{"id":5411,"date":"2023-05-03T16:52:05","date_gmt":"2023-05-03T20:52:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.jumpcloud.com\/blog\/?p=5411"},"modified":"2023-08-30T14:18:06","modified_gmt":"2023-08-30T18:18:06","slug":"replace-exchange-and-active-directory","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jumpcloud.com\/blog\/replace-exchange-and-active-directory","title":{"rendered":"Does Google Workspace Replace Exchange and Active Directory?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
As time goes on and new IT management and productivity tools continue to hit the market, more and more organizations are looking for a modern replacement to Microsoft Exchange and Active Directory (AD). This is because many organizations are interested in replacing legacy and rigid, outdated infrastructure with modern, cloud-based tools. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
These organizations are looking for more freedom and flexibility in the way that they work, and many of them are finding it within Google Workspace. This is where the comparisons of Google Workspace vs Microsoft Exchange and Google Workspace vs Active Directory arise. In the past, Exchange and AD were core pieces of most businesses\u2019 IT infrastructure, but this simply isn\u2019t the case anymore.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Microsoft Exchange is an email and messaging service often used by businesses and schools that\u2019s available as a hosted service or can be installed, and Active Directory is a legacy directory service developed by Microsoft for Windows domain networks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So why are organizations replacing Exchange and AD?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nDue to the cost of licensing, hardware, and the expertise required to maintain, it’s not necessarily a good fit for small to medium sized companies.<\/p>\nMicrosoft Exchange Customer<\/a><\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
Problems With Active Directory<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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- Expensive to purchase, set up, and maintain.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- On-prem infrastructure required.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Rigid, inflexible infrastructure.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Windows-centric ecosystem that lacks support for cross-OS devices.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Microsoft-centric ecosystem where network becomes excessively dependent on AD.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Difficult to integrate with other tools.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
An Alternative to Microsoft Exchange and AD<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
All of these problems associated with Exchange and AD have led many organizations to consider alternatives. One popular alternative to Exchange and AD is using Google Workspace and JumpCloud\u2019s open directory platform<\/a> together. This solution gives organizations a modern productivity suite along with an open directory platform that seamlessly integrates with the other tools in your environment, allowing you to choose the tools that you want to use with no friction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Let\u2019s dive into the details of each solution to see why Google Workspace and JumpCloud serve as a great Exchange and AD replacement option.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n