Dell Unveils Microsoft Exchange Migration Program; Pre-Configured Server, Storage, Software Bundles and Professional Services Help Users Migrating From Microsoft Exchange Server 5.5 to Exchange Server 2003

Business Wire, July 28, 2005

ROUND ROCK, Texas -- Dell (NASDAQ:DELL) is making it easy for businesses running Exchange Server 5.5 to migrate to Exchange Server 2003 before the year-end conclusion of available extended and pay-per-incident lifecycle support.

Dell today announced the availability of pre-configured server, storage and software packages and professional migration services for business customers upgrading to Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 prior to Dec. 31 this year.

E-mail continues to be a mission critical application and businesses of all sizes realize the need to have it up and running at all times. According to research firm The Radicati Group nearly 136 billion e-mail messages are sent worldwide each day(a).

"Dell is leveraging the combined power of three -- Dell, EMC and Microsoft -- fully integrated server, storage and software solutions to provide customers a single, reliable source of standards-based Exchange-migration options," said Linda York, vice president of global alliances marketing in Dell's Product Group. "Dell's customized migration packages and available fixed-cost, fixed-scope services provide customers a cost and time-efficient Exchange migration path that ultimately improves business productivity and eliminates scalability and reliability concerns of running mission critical e-mail on older systems."

Strategic Partnerships Ensure Best-in-Class Migration Solutions

Through Dell's migration program, customers can purchase the integrated combination of standards-based servers, storage, software, and services that address migration needs while also delivering increased operational efficiency and performance improvements. Pre-configured migration packages are available to customers with fewer than 100 e-mail users and up to 5,000 mailboxes.

For example, a large organization with more than 4,000 mailboxes may choose a bundle of two PowerEdge 2850 servers, a Dell/EMC CX300 with PowerVault 136T storage solution and Exchange Server 2003 Enterprise Edition.

Or, a small business with 150 users and high-availability requirements might choose a PowerEdge 2800 server with the entry-level AX100 Dell/EMC storage array and Microsoft Windows Exchange Server 2003 Standard Edition. All pre-configured migration packages include software training and three-year support. Pricing for configurations begin at $5,000.

"For Exchange Server 5.5 customers who are migrating to Exchange Server 2003, leveraging Dell's PowerEdge line of servers can significantly reduce the costs associated with owning and managing corporate e-mail infrastructures," said Kim Akers, general manager of the Exchange Server Group at Microsoft. "Many of our Exchange Server 5.5 customers are running old hardware and migrating to newer, faster and more efficient servers will further increase operational efficiencies for these companies across the board."

Exchange Server 2003 running on Dell PowerEdge 2800 and 2850 servers helps customers lower overall costs by enabling up to 3,000 more mailboxes per server, as compared to Microsoft Exchange Server 5.5, and consolidation of the overall number of servers needed. According to the MAPI Messaging Benchmark Version 3 (MBB3) results, the award-winning PowerEdge 2850 ranks as one of the best 2-way servers for delivering Exchange benchmark performance(b).

Professional Services Ease Migration From Planning Through Implementation

Dell professional services expedite the migration process and minimize business disruptions. The Upgrade to Exchange Server 2003 professional services program delivers customers a fixed time, fixed-scope and fixed-cost service for migrating as many as 5,000 mailboxes from Exchange Server 5.5 to Exchange Server 2003.

Additional services include Exchange Migration Readiness Assessment, Active Directory Design and Deployment, and Training for Exchange Server 5.5 to Exchange Server 2003 or Active Directory. Dell also offers ongoing end-to-end support services including Premier Enterprise support that provides fast response for complex server and storage issues; and, storage-area-network (SAN) maintenance services assess the health and performance of SAN's running Exchange.

Dell's comprehensive migration capabilities also include an innovative online sizing tool that customizes the combination of server and storage packages to best meet customers' Exchange Server 2003 migration needs. The Dell Exchange Server 2003 Sizing Tool creates a draft or general architecture of a customers' back-end Exchange infrastructure and returns a complete view of the necessary components and costs.

More information on Dell's migration program including pre-configured customer solutions, pricing and professional services is available at www.dell.com/exchange.> About Dell

Dell Inc. (NASDAQ:DELL) is a trusted and diversified information-technology supplier and partner, and sells a comprehensive portfolio of products and services directly to customers worldwide. Dell, recognized by Fortune magazine as America's most admired company and No. 3 globally, designs, builds and delivers innovative, tailored systems that provide customers with exceptional value. Company revenue for the past four quarters was $51.1 billion. For more information about Dell and its products and services, visit www.dell.com.