Business email

As bulging inboxes around the world indicate, email is an essential tool for every company. In many situations, it's surpassed the phone as the communication method of choice, because it's easy and versatile.

What’s your company email system for?

Because there are several ways to get a business email system, it’s important to establish your requirements first, then work out the best way to meet them.

As well as estimating how many email addresses you need, you should consider how you want to access your email. Will you want to log in when you’re away from the office, or receive emails on a mobile phone?

Many email services limit the size of attachments and the number of messages you can store, so you also need to consider the volume and nature of messages you will be handling. Sending automated or bulk marketing messages (like a company newsletter) usually requires special software too.

How to get business email

Once you’ve settled on your requirements, there are three main ways to get business email:

• Use a free email service. Free email services like Outlook or Gmail are designed for simplicity. Although they tend to offer fewer options for businesses, they may be adequate – and some offer paid versions with extra business features.
• Buy an email service. Web hosting firms offer a vast range of email packages. They are a good way to get an email system without worrying about the technical side of things and typically cost about £10 per email address per month.
• Host it yourself. If you operate a network server, you can run a company email system from it. This gives you flexibility - for instance, you can create as many addresses as you like, at no extra cost. However, you may need help from your IT supplier to set it up.

You’ll also need to give people in your business some way of accessing their email. This is usually done by installing email software onto each computer. If you already use an office suite, it may well include email software. The most common business email software is Microsoft Outlook.

You’ll probably want email addresses which end in your company’s domain name (like yourcompany.com). Check this is possible with your chosen email system. Some suppliers restrict how domain names can be used or require you to transfer your domain to them.

Don't ignore the potential of mobile email access either. Most email services have mobile features built in, so you can send and receive messages from mobile phones.

For all but the simplest business email systems, it’s worth consulting an expert - like your IT supplier – to ensure your email system fits your needs.

Using company email

Once your company email system is up and running, there are some key issues to consider:

• Security. Email is a common source of computer viruses and spam (junk email) can easily bring your system to a grinding halt. Make sure you take key security precautions and put spam prevention in place.
• Data protection rules. Make sure you comply with relevant data protection rules if you use your business email system to send out marketing messages.
• Staff use of email. It’s hard to stop staff using company email to send personal messages, so you may wish to set rules about what’s acceptable. Create a clear email policy explaining what is and isn’t allowed.

Ongoing business email management needn’t take too much effort, but you need clear procedures for certain situations. For instance, when an employee leaves, you may need to ensure their emails get forwarded on to an alternative member of staff.

More on this topic:

• Getting the right business email system
• Is free business email right for your company?
• Ten ways to use email effectively