Aim high
Regardless of which e-mail server you deploy, it must be highly scalable. The more scalable the server, the higher your potential cash flow. Volume and still more volume from multiple customers is the key to generating profits from e-mail's razor-thin margins.
Topflight directory support also is a plus in any hosted e-mail solution. At a minimum, use a directory that supports Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP). Your two top candidates are the iPlanet Directory Server and Novell's eDirectory (formerly Novell Directory Services). Non-LDAP oriented directories, like Microsoft's Active Directory, aren't even on the map.
Because of all those factors, Lotus Domino and Microsoft Exchange often aren't the best choices for a hosted e-mail solution. Instead, iPlanet's iPlanet Messaging Server, Openwave's (formerly Software.com) InterMail and Post.Office, and Sendmail's Advanced Message Server are the names that service providers trust. Other Unix-based mail servers, such as qmail and Postfix, also are popular, but they lack organised support options and can only be considered by shops with in-house expertise.
As you might guess, successful e-mail hosting also relies on scalable operating systems. According to David Ferris, research director for Ferris Research, the most popular operating systems for e-mail hosting are Sun Solaris, IBM AIX and HP-UX. Linux is winning converts, thanks to its low cost and the imminent release of Linux 2.4. Windows NT, meanwhile, was a niche player at best in this arena, and Windows 2000 only now is starting to show up in host e-mail deployments.
