How to choose the right business email provider

Written on 03 October, 2013 by Verity Meagher
Categories Email Marketing Web Hosting Tags email hosting

Communication is key in all business, and never more so than today. Whether you’re a new, small or established business, a hosted email provider can bring your organisation great benefits in flexibility, scaling and support – as long as you choose the right one.

Business Email Providers

Here are the key elements to check before signing up to a new business email provider.

Company reputation

Do some basic Google research into the provider, checking for news items and reviews in particular. See if the company has had previous problems or bad reviews and try to get a feel for how well known they are and whether or not they’ll be sticking around for years to come.

Supported services

Do they support the email clients that your staff use? Do they offer web and mobile access? Check with the provider as to whether they support any specific services you might need such as behavioural email, campaign management and auto responders.

Archiving and backup

Does the company have an easy-to-manage archival solution? Will your staff or IT team be able to use it? If need be, get a support person at the provider to run you through their procedures. Check on the provider’s backup policies as well.

Support responsiveness

How fast and available is the support? When you have an email problem, you often need it dealt with immediately. Ask about the response times and whether the provider offers live chat or phone support, as well as their expected turnaround for particular incidents. 

Security and privacy policies

Ask about the security systems put in place by the provider and what guarantees come with it. Check on their privacy policies to be sure they conform with whatever privacy restrictions govern your corporate information.

Data sovereignty

Find out where the email and servers are hosted and ask about data sovereignty. If you have specific compliance issues or are concerned about other countries’ search warrant or wiretapping policies, this is an important point to address. 

SLA

Examine the service-level agreements in detail to be sure you’ve read all the fine print. Find out what recourse you have in times of outage and what levels of service are guaranteed. 

Migration

Check whether the provider will offer support for migrating your company to the new email system. Whether you’re moving away from a large MS Exchange system or simply looking to outsource email hosting, migration can be time consuming and prone to errors.

Asking these questions will help you identify a provider that’s right for you, and one with which your business can grow. Netregistry has helped thousands of businesses grow online, starting with professional business email hosting.

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