Cloud-based Email
Cloud based email provides an alternative solution to having your own email servers, software etc.
Why do businesses use email?
Businesses use email to communicate with their customers. Its advantages include being; low cost, quick and providing a history of your communications. It can be used to market your goods and services (such as by email newsletters), provide customer service and enable you and your staff to work more efficiently.
If you'd like to find out more about why businesses use email take a look at this ask.com article.
Traditionally, most businesses purchased a server and loaded Microsoft Exchange on it to utilise Microsoft Outlook. This worked well for businesses and gave them access to a variety of tools such as calendars, address books, email, tasks etc. However, it meant a business had to purchase a server, a licence for Microsoft Exchange, each user needed access to Microsoft Outlook (an additional cost) and typically you needed to purchase antivirus software and spam filters. In addition there was the cost of IT staff to manage the system.
Cloud based email provides an alternative solution where the only equipment you need is access to the Internet. Service providers tend to offer this on a subscription basis where you pay per user.
There are cost free solutions out there, but you may have limited control of the data and, unless you link your domain name to your email address, you will have a business email that ends in a generic address such as @gmail.com or @yahoo.com, which is considered unprofessional.
Like any business solution, there are pros and cons to Cloud based email, you should consider your company’s needs before making a decision. Key benefits of Cloud based email include;
- Cost – low and predictable costs (also the cost shifts from being capital expenditure to an operating expenditure)
- No/minimal human resources – It staff are freed up to focus on tasks other than maintaining managing email systems and hardware
- Scalable – able to add new services and/or email accounts quickly and easily
Some examples of Cloud based email providers:
When evaluating the right email provider for your business consider Sendgrid's 10 questions you should ask every Cloud-based email provider.