, the annual cost is $150.
We charge a one-time fee of $175 for the back-end work we do for the migration. The work is tedious, takes time, and while we want to keep it at $175, there is some likelihood it will be raised in the coming months. But for now, at least through July, it's $175.
There is a $12 fee per box that is a reimbursement to us for the MigrationWiz software license used to move your email box's contents from Rackspace's servers to Microsoft's Exchange servers. This is a pass-through expense, and we do not mark up the cost of the MigrationWiz license.
Finally, for those that opt to have a "coach" assist with the migration process, there is a fee of $150 per hour. Most all cases took less than hour.
✓ We have modeled the economics for this one-time migration project as break-even for Total Digital Security. This reflects the necessity of the process and our partnership with clients to do the right thing at the right time, even when neither TDS nor our clients want to incur more change or client inconvenience.
The Benefits of Nesting in the Microsoft Exchange Email Ecosystem
For some closing thoughts, we want to briefly address some of the benefits of being nested in the Microsoft Exchange email platform.
No other provider comes close to the capital investment Microsoft has made and continues to make in its email ecosystem. The investment continually spawns innovations driving email functionality, security, and privacy. It is impressive and unmatched in the industry, and we are convinced it’s the right place to find a long-term home for email activities.
We start you with the Microsoft Exchange Plan 1 program. However, it is infinitely and easily upgradable to include advanced features and apps depending on your needs. Being part of the ecosystem means options are almost unlimited, and future enhancements are guaranteed. We are highly confident it is worth your investment and ours to migrate email to Exchange for exceptional long-term and long-term results.
Getting Started
Simply reply to this email and say "Get started" to be listed for the next group for migration and we will send you an estimate for your review.
