Hosting Your Company's Email

What is your email host doing for you? Or, do you even have an email host?

I have been helping a client move to faster Internet. As part of the package, we will be moving their email hosting to another provider. Originally, I had recommended Google Apps for Domains, since my preference for it is well documented. Unfortunately, due to a miscommunication, the client did not understand that Google Apps costs $50 per user, per year. Oops.

I told the client that I would gather some information on email hosting options. After hanging up, I decided to make it a blog post, since many of you will be able to benefit from it.

First, let's talk about who this is for - anyone who currently has (or will soon have) ownership of an Internet domain (such as whatever.com). You may already have email service on the domain, or you may just have it "parked" - ownership is attached, but you haven't done anything with it yet.

So here are a few of your options. I'll tell you what it is, how it is most frequently used, the pros and cons of using that method, and some indication of pricing.

1. Hosted Exchange - Several companies offer Microsoft's Exchange Server as a hosted offering. Microsoft Exchange Server is the default business standard for email / groupware servers. The features that come with this hosting plan are usually as follows: 

• 2 - 5GB of email space
• Outlook Web Access - Access all of your email, calendars, contacts from anywhere in the web
• Free copy of Outlook (if needed)
• Shared Contacts
• Shared Calendars
• Public Folders to be used with anyone in your group (or even opened up to the Internet if you choose to)
• Syncs with Outlook natively
• Best smartphone sync choices: Any phone that supports ActiveSync (iPhone, Android, Palm, any Windows Mobile phone)

Pricing: Typically $8 - $15 per month

Pros: Default standard for groupware. Most IT professionals are well versed in Exchange, should problems arise. Outlook synchronizes with it seamlessly, without a second "helper" application. 

Cons: Highest priced offering in the category. Spam filtering may be useless. 

2. Google Apps for Domains - Google is taking square aim at Microsoft's Exchange Server with their offering. If there is no other reason to use this, I would say use it for the amazingly good spam filtering. But there are many other reasons to use it:

• 25GB of email space
• Web access to all of your email, calendars, contacts from anywhere
• Amazing spam filter built in
• Shared Contacts
• Shared Calendars
• Public Folders (via Google Docs)
• Syncs with Outlook via external app
• Best smartphone sync choices: iPhone, Android, Palm, any Windows Mobile phone, most Blackberries

Pricing: $50 per user per year

Pros: Many people are becoming well versed in Google's way of approaching email, so support should be easy to come by. Spam filter is incredible, though nothing is perfect. Built on open standards so if you get tired of using Outlook, you can use just about anything you like. Many additional applications come with the mail service (Google Docs, Google Sites, etc)

Cons: Still some nagging sync difficulties. Google is constantly "improving" which may prove mildly disruptive (last year there were a couple of hours of downtime, but those using sync with Outlook and other programs were unaffected - only webmail users were affected). 

3. Sendmail / Postfix hosting - By far the cheapest option, and may also be the most prevalent. You can certainly find a plethora of hosting providers that will provide this option on the cheap. Sendmail and Postfix have been the default standards for Internet mail for almost as long as Internet mail has been around. Here's a few reasons to use it:

• Standards based - This is how email started
• Web access to email you haven't downloaded yet, or all email, depending on configuration
• Outlook can download email from these servers
• Phone Sync Options - any phone that supports SMTP or IMAP

Pricing: From about $8 per domain per month

Pros: Very cheap. Supports the widest variety of email clients, including Outlook.

Cons: No groupware (shared calendar, contacts). Mail server may have a very limited amount of space available for your email. Usually no spam filter (or a weak one) included. 

Conclusion: 

If pricing is the biggest factor, Sendmail / Postfix hosting will likely be the best. If you want the best possible integration with Outlook, you will want to investigate Exchange Server hosting. If spam is eating you alive, and you want a good balance between cost and functionality, I would go with Google Apps for Domains. Disclaimer: I did. I'm a very happy customer, but your mileage may vary.