Build Quality into an Exchange 2000 Environment

Following the lead of application service providers (ASPs), you can use a provisioning process to set up and manage a hosted environment for Exchange 2000 Server. Provisioning is just a fancy name for automating the setup and management of a hosted environment. Why automate? The most important benefit of automation isn't saving time or money but rather creating an effective, high-quality environment. Because you define the provisioning process up front rather than case by case, servers and applications are consistently set up properly. Having a properly set up hosting environment reduces the number of deployment problems, helps ensure security, and aids in disaster recovery.

Before you decide to implement the provisioning process, you need to realize that automation doesn't necessarily mean a lower total cost of ownership (TCO). The up-front costs of creating the automation system can offset the savings realized during deployment of the hosted application. In addition, too many exceptions or differences between deployments can offset the savings. . . .