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Today, email is one of the primary channels used by every company with even a little web presence for communicating with both staff and clients. However, there is still some ambiguity over how it works, how to configure it for business usage, and what cloud email does with all of that.
You would learn the following in this post regarding cloud-based email solutions:
- Describe cloud email.
- What email hosting method is the safest?
- What advantages does cloud email offer?
- Which of the top cloud email service providers is ideal for my company?
- I should choose which cloud-based email sending service, and why.
Let's now get to the point.
What is cloud email?
Software and services that run over the Internet as opposed to locally on a computer are referred to as cloud computing. There is no need to buy and operate a data center or any other computing infrastructure because they are provided on demand.
Case #1: Email client combined with cloud service
One can own a personal mailbox and send and receive emails at any time using email applications that are running on cloud-based email infrastructure. As a result, all emails sent, managed, and stored through a cloud email service like Gmail or Yahoo are done so on distant servers.
Case #2: Complete cloud infrastructure with cloud mailbox providers
The term "cloud email" in a business process refers to cloud email hosting, user management (when a firm creates accounts and permissions for its employees), extra email capabilities, backend support, upgrade maintenance, and access to a network of remote sending and receiving servers. The ability for employees to access data via mail to clients from any location improves the working environment, fosters collaboration, and increases flexibility. Cloud email hosting and service providers assist your organization in connecting its internal and external resources and allowing it to withstand mail server outages without suffering large financial losses.
Case #3: Cloud-based email sending
These are the cloud-based hosted email infrastructure is an example for email automation and email functionality development, respectively. In this context, cloud email refers to cloud services that offer bulk sending with a focus on deliverability, tracking, and analytical capabilities (e.g., on email performance, security concerns, etc.), and scaling your email business needs.
Are there cloud email services or cloud email providers?
In order to identify cloud email systems, the words "cloud email provider" and "cloud email service" are frequently used interchangeably:
Email client, cloud email services, add-on features, and backend technologies are all provided by cloud (email) mailbox providers. Using the example of an Internet provider, a cloud mailbox provider.
A specific service that is paid for being handled in the cloud is the cloud email sending service. We discuss cloud-based email sending services in this instance. While computational processes hosted email infrastructure is an example for this service run in the cloud on remote server clusters, the main focus is on serving (and delivering) the toolkit for automated email sending.
What distinguishes cloud-based email from on-premises hosted email?
Take into account the following three factors while selecting an email hosting solution:
- requisites for security
- financial resources
- technical capabilities
Building your own hosted email infrastructure is an example for arranging email hosting on-premises if your company engages in government, military, or highly competitive research operations. The business will have to invest a significant amount of financial and technical resources in setting up an on-site corporate email server.
Equipment needed for hosting
Equipment, licenses, the email platform, physical space for the local data center, power for the servers, and the technical support staff responsible for maintenance around-the-clock are all expenses for the business. Additionally, if the firm expands, take into account scaling back and increasing traffic. This would result in the need to purchase more hardware and exorbitant technical costs. The most challenging aspect of in-house hosting is that if the server goes down for any reason, the company would be completely paralyzed and unable to alert anyone via email.
Hosting cloud mail servers enables the business to reduce costs. You merely pay for the rental and services; all costs associated with upkeep, support, and upgrades are covered by the supplier. In contrast to a local server, the configuration of the cloud can if necessary be changed via a virtual interface. It is possible to scale the cloud without purchasing more hardware. The cloud is a dynamic pool of resources made up of several physical servers, so even if one of the servers experiences issues, the other server in the pool will be able to take over and keep the email workload going.
Costs of on-premise
Although on-premises email hosting and data storage is safer and gives you more control, it costs a lot to install and operate. In-house hosting may, however, turn out to be less expensive in the long run and on a smaller scale than cloud hosting.
There are eight good reasons to use cloud email services and hosting:
• Online archiving: Business communications require access to online email archives. Some cloud providers provide backups that you can access instantly on the cloud for a period of five to ten years.
• Multiple mailboxes: If your firm is expanding, you'll need the ability to create mailboxes on the go. The companies that offer cloud mailboxes make sure you have access to every mailbox you need to run your business.
• Bundle offers: Cloud providers frequently provide web, domain, and email hosting as part of a single package, which can result in cost savings over purchasing each service separately.
• Mailbox storage: For a typical business, a mailbox must be able to hold huge files and a lot of mail, and cloud mailbox storage is typically sufficient for your company's requirements.
• Room to expand: With an online business, you can never be sure how much email storage or how many mailboxes you'll need. Although having numerous email addresses can improve your company's image and streamline operations, the number of accounts will rise quickly. Large email attachments will quickly use up your allowed storage space faster than you expect. You may prepare for your demands as your firm expands by using cloud email.
• Remote access: With the aid of a cloud mailbox provider, staff members can access work email from anywhere in the world. You are no longer restricted to your actual work or even your company laptop thanks to cloud email.
• Server crash tolerance: What would happen if your office's mail server crashed? The correct response is that you won't be able to access your email, which will disrupt business. There isn't a mail cloud. A server cluster powers the cloud, so in the event of a failure, there is always a backup server to take over email operations. This assures business continuity and considerably reduces the risk of key server failure.
• Budgeting: By using cloud email services and hosting, you can spend less on server security and maintenance. The business only pays for the resources it uses when using a cloud email system.
Best cloud-based mailbox providers
The top cloud email service providers to take into account for your business needs are listed below:
[Google Workspace (former G Suite)]
[Office 365 Microsoft Outlook]
The particulars of the business and its email operations naturally influence the choice of a mailbox provider.
Choose ProtonMail or Tutanota if you want the best email security possible with end-to-end encryption of emails. They offer specialized mobile apps and online clients that are OS-compatible. Microsoft Outlook from Office 365 looks like the logical choice if your business primarily uses Microsoft Office programs like Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. Rackspace will be a fantastic choice for email campaigns in the case of a tiny organization. Since Google Workspace is one of the most widely used email cloud options among organizations, it doesn't need any special introductions.
Top cloud email sending services
These cloud email sending services scored top positions in our list (but not necessarily in that order):
Sendinblue is a one-stop shop email sending solution in the cloud for managing a small business. It enables the sending of transactional emails, marketing emails, and the creation of processes for automatic follow-up emails. It is intuitive and simple to use for beginners.
MailSlurp is the undisputed king of cloud email sending for both transactional and marketing purposes, having served over 45,000 paying clients and sent over a trillion emails. Because of the excellent bulk-sending capabilities, it better meets the needs of large businesses. With its API interfaces and support for numerous frameworks, including Java, PHP, C#, and Python, SendGrid is pretty exceptional.
Choose Amazon SES for exceptional scalability, integration, and analytics. In the meantime, Mailgun and PostMark are two widely used cloud sending services.
Roundup
A broad word like "cloud email" could indicate several things. It could be a reference to cloud mailbox providers, cloud email sending services, or cloud-based email hosting. For almost all enterprises, small and large, cloud email offers a wealth of advantages and powerful tools. Some of the major benefits of cloud email are business continuity, remote access, cost-effectiveness, scaling possibilities, email automation, and convenient data backup.
The decision about the finest email solution for businesses should, nevertheless, always take into account four factors: the company's size and particular needs, security requirements, financial resources, and technological resources.
