What is a mail server?

At the most basic level, an e-mail server is a mail transfer agent (MTA) and is responsible for moving an e-mail message from sender to recipient, most commonly employing Simple Mail Transport Protocol (SMTP) to deliver a message to the next server. An e-mail server may additionally host mailboxes, where e-mail messages are ultimately delivered, and so will respond to protocols designed for retrieving e-mail from mailboxes.

Alternatively, an e-mail server could have been implemented to scan the content of e-mail messages and determine the appropriateness and safety of the content, and whether the message should be routed on or discarded. Zimbra, Gmail, Office360 and Microsoft Exchange are some commonly used mail servers.

Cloud hosting or On-Premise hosting?

In the current scenario, email is one of the most important and necessities of any organisation. You need to be well connected with your prospects and be available on emails always. Also, as we are currently facing a corona pandemic outbreak all over the globe and people are confined to their home, hence we need to be operational and functional from home as well without compromising on our productivity and overall efficiency.

Let’s understand the basic difference between two choices for email provision: Cloud and On-Premise

Advantages of Cloud Email:

• Let’s understand the basic difference between two choices for email provision: Cloud and On-Premise
• In most cases, you only pay for the number of email boxes you need, scaling up quickly whenever required.
• Users can access the data from anywhere, as all the data is being securely stored in the cloud.
• You do not require an in-house IT person to monitor the email servers 24/7. It also helps you to invest in other resources.
• You do not have to purchase servers or hardware, which can be a substantial up-front cost or pay for power and space.
• Cloud email providers have dedicated security teams and will also take care of any technical issues.
• Your email will stay up even if your office network is down, which can be very handy for companies that operate in disaster-prone areas such as hurricanes and fire zones.
• Your email data is often backed up on the cloud servers and remains for a specific period, and a copy of your data stays with the Cloud Email provider, which is helpful in case any data is deleted from your end.

Advantages of On-Prem:

• You have to make a one-time investment on servers which will be a one-time capital and operational cost.
• It can be cheaper after the initial setup investment in servers.
• It allows full control of the servers and environment.
• Your email account can't be abruptly suspended.
• You need an in-house IT person to monitor the email servers 24/7 and hence the maintenance lies in your hand and you need not depend on any other.
• You can take backups according to your requirements anytime, and this is helpful in case you need to maintain certain compliances according to Government policies.

What to look for while choosing a mail server for your organization?

After deciding on the hosting option, here are a few key factors that must be considered before you choose an email hosting service. They are:

• Security of Information: Almost all types of business communications have an element of confidential information. Such sorts of data are intended for specific recipients. If the email hosting service you choose does not come with the highest level of security, some unauthorized persons may access the data using dubious means and misuse it with malicious intent. That is the reason why choosing an email hosting service that offers the best security systems for data protection is what you should be aiming for.
• Cost Effective: Setting up an email server used to be expensive. But the good thing here is that most email service providers today are cloud-based. As a result, there is no setup required at your end and this essentially means there is no capital cost involved either.
• Administration Features: With email, companies can send out their messages to their associates, business partners, employees and others associated with their business speedily and conveniently. Whenever you choose an established and reputed email hosting service, you can expect to remain in full control of all your email related operations.
• Compatibility with Your Business Communication Needs: As the business grows, your email competency must also grow to keep pace with the increased communication demands of the expanding business. Productivity cannot be allowed to take a back seat which means you must have access to a powerful, flexible and scalable email hosting solution that is feature-rich. Your employees must be ready to access folders, calendars, and contacts without much effort.
• Storage Facilities: One of the most frustrating experiences that most businesses experience is finding their mailbox full at the beginning of every working day. A mailbox full of messages can affect productivity adversely as your employees will have to go through the tedious process of sorting and deleting messages so that fresh messages can flow unhindered.
• Collaborative Features: The email hosting solutions you choose for your business must have a wide number of collaborative features including Outlook for Windows (MAPI) and Zimbra Mobile (ActiveSync).
• Quality of Support and Service: The email hosting solutions you choose for your business must be up and running optimally so that your business does not suffer the embarrassment and agony of downtimes. This can affect your reputation adversely besides costing your organization many dollars in maintenance. It is sensible to settle on email hosting services that guarantee optimum uptime backed by SLA.

We can summarize that the email hosting service you choose must be capable of growing your business. The features and tools offered must be advanced enough to deliver email hosting services of the best kind. A reputed email hosting service is capable of handling all of your business communication requirements with the very best level of efficiency. Zimbra is a mail server that has almost all the above-mentioned features.

Contact us to learn what Zimbra services might look like for your organization in both cloud and on-premise hosting options. Allow our representative to either call you in 24 hours or e-mail you for more details about our services - Click Here