Switching email service providers can be daunting. Your email service is the communication core of your business. It’s now become super important to evaluate the best service solution available and decide what best suits you.
How do your emails work? Once you purchase a domain name, there’s 2 options available which decide where your emails will reside. ‘Local’ or ‘Remote’ email storage – each option determines how your incoming and outgoing emails are routed and processed.
- Local Mail is delivered to the mailbox created on the server alongside your website files (traditional email set-up).
- Remote Mail uses a 3rd party service such as Outlook or Gmail. Emails are kept completely separate from your website files and hosting (preferred business solution).
Your Current Email
If your website has been hosted with Mediamojo for some time now, there’s a good chance your emails are hosted locally (unless you’ve already made the switch). Whilst it’s easy to become complacent with this type of service, what if there was a better option that offers more storage and can even make your work life more productive?
Now we are certainly not saying that locally hosted email isn’t a good way to handle your emails, but as tech leaders such as Microsoft and Google evolve, the services they offer to help improve small business productivity are hard to ignore. That’s why we are encouraging our clients to make the switch to either Microsoft 365 or G Suite (Google). Both services offer affordable plans and are much easier to self-manage once set up. It just comes down to a matter of preference in what each service offers.
When evaluating which service to switch to, consider the following when you do your research:
- Affordability/price
- Storage space
- Spam filters
- User-friendly interface (ease of use)
- Admin features and integrations
- Online and offline access
- Customer support.
Microsoft 365 (Outlook)
Microsoft 365 is a subscription service that includes all the tools you need to run your business. These tools range from Microsoft Word to Publisher and most importantly, Outlook for handling your emails. It’s a cloud based system that stays up-to-date and is available across all your devices.
The free version of Outlook (Office online) allows you access to these tools as well but with less features and they must be accessed via a web browser rather than a desktop app.
The Outlook e-mail service provided in Microsoft 365 is much more robust and built for business over the standard Outlook.com (which is intended for non-professional/personal purposes).
Click here to see Microsoft 365 Business plans and pricing
G Suite (GMail)
G Suite is Google’s answer to Microsoft Office, so you also get the apps for working with documents, spreadsheets and presentations.
Growing in popularity, G Suite is the best option for small businesses that want to take advantage of branded email using Google’s Gmail service. It’s also best for users who regularly collaborate on documents and want to leverage cloud apps like Google Docs and Sheets.
One thing to point out is that G Suite doesn’t come with the desktop apps like Microsoft 365 does, but you can still access any of your documents offline if need be.
Click here to see GSuite Business plans and pricing
Both services are under $10 month/per user and offer tiered plans with additional storage and features depending on your business needs.
One major benefit of switching your email service to a remote system means that if there’s an interruption with your website connection, your emails won’t be affected and your business communications can continue as normal (and vice versa).
If you’re unsure how your emails are currently set up and would like to know more about switching to a remote service, please call us today and we can help point you in the right direction.
Please note: Switching email service providers may require the assistance of an IT professional to help you get set up. You will also need to let us know if you intend to do this so we can make the required changes on our end to make the transition as smooth as possible.
