Applied Systems’ Hosted Exchange Retirement: What it Means for Your Agency

Recently, many of you may have received an email from Applied Systems, notifying users about their decision to retire their Hosted Exchange and Insuremail services by the end of December 2023. This development could have significant implications for agencies relying on these services. In this video and blog post, we’ll explore how Applied Systems’ Hosted Exchange retirement might affect your agency and what strategic measures you can take to ensure a seamless transition to a new service.

A bit of history

Several years ago, Applied began hosting email for agencies using a product called Microsoft Exchange.  Exchange is a fantastic product, and back in the days of servers, this is exactly what we deployed in agencies.  But as the years went on, Exchange was increasingly designed for large organizations.  It required larger servers and more server roles.  It required special skills to manage, and it was difficult to keep secure. This meant more expense. Meanwhile, cloud alternatives were getting better and more cost effective all the time.

These days, there are far better options out there for agencies and Applied is recognizing that.  This will allow Applied Systems to reallocate time and effort into products like Epic, where their core expertise really shines. Check out this recent update from Applied Systems to learn more.

So what does this mean for your agency?

Receiving the letter doesn’t necessarily mean that you’re using the service.  So the first step is determining if this applies to you.  Your IT folks should easily be able to determine this. They’ll want to check inbound email, your copiers and scanners, and Epic DMS.

If you ARE using Applied’s email services, you’ll need to have all of your data off of those services before the end of December 2023. That’s not much time, so you need to start making a plan now to transition to another solution.  For this, I recommend Microsoft 365. Microsoft 365 has become the industry standard for email, but the 365 ecosystem is much larger than that. You can use Microsoft 365 to replace servers, deliver cybersecurity, implement cloud desktops, and meet compliance requirements.

KiteTech is here to help

If you are currently using Applied’s email services, and need help migrating to Microsoft 365, we can help.  I would encourage you to reach out to Kite Technology sooner than later, so we can begin helping you plan for the change.

If you’re already using Microsoft 365, and you’re curious about how you can make it more effective and secure, we can help with that, as well. We have made Microsoft 365 a part of everything we do, and we would love to help you make Microsoft 365 part of everything you do. Contact us today, to learn to learn more about our Managed IT Services and Microsoft 365 Consulting.