Why We Recommend G Suite and Office 365 as Email Providers
A question we’re asked regularly by our clients is what the best email provider is for their business. Hopefully this blog post helps answer this question and gives more information about our two most recommended platforms. These are G Suite from Google and Office 365 from Microsoft.
Benefits of G Suite and Office 365 Over Other Platforms?
There are many benefits of using G Suite and Office 365 over outdated POP/IMAP. These old style email mailboxes are not set up to accommodate modern day challenges such as being accessible on a mobile device. They are also stored on a local computer, so are more susceptible to hardware failure, environmental issue and viruses. Which will, as a result, compromise the security of your email service and data.
There are many reasons why POP/IMAP should no longer be used and why a premium service such G Suite and Office 365 should be used instead.
Here are a few that we feel to be the most significant for your business.
1. Security and Resilience
The main benefits of G Suite and Office 365 are that they’re much more secure and resilient that budget providers such as POP/IMAP. Increased security measures make them far more robust. It’s no surprise that G Suite is the most popular email client on the web today, closely followed by Office 365. Both of these platforms are developed by experts and specialise in offering these types of mailbox services. Meaning they’re constantly being developed and maintained. Supported by large teams of individuals who are passionate about providing a high quality and secure service.
2. Reduces Bounce Back and Spam
Due to this constant development and innovation, less of your emails will go to spam or junk folders. Meanwhile a fewer number of emails will bounce and not be sent, which is a common frustration with POP/IMAP providers. Some business owners, particularly those starting out, are reluctant to invest in a premium email provider over a free service. However the cost of that security knowing your emails will always work, is more valuable than the low monthly outlay for the premium service.
3. Long Term Growth
Another benefit of G Suite and Office 365 over other providers is you’ll no longer need to change to a newer system. When your business outgrows it’s existing email management platform. Many large businesses approach us and have outgrown their current POP email server. But find that moving to a new email provider will cause disruption and downtime. If your serious about your businesses success in the long term, we recommend you opt for a quality email management system from the outset. Like Office 365 or G Suite which provide scale-able options and customisable add ons. Meaning the service can grow with your business rather than hinder it’s long term growth. Which could cause more harm than good.
4. Additional Software
A huge benefit for many of our clients who move away from POP/IMAP to a premium provider is that they get to benefit from other software. Such as Excel, Word for Microsoft Office 365. As well as Google Drive, Google Sheets and Google Docs for G Suite (which may be better suited to Apple users.) For some businesses this can be a deciding factor, as it integrates many external apps that they’re currently using and brings everything into one place. Allowing them to be interconnected. For long term business growth this is extremely important as it allows for teams to collaborate and access content and resources from any device, regardless of location. A huge benefit of cloud based software.
What is G Suite?
Developed by Google, G Suite is a collection of productivity, business software and tools. Gmail, Google Drive, Google Docs, Google Sheets, Calendar, Google+ and Google Hangouts all fall under this G Suite umbrella. This diverse product range is used by both individuals and businesses alike. The familiarity of the services that many users are already utilising in their daily lives. Combined with it’s user friendly approach. Making it incredibly easy to integrate within a business environment with minimal technical know-how.
We love that with G Suite you’re able to set up your own, personal domain as your mail server. The services are regularly updated and supported by Google. Who have the money to invest in cutting edge technology and are constantly innovating to provide the best possible service. Meanwhile they offer additional security with advanced admin controls, ensuring your information and data is always kept safe and secure.
At Primal Space we actively use G Suite on a daily basis. Whether that be G Mail email provider, Google Sheets to collaborate on projects with clients or Google Drive where our clients upload their content for website design projects. The fact that you’re able to collaborate on projects with team members from afar is an attractive selling point. While cloud based technology allows you to access all of your data from any device, remotely. Extremely important in this day in age when the future of business is moving away from an office based environment. G Suite as a service provides many overall benefits for your business.
G Suite Pricing and Set Up Guide
Still unsure? You can try G Suite free for 14 days. You’ll then only be charged the monthly fee based on the package you’ve selected, after this period ends on a 12 month contract basis. It’s an extremely low cost solution with maximum return providing a wealth of technology at your fingertips for the cost of a Starbucks. Meanwhile, monthly payments make it manageable for smaller business as there is no hefty annual fee.
Once you’ve signed up, which only takes around 5 minutes. The set up process is incredibly easy to navigate. G Suite also offer an incredible support service via phone, email and chat where an expert will be able to help you answer any queries that you may have.
What is Office 365?
Like G Suite, Office 365 offers an integrated approach with a collection of services. This time under the umbrella of the Microsoft Office product line. The email service is Outlook. However other services that are encompassed within the package of Office 365 includes widely used applications. Such as Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote and Microsoft Teams.
Like G Suite, Office 365 is cloud based, therefore it allows you to work from anywhere and access emails from any device. There are also extra security features available should these be required and a whole range of other benefits for your business.
Office 365 Pricing and Set Up Guide
From a pricing perspective, it’s extremely appealing that Office 365 is a subscription based service. This allows users to pay low cost monthly fees on a 12 month contract, for using the services they require. Instead of a large annual cost of buying the licence for the program outright.
The set up process is simple to navigate and there is plenty of support that you can access at anytime as required.
G Suite and Office 365 Benefits
Hopefully you’ve found this blog post helpful and now have a clearer understanding about the two platforms that we recommend. Also why these are a more valuable solution to your email requirements, over a budget POP/IMAP service.
We think it’s really important that clients are set up with a premium service from the outset. As so often those who do choose to go with the budget option are left disappointed. Losing years worth of emails and client data and important business information when things go awry. Sadly in most cases this isn’t able to be recovered or transferred.
We’re not trying to advise you to spend money on email providers unnecessarily. It really is in your own best interest to opt for a premium service and keep your data safe and secure. While also having the peace of mind that your emails will always work without any downtime or bounce backs.
How We Can Help With Email Set Up
At Primal Space we’re able to offer all clients email set up on the server/domain. As well as the DNS settings, as part of our website hosting service. This will be charged at our normal hourly rate for any set up time and can be added to any project. Set up costs will vary based on the number of mailboxes, and if any forwards or aliases etc as these will take longer to set up.
You’ll then be able to continue the set up process on your own devices which is really easy and quick to complete. Simply adding the username and password we’ll securely provide to you after the initial set up at our end is complete. You’ll just need to download the relevant apps for Apple/Android and then you’re ready to go. Meanwhile both G Suite or Office 365 offer an exceptional support service. So do get in touch with them directly if you’re having trouble with this and their support team will be able to best advise you. You’ll then be able to migrate your own data on a local machine by importing your .pst file from your old account to your new account.
Learn more about what services we do offer as part of our Email and IT support and the services that we’re currently unable to provide at this time.
Contact us to discuss your website hosting requirements and find out how we can help.