Is a free email solution right for your company?

In the early days of a startup or new business cash can be quite strapped which means free services can really be a life saver to help get things moving forward.

One of the crucial elements in any company is communications and these days, whether you like it or not, email is the way the majority of that communicating happens.

There does come a time though when you can outgrow those free options/services you are using and if you need to assess if your company has reached that point you can look at a few key areas.

Although these suggestions come from the Office 365 team at Microsoft in a recent blog post, they can easily be considered by anyone who is using free email right now. It also does not mean you must get Office 365 to replace your free email.

These areas are thought provoking and can be great conversation starters in your business to consider all possible options and benefits when it comes to one of the most basic services we need each day.

Here are the six areas of consideration when looking to see if you have outgrown the free email system you are currently using:

Security—If you’ve experienced a security breach—or are even worried about it happening—you need a more sophisticated solution that offers increased, enterprise-class security capabilities.

Storage—You’ve reached your storage max: a very simple reason to upgrade. Storage space should never cause you to delete or change how you use your email, especially when paid solutions offer large stores of data.

Tools—Free email tools don’t typically provide robust inbox- and user-management tools. Paid email solutions offer a range of features for managing users as well as extensive rules for managing your inbox—enabling you to spend less time managing your inbox and more time managing your business.

Domain names—Using a custom domain for your business email is a vital way to ensure your business appears professional. For example, “[email protected]” has a lot more credibility than “[email protected].” While free custom email addresses are available, they often leave you open to security threats, because the company you host through will likely have access to your data and other information.

Data—If you’ve ever felt the need to own and manage your email data, it’s time to move to a paid solution. Often, when you agree to free email terms, you’re granting the email provider permission to mine your data and send you ads—which is how their companies remain profitable while offering free services. Not only can this distract from your work, it also puts your company’s data at risk.

File sharing—Need to share files and collaborate securely with your team? Paid email solutions enable team-based collaboration and sharing without putting confidential company information at risk.

Are there any other considerations that would prompt you to decide on a paid email solution versus free?

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