You might expect that with a ubiquitous service such as mail, making the right choice is easy. After all, it’s a straightforward decision, isn’t it? Consider the options, add in your budget requirements and see what fits the bill.

You might expect that. You might, however, not be totally right. And what you ultimately find may surprise you.

Too often we merely glance over working requirements for email. It’s been a core function of work for long enough that it’s nearly taken for granted. Yet not all workspaces can simply make do with a generic email setup. You will increasingly encounter professions and work fields with ever-expanding features that are necessary.

When this happens, you may well want to take a slower and deeper look at the email system you eventually choose. To help with this, we’ve put together a brief look at different considerations.

Business type matters to mailDo you just need the basics for email communication, or do you you require tools for a more organic approach?

A good starting point is for you to determine how critical email communication is for your business. If it’s going to be a core tool for you to interact with your stakeholders, you’ll need to cater for that importance. On the other hand, if you’re relying more on personal interaction or social media to get messages across, you can make do with less.

It’s also worth considering if email is going to be tied in to any of your work functions. For example, a group running a support system or a helpdesk needs strong and flexible email integration. By contrast, a retailer with a comprehensive online portal and associated database may only need email for dealing with direct enquiries and product issues.

Cloud versus on-site

At some point you’ll likely weigh the pros and cons of moving to a cloud-based solution. The attraction is lower costs and an always-available solution. But what happens if you grow large enough to justify your own email infrastructure? How easy will the transition be? Will it even be possible without major implications?

In addition, be choosy if you’re planning on hosting your mail solution outside your national borders. Hosting services abroad can offer what may be excellent deals, but if you encounter difficulties, the escalation process may not be what you require, and you have little recourse if things go pear-shaped.

There are a lot of non-technical factors to consider, so make sure you don't come up shortConsider compliance carefully

Many business types have additional legislative requirements. They are required to subscribe to a number of compliance policies and laws. As such, it is vital for their own services to comply as well. Email systems are no exception. You should always take the time to make sure that the system you use is compliant with your business requirements.

A good example of this is the upcoming POPI legislation. The Protection of Personal Information Act places strong emphasis on the safeguarding of personally identifiable data. You will need to carefully consider how you protect the information you hold and send out. Finally, the providers you choose to supply you with services will themselves need to be compliant.

This is yet another reason to consider the implications of services from abroad. There are countries where the legislation is approved as a parallel to our own, and there are countries where it isn’t. By using mail services originating in the latter areas, you could end up unknowingly failing your compliance requirements.

Adept is a proud provider of best-fit options as well as fully custom mail solutions. For more information, head on over here to read about our Mail Hosting services.