Kyla Camille | Negosentro.com
Too many businesses out there are unhappy with their hosting platform for exchanging emails. They wish they had known more details before they set anything in motion. Make sure the provider has a wonderful reputation and they have flexibility. Your business needs will change over time too so it doesn’t make sense to work with a provider who has you stuck with no options.
Technology in Place at Your Business
There isn’t a lack of technology out there when it comes business operations. What you have in place should work very well for your business set up. This will also affect the type of hosting program you should have in place for exchanging emails. Spend some time evaluating your overall infrastructure. Does it offer what you need for overall performance and security? Is it reliable?
Make sure the technology you use is going to be in compliance with the law. Are you doing all you can to protect the rights of your customers? For example, are you protecting their personal data so it is less likely to be compromised by scammers and hackers?
The law also has requirements in place about whom you can email and what is considered SPAM. If the consumer didn’t opt in and give you permission to mail to them, you could be in trouble. The technology you use for the business should give you a simple way to manage your lists. An unsubscribe option needs to be included in every email. This gives the consumer the right and the ability to remove themselves from your mailing list at any point in time.
Types of Hosted Email to Consider
You have the option to decide which type of exchange email hosting setup you would like.
Most providers offer all three but not all of them do. If you want a specific one, make sure the provider offers it. POP/IMAP is the most common platform businesses use for email. This type of connection allows users to download email and then to delete it from the server when they are finished with it. The IMAP elements allow it to be accessed on more than one device.
With the number of people using smartphones and other devices, this is what consumers want. They may have to select a plug-in option to be able to do this. It depends on the device they use but make sure they have the ability. They don’t want to be limited to only accessing their email from their desktop.
Microsoft Exchange based features are also very popular. This type of platform means the business doesn’t have to maintain their own servers for exchanges to occur. The provider is going to offer that service to management. People like the familiar features offered with this type of environment and that puts them at ease. They also benefit from web-based tools including messaging on a mobile device.
You will have to pick between a shared or dedicated host. Make sure the provider offers a secure server that performs quickly. You need it to be reliable and you should be able to customise many of the features. Sometimes, there will be an additional cost for the customising.
If you aren’t sure which one you want, consider a hybrid. This gives you the best overall features of the two options previously mentioned here. This is a great choice to save the business money and to make sure employees have the tools and resources they need at their fingertips. You may decide higher up employees work with certain formats and sales-related employees are restricted to the POP/IMAP.
Selecting Your Provider
Don’t select your provider based on cost alone. They must offer you the services you need now and the flexibility for what you may need down the road. Find a provider offering exceptional customer support so they can walk you through anything you need help with. They should also have an uptime that is very close to 100%. If they believe in what they offer, they won’t have a problem giving you a generous guarantee on that uptime either.
Top notch security is very important to look for. Do they have several layers integrated which help to reduce the risk of SPAM and viruses? Will they keep your information private rather than selling it to other entities? Find out what the policies are relating to backing up materials and recovery of materials. Don’t wait until you have an issue to realise they didn’t have something great in place for you to count on when such troubles happen.
Look into their time in the business and their level of expertise. They should have a proven track record with tons of happy customers out there. They should have experience with managing businesses similar to what you operate. Those with a partnership with Microsoft can be more committed too because they have to adhere to certain training and operational standards.
What does the contract with them look like in terms of pricing, services, and timeframe? You can go with a month to month but that usually costs you more than a yearly contract. Yet you don’t want to be locked into something that no longer works for you. Try to find an option that lets you cancel or change your service at any time. This will keep them working hard to keep you around! Look for any hidden fees that can increase what you think you will be charged.
Take Your Time
Deciding whom to work with for your hosted email needs is important so take your time making that decision. Talk to other customers, talk to the support team, and do your research. Think about the benefits to your business now as well as over the long term. Determine what will offer you a fair return on a reasonable investment. This will ensure you are happy with your choice and it works efficiently for your business.
If you find something isn’t working well, talk to the provider about it. If they aren’t willing to help you resolve the concern, don’t ignore it. That can be a clear indicator you should start looking for a provider who will be there to help you every step of the way when you need it.
