What you get
A hosted Exchange mailbox behaves exactly like one on an Exchange server in your own office, because that is what it is — the server is simply in your provider’s data centre. Your team uses Outlook, Outlook on the web and their phones; calendars are shared across the business; there is a company address book; and administrators can grant access to shared mailboxes and set delegate permissions.
How it differs from Microsoft 365
Microsoft 365 includes Exchange Online, which is Microsoft’s own hosted Exchange, bundled with Teams, SharePoint and Office apps. A hosted Exchange provider runs Exchange Server on its own infrastructure instead. The mailbox experience is very similar; the differences are who runs it, where the data lives, what else is bundled, how support works — and that the new Outlook for Windows currently supports Microsoft’s Exchange Online but not other hosted Exchange services. Our comparison sets it out.
How it differs from ordinary email hosting
Most cheap email hosting is IMAP or POP, which synchronises email and nothing else. Exchange synchronises email, calendars, contacts and tasks, and adds the sharing and permissions businesses rely on. See hosted Exchange vs IMAP.
Who it suits
Businesses that want Exchange without running servers — especially those coming off their own Exchange 2016 or 2019 server, those who need their email held in the UK, and those who want a named support contact rather than a global queue. Our hosted Exchange service is £8.00 + VAT per 50 GB mailbox per month.