Using online email accounts
Email is one of the most well used and recognisable forms of communication today, it is fast, efficient and when using many online email accounts – free. Add to this the fact that using an online email account means that you can access your own personal email account from anywhere in the world that has an internet connection and it is easy to see why so many people have them.
Many small businesses find that using online email accounts is a better option for them as it saves a great deal of money rather than having to pay for a dedicated in-house email solution. As with any type of service there are advantages and disadvantages to using online email accounts:-
Advantages
Accessibility – as you are able to access your own personal email account from anywhere in the world you are able to stay in touch with the office and friends where ever you are. This means that you do not have to take your own laptop with you on business trips so you can log into the network just to read your emails.
Cheap – many of the online email accounts are free, or very cheap to use.
Features – many of the online email accounts today offer advanced features such as unlimited storage (something which many users of email accounts such as Outlook will tell you is a massive bonus), virus protection, spam protection, unique graphics and fonts.
Extra capabilities – many online email account providers are also offering free instant messaging or software alongside their main product to encourage users to sign up.
Disadvantages
Privacy – as you are not contributing to the running costs of your online email account the owner must make up revenue somehow. This can be through ads on the site or through selling information – primarily yours. Read the small print of the terms of use to make sure that your provider will not sell things such as your name, email address, contents of your address book and so on.
Security – sending passwords and usernames in plain text means that they pose a security risk. Check to see that your provider has SSL encryption as this will protect your sensitive login information.
Reliability – if you rely heavily on your email account you need to make sure that it is always up and running. If you use an online email account you could find that unplanned maintenance disrupts our routine. Or do you know what would happen if the provider closed down their email facility – how would you retrieve your messages?
Online email accounts are very useful and can provide you with a reliable and secure method of accessing your emails from any PC anywhere in the world (with an internet connection). However if you need to have access to your emails and do not want to run the risk of the provider’s maintenance plans or security throwing a spanner in the works you could be better off paying for your email account.
Tags: Email, Reliability, Security, Small businesses