In the world of email, the two most common protocols are POP3 and IMAP, while both are very useful tools for solving a piece of the email puzzle, they are not very effective as the foundation for your solution.
If you find yourself deleting and organizing the same emails on each of your computers or devices separately, OR you can no longer access an email from a second computer once it is downloaded on the first, you are probably using POP3.
If you have an exact match of your emails & email folders on multiple computers and devices but calendars and contacts do not sync you are most likely using IMAP.
With Microsoft Exchange (Office 365), Gmail, Google Apps, Hotmail, and iCloud, not only is your email synced to all of your devices, but calendars, contacts, tasks and reminders are as well. For example, with these email systems, adding a contact on your computer instantly populates the same contact on your phone, and when you set an appointment from your computer you are reminded from your phone while you are out.
The next time you lose, destroy or replace your smartphone, using Exchange (Office 365), Gmail, Google Apps, Hotmail, and iCloud you can simply enter your email address and password to sync everything back to your new phone.
While Gmail, Hotmail and iCloud are fine for personal use, using a local Exchange server, Office 365 or Google Apps are much better suited for businesses that need shared calendars, use of a domain name (name@yourbusinessname.com) and control over the system itself.
Perhaps the most important feature in a business email system is the ability to retain control of the organization. Suppose you employ a very intelligent and successful sales person who both generates and maintains customer relationships.
- If the person is using a personal email system that you do not have access to, you are giving them the opportunity to walk away from your business taking all of those clients and the communication history with them.
- If you require the person to use a company email system like Office 365 or Google Apps, you can simply assign the management of that mailbox and contact list to another employee and remove the opportunity for the employee to walk away with your customers.
So, to conclude, you can potentially save a lot of time and money by moving to an email system that will keep you in sync.
Ready to get your email system organized and seamlessly migrated to a better solution? Call us today, 951-440-7600.
