The Planet Research Report, Highlights Microsoft Savings

Houston, Texas - (Website Hosting Directory) - August 30, 2007 - The Planet has indicated that an over 50 percent cost savings for customers that use its hosted Microsoft Small Business Server (SBS) solution is possible.



Prepared by Frost and Sullivan's Stratecast Partners, the white paper compares hosted solutions with the do-it-yourself, in-house approach over the course of a three-year period. The company plans to deliver the new hosted solution in September.



''The Planet's Hosted Microsoft SBS Service: An Attractive IT Outsourcing Solution for Small Businesses,'' -- weighs the cost of an in-house, do-it-yourself approach compared with The Planet's hosted Microsoft SBS solution. The study evaluates the three-year total cost of ownership based on server costs, software licensing fees, security, lease premiums, dedicated Internet access, utilities and in-house administration. For example, initial results show SMB customers with 20 employees spend approximately $35,600 with The Planet's hosted SBS solution, while a do-it-yourself approach could average upwards of $87,400.



E-mail and messaging solutions are mission-critical business applications for any organization -- large or small -- and are an expensive proposition for customers. With a hosted Microsoft SBS solution, delivered through a dedicated network of system integrators, The Planet offers a complete enterprise-class IT portfolio-in-a-box< that includes Microsoft Exchange Server, Microsoft Office Outlook, Microsoft Office SharePoint and Microsoft SQL Server. Backed by The Planet's world-class data centers and network, Stratecast's research validates the business and IT value The Planet provides SMBs, including reduced IT management costs, and increased flexibility and security.



Doug McReaken, Vice President of Software Decisions, Inc. (SDi) noted, ''As a system integrator, our SMB customers rely heavily on e-mail and messaging services as the core foundation of their business. With The Planet's hosted Microsoft SBS, our customers can take advantage of a customized e-mail, messaging and database solution that's packaged with the security of enterprise-quality data centers. Our customers have to scrutinize even the smallest IT investments, and a hosted SBS solution offers significant financial and business justification.''



Steve Kahan, Vice President of Marketing and Product Management at The Planet remarked, ''SMBs face a number of challenges in building an out-of-the-box solution for e-mail and messaging. With The Planet's hosted SBS solution, we deliver an enterprise-grade solution backed by a world-class IT infrastructure. Coupled with cost savings of more than 50 percent compared with an in-house approach, The Planet's hosted Microsoft SBS solution provides clear and measurable business and IT benefits for the SMB community.''



The financial investment required to purchase, operate and internally maintain a packaged Microsoft SBS solution can be an overwhelming proposition for SMB customers. Enlisting a provider like The Planet to host Microsoft SBS solutions delivers significant costs savings, and increased reliability and security. Stratecast's research also concludes that The Planet's hosted solution:

• Eliminates significant capital investment in software licenses, hardware purchases and maintenance contracts required with an in-house approach


• Delivers reliability, security and enterprise-level SLAs to ensure business continuity


• Provides a staff of trained IT experts that are available 24x7x365


• Scales resources to meet fluctuations in business needs