Business E-mail Hosting

Business E-mail Hosting
Why is E-mail Hosting Important?
Exchange Email Hosting

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Email Hosting for Small Businesses
Why is it important?

Many small business owners assume that email hosting is something reserved for big business. They think it is either too expensive or a waste of money to have email operations hosted by a web hosting company. In reality, email hosting is just as suited to the needs of small businesses as it is to large companies.

Email can be as vital to communication in a small business as it in a large company. Customers and suppliers can use email 24 hours per day, regardless of whether anyone is available to answer when the email reaches the inbox. Employees can use email to communicate regarding projects, customer service issues, and important in-house information. Because it serves so many vital functions, it is important that email be efficient, secure and operational at all times.

No discussion of email hosting would be complete without mention of Exchange email hosting which is becoming very popular amongst small businesses.

Microsoft exchange email hosting comes with features such as Shared Calendars, Shared contacts, Public folders, Meetings scheduling, Tasks management. Some of the specific benefits are:

• Information is centralized in one place and can be accessed by other designated team members (access can be reduced to authorized personnel only). This provides for better communication and reduces redundancy.

• Tasks can be assigned and completion status checked online.

• Meetings can be scheduled. Availability of attendees as well as meeting rooms and equipment can be checked online and booked.

• Business professionals can keep it in touch with office and access information on servers remotely using their handhelds such as the Treo or Pocket PC PDA devices, the Blackberry, and other PDA devices

Benefits of Email hosting for small business:

• Email address - Using email hosting allows users from your business to have an email address of user@yourdomainname. These types of email addresses look more professional, and they give the appearance that your business is bigger than it actually is. Professionalism in appearance also helps you win customers.

• Cost - Email hosting is significantly cheaper than hosting your own email server. There is no need to buy a server, perform maintenance and upgrades, or pay for software to run the email solution. Technical support staff to handle the operations of the server is an expense that many small businesses cannot afford, but the hosting provider's staff is part of an email hosting package. The email host takes care of the server, including hosting and maintenance, as well as all security, software and bandwidth needs. Many email hosting providers offer several payment options, including regular monthly payments that make it easy for any size business to afford email hosting.

• Accessibility - Most email hosting companies allow users to check their email using Outlook or Eudora, as well as offering webmail so users can check email using any device with an internet connection. Important emails no longer need to sit in a user's inbox until the user returns to work. This feature also increases productivity by allowing users to email co-workers, project team mates or supervisors when an idea comes to mind, rather than chancing the loss of the idea by waiting until they get to the office.

• Security - Email hosting comes with spam and anti-virus features, which helps keep your network safe and your inboxes free of unwanted mail. Email hosts also perform routine backups of your data, as well as providing redundant security features for the servers. All of this helps to ensure that your email runs smoothly all of the time.

Email serves several vital functions in the small business environment, so it is important that email operations are handled professionally. Email hosting is an affordable, reliable method of ensuring safety and security for small business email. To choose a reliable email hosting provider, some factors to consider are: length of time a web host has been in web hosting business, technical support, expertise of staff etc.

In this day and age of internet, email has become as important to business as oxygen is to brain. Can your business afford to be without it?

Written by Mike Salim American Data Technology, Inc. www.localweb.com (Certified Microsoft Exchange Email Hosting Provider 919-544-4101 and 800-525-0031). All rights are reserved and no duplication be made without written permission.

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