After 15 successful years of service, Microsoft has announced the end of support for the current version of Hosted Exchange in October 2025. This important milestone means we’ll be retiring the related services on 1st October 2025.
To help you navigate this transition smoothly, we’ve compiled the most common FAQs below. These cover what the change means for our customers, which services are affected, and other key details. We also available to chat and provide a wealth of resources we have access to via Microsoft ensure you, our customers are fully prepared.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
- Hosted Exchange
- Secure Hosted Exchange (Hosted Exchange, Email Security, Backup)
- Email Security (including On-Prem)
- Email Security + Archive
- Email Backup
- Secure Hosted Exchange with Outlook
We can offer a range of Microsoft solutions tailored to our customers’ needs and budgets. Below is a list of the most commonly available solutions that include Microsoft Exchange Online.
- Exchange Online Plan 1 – 50 GB Mailbox, Outlook for the web
- Exchange Online Plan 2 – 100 GB Mailbox, Outlook for the web, archiving
- Microsoft 365 Business Basic – 50 GB Mailbox, Outlook for the web, Office apps (web only), Teams, OneDrive & SharePoint
- Microsoft 365 Business Standard – 50 GB Mailbox, Outlook Desktop application, Office apps (desktop versions), Teams, OneDrive & SharePoint
- Microsoft 365 Business Premium – 50 GB Mailbox, Email archiving, Outlook Desktop application, Office apps (desktop versions), Teams, OneDrive & SharePoint, Device management, Additional security features
All annual commitments, billed monthly or annually
We strongly recommend you migrate your mailboxes and data to an alternative platform (e.g. Microsoft 365) well in advance of 1st October, to avoid disruption or permanent data loss. After this date:
- All active Hosted Exchange licences / mailboxes will be automatically deleted
- All associated mailbox data will be permanently erased
- Access to mailboxes and stored emails will be lost
- Data will not be recoverable under any circumstances
Please note: All your data must be migrated ahead of the deadline, we cannot be held responsible for storing or recovering mailbox data after this date as outlined in our service terms.
There are a couple of supported migration paths we can take to move you from Hosted Exchange to Microsoft 365:
PST Export/Import
- A manual method involving exporting mailbox data to PST files and importing them into Microsoft 365.
Automated Migration Tools
- We can deploy powerful and automated tools that simplifies migration from Hosted Exchange to Microsoft 365.
Yes – we offer solutions that may already be included in your current agreement, from industry-leading vendors for both email security and Microsoft 365 backup:
Microsoft 365 Backup
- Reliable backup solutions are available provided by Acronis and ConnectWise (formerly SkyKick).
Email Security
- Microsoft 365 Business Premium includes built-in email security features. For enhanced, layered protection, we also offer solutions provided by Microsoft and Acronis.
Yes – Microsoft offer an add-on Exchange Online Archiving for Exchange Online. This is included in Exchange Online Plan 2 and ‘Microsoft 365 Business Premium.
If you plan to use Exchange Plan 1 and Plan 2, you can use it with New Outlook.
- Exchange Online Plan 2
- Microsoft 365 Business Premium
All the following has archiving as an additional add-on.
- Exchange Online Plan 1
- Exchange Online Kiosk
- Microsoft 365 Business Basic
- Microsoft 365 Business Standard