Exchange Hosted Continuity

Exchange Hosted Continuity is a business continuity solution that helps protect and provide continous access to e-mail for your business and its employees.

E-mail has evolved from a simple communication tool into a mission-critical application that supports all aspects of a business. Without access to e-mail, productivity can grind to a halt, and the loss of critical information exchanged through e-mail can be disastrous.

Exchange Hosted Continuity is one of four distinct services in the Microsoft Exchange Advanced Services portfolio. The service provides a security-enhanced and intuitive Web interface through which users can access their previous 30 days of e-mail and can compose and send new messages in real time during a primary mail system outage.

How it Works

Exchange Hosted Continuity benefits from the in-stream spam and virus protection features provided by Exchange Hosted Filtering. As messages pass through the network, a copy of each is made and stored in a security-enhanced 30-day rolling message repository. Similarly, mail sent within the organization is captured through the mail server’s journaling function.

Microsoft Exchange Hosted Continuity Flow Diagram

After connection to the primary e-mail system is restored, messages received during the outage are automatically restored. Any messages sent by means of the Web-based interface can be optionally restored to the primary mail system to complete disaster recovery operations. Because it’s always on, Exchange Hosted Continuity can always be used to restore messages that may have been lost or deleted from the primary e-mail environment. The service also includes a set of Continuity Management tools that can be used to deliver communications to end users during an outage.

Solution Overview

• End users can access their Exchange Hosted Continuity mailbox by logging on to a security-enhanced Web browser from virtually anywhere. Whether the outage is planned or unplanned, users have access to e-mail.
• Compose, receive, and send messages in real time.
• Familiar user interface requires minimal end-user training.
• Message repository is filtered upstream, which helps block spam, viruses, and other unwanted content.
• 30 days of previous e-mail is searchable and can be restored to the primary mailbox if necessary.
• Access the entire company directory for addressing internal messages.
• No additional software is required.