Email Hosting — How to Decide
October 27th, 2006 by Austin LaneThere are some terms that need to be defined before we can discuss this important decision.
Email Domain
A domain is basically the part of your email address after the “@” symbol. For example, in r.graber@austinlane.com, the “austinlane.com” part is the Domain, and the “r.graber” part is the mailbox name. Some companies do not have their own domain name, and instead just use free or low cost email accounts from yahoo.com or hotmail.com or something like that. Most companies register a domain name that is indicative of their company name or function. For instance, a law firm may have a domain name like SmithAndJones.com, or it may be something like MalpracticeLaw.com. In this day and age, most consumers under the age of 40 will consider a company that doesn”t have its own domain name to be less qualified. Having your own domain name is important, and presents a professional image. ALTI can assist you in locating and registering a domain name that works for your organization.
SMTP Server
SMTP stands for Simple Mail Transfer Protocol. This is the way that mail servers communicate for sending email from one place to another, from one mailbox to another. When you send email, your email client (such as Microsoft Outlook) communicates with an SMTP server to begin the delivery process. That server then communicates with other servers to deliver the email message to its actual destination mailbox.
POP Server
POP stands for Post Office Protocol. This is the way that email clients (such as Microsoft Outlook) communicate with a server to retrieve email from the desired mailbox. Usually, when you click Send/Recieve in Microsoft Outlook, Outlook first communicates with the SMTP server to send any email that is in your Outbox, and then it communicates with a POP server to retrieve any new email that has been delivered to your mailbox. In general, once an email is retrieved from the POP server, the POP server then deletes the email from the mailbox on the server. However, you can set up options in most email clients to leave email messages on the POP server for a specified length of time so that you can still retrieve that email from other email clients at other locations. When email is POPed from a server, it is usually stored locally on the user”s PC in a file such as a PST file.
IMAP Server
IMAP stands for Internet Message Access Protocol. This is the protocol used instead of POP by Microsoft”s Exchange Server. This protocol allows email clients such as Microsoft Outlook to show the contents of a mailbox that always resides on the server, and the email is not actually removed from the server. The server can maintain multiple email folders and basically functions as a message store. Microsoft Outlook doesn”t need to store messages in a local PST file when communicating with an IMAP server like Microsoft Exchange, since the email is always stored on the actual Exchange Server”s database.
Microsoft Exchange Server
Microsoft Exchange Server is a program that runs on an actual server machine, and it serves several purposes. It stores and retrieves emails in a central database, or message store. It serves as an SMTP server so that it can receive email from the internet or other SMTP servers. Since all of a particular email domain has it”s email delivered to the same Exchange Server, Exchange is able to perform special functions on this email, such as the ability to schedule meetings, share email, share calendars, and share contacts. While not the norm, it is possible to have an Exchange Server in your office, but still have your email hosted by a third party. Your Microsoft Outlook clients would be configured to POP email from the third party account on the internet, and then store the email on the Exchange Server.
Unix/Sendmail server
Most of the mail servers on the internet are actually Unix-based servers, and use a program called Sendmail for the SMTP server program. These servers also have various programs for the POP functionality. Most servers now use a version of POP called POP3. The terms POP and POP3 can essentially be used interchangeably. Unix servers are very stable and require less maintenance than most Microsoft Windows servers, and the Sendmail application is a free open-source application thus reducing the overall cost of implementation. Unix servers do NOT generally provide a message store capability, and thus are not able to provide some of the advanced functionality provided by Microsoft Exchange, such as Calendar Sharing, Contact Sharing, etc.
OK, so much for definitions. Let’s move on to the real discussion.
When considering email hosting, there are essentially three solutions that can be put in to place:
A. Have a 3rd Party host your email on their servers and POP the email from their servers (Exchange Server optional).
B. Host your own email on your own internal server (Exchange or Unix).
C. Have a third party receive email initially for SPAM Filtering, Virus Filtering, etc. and then have an internal server for final delivery and storage (Exchange or Unix).
Of these three options, the most commonly recommended solution is solution C. ALTI provides the initial SPAM Filtering using advanced techniques on Unix Servers. ALTI can also optionally provide the SPAM filtering solution on your own internal Unix server, and then you would be able to use solution B.
Here are some of the criteria to consider:
1. Hosting your own email on a server that is on your own internal network will be more secure. If you use SBC or some outside third-party, then your email will be on their servers, at least temporarily, and those mailboxes can be looked at by anyone with server access at those companies. If you host the email on your own server, then the email can not be looked at by anyone outside of your organization. Do you really want Joe Schmo systems engineer at SBC to be able to read email about who is attending a function at your company, or what jobs you are bidding on and what the estimates are?
2. Hosting your own email is a fixed, one-time, investment. Over a 7 year period, you will spend $30 x 12 x 7 = $2520 with SBC (more if they raise their rates, which they probably will), and we are talking about an approximate $3-5k investment with your own hosting so that there is no need for Austin Lane support costs for maintaining mailboxes. Isn’t the difference worth the security mentioned in item #1?
3. The internal hosting solution we propose will allow blocking of specific email addresses, domain names, subject keywords, as well as white-listing and SPAM filtering (hope you know what all of that means, if you don’t, contact Austin Lane and they will explain further. For now, just know that those features are VERY nice.), which SBC may provide some of these features, but probably not all, and probably with less flexibility.
4. Austin Lane could set up the email so that in the event that your internal server fails, the Austin Lane server could function as an immediate fallback for sending and receiving your email while your server is repaired. This will ensure nearly 100% uptime for your email, which SBC may or may not promise. Keep in mind that many hosting services promise up-times of 99.5% or maybe even 99.9%, but when you think about it, 99.5% up time means that you could still be down almost 2 entire days each year and the provider would still be meeting their promise. That isn’t really much of a promise!
5. If you save 15 man-minutes each week in support using your own server versus SBC, then assuming an hourly cost of only $30/hr, that equates to a savings of $2730 over the next 7 years. Imagine your savings if you save 30 man-minutes, or even an hour, each week!
6. When hosting your own email (solution B or C), if your internet access is interrupted, you are still able to send and receive email to other people in your office, as all of the communication is on your internal network. If using solution A, then no email could be sent or received, as all of the mailboxes reside on an external server that requires internet access.
7. With Austin Lane you will always get support from very qualified and knowledgeable people, and people that you know by name, and that you can understand on the phone. You will truly have a relationship, and not just be another customer number and another call to process. You will have prompt response, and can be assured that any needs you have can be addressed. The Austin Lane solution can be tailored to your needs at your request, and can adapt to any “special” circumstances that your organization may encounter. SBC is not likely to be open to changing the way their email hosting works just because your business has a special need. Austin Lane will always be attentive to those types of situations. Our company motto is “Helping Others Excel”. We want you to excel in all that you do.
Some businesses or organizations may be better positioned for Solution A or B, and Austin Lane is willing to assist in those situations with selecting the appropriate email hosting vendor. Austin Lane does provide email hosting as a service to its customers, and provides competitive pricing and features. Please feel free to contact Austin Lane for any questions or feedback you may have on this important decision for your business.