Verizon Business Sees Growth Opportunities Ahead for its ’Software-as-a-Service’ Hosted Messaging Offerings

BASKING RIDGE, N.J. - The number of customers using Verizon Business Hosted Messaging services continues to grow as more enterprise customers seek the benefits of having an expert service provider handle e-mail system management. Verizon Business Hosted Messaging growth reflects the upward trends of the worldwide market.

The worldwide hosted business e-mail segment and the managed e-mail provider market will grow at average annual rates of 11 percent and 10 percent, respectively, over the next four years, according to research firm The Radicati Group Inc. Radicati projects that worldwide revenue for the hosted unified communications service provider and telecom segments will grow from about $2.6 billion in 2006 to nearly $20 billion by 2010.

“E-mail, the premier form of enterprise communication today, is business-critical,” said Nancy Gofus, senior vice president and chief marketing officer, Verizon Business. “To keep this critical link running, businesses not only have to worry about application and architecture management, but also about vulnerabilities to spam, phishing and other system attacks. That’s why more and more businesses are choosing to rely on Verizon Business Hosted Messaging to handle day-to-day business challenges in increasingly complex environments.”

Internet Securities Inc., a global aggregator of business and market analysis information and a user of Verizon Business Hosted Messaging, said that outsourcing e-mail helps it control costs while avoiding the headaches that go with the in-house management of increasingly complex e-mail systems. Internet Securities also relies on Verizon Business to integrate its e-mail system with Research in Motion (RIM) Blackberry devices, helping employees at the company’s 26 global offices stay connected - at work and on the go.

“A lot of overhead is involved with managing your own e-mail system and protecting it as a vital enterprise infrastructure and communications lifeblood,” said Antonio Monteiro, chief information officer for Internet Securities. “There are security concerns, load-balancing issues, storage considerations and endless patching routines. By working with Verizon Business, we can focus more of our energy on serving our clients.”

Internet Securities also benefits from using Verizon Business management services to leverage regional control of the company’s e-mail system needs. Verizon Business portal services allow Internet Securities to quickly handle moves, additions and changes for regional groups, as well as manage day-to-day issues, such as lost passwords, in real time. Internet Securities also takes advantage of setting up preferred regional languages through capabilities enabled by Microsoft Exchange.

The challenges and complexities associated with enterprise e-mail management will continue to grow, according to Radicati. The research firm noted that businesses handled about 65 billion global corporate messages a day in 2006, with 56 percent of those messages identified as spam. Radicati predicts that by 2010, businesses will handle about 159 billion messages a day - and 73 percent of them will be spam.

Leveraging the SaaS Delivery Model

Verizon Business uses the Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) model to deliver the application and management of a robust e-mail system that includes integration with Microsoft Active Directory and interoperability with third-party vendors such as Trend Micro, Symantec and RIM. Verizon Business offers flexible solutions, giving organizations such as Internet Securities the ability to add e-mail services as they are needed.

Via SaaS, the application is hosted by Verizon Business rather than by the customer. The software is delivered over the Web by Verizon to help ensure availability of critical information. This delivery and subscription-based model helps control set-up and operational costs and reduce strains on a business’ financial and staffing resources.

Verizon Business provides customers with options for shared and dedicated Hosted Messaging services, depending on each business’ needs. The shared offering is a fully managed, on-demand messaging service for a customer’s Microsoft Exchange environment. For customers demanding greater control and larger custom e-mail requirements, Verizon Business offers a dedicated Hosted Messaging service based on Microsoft Exchange 2003 technology. Verizon Business also offers a Hosed Secure IM service based on Microsoft Live Communications Server (LCS) and Symantec IM Manager.

Verizon Business Hosted Messaging is provisioned from a U.S.-based Smart Center and is available for sale in the United States, Europe and Asia-Pacific.

About Verizon Business
Verizon Business, a unit of Verizon Communications (NYSE: VZ), is a leading provider of advanced communications and information technology (IT) solutions to large business and government customers worldwide. Combining unsurpassed global network reach with advanced technology and professional service capabilities, Verizon Business delivers innovative and seamless business solutions to customers around the world. For more information, visit www.verizonbusiness.com.