How to choose your mailbox? Selection of the best business mailboxes
E-mail is at the heart of the business world, whether it's external, internal or instant messaging. Considered the quickest and easiest way to communicate, e-mail has become an integral part of our daily lives. Some mailboxes are free, others are not. Which solution is best for your business? Read all our articles on business e-mail.
The pro mailbox: more expert status and tools
Creating a business e-mail address in your company's name: a key to success for professionals
With a free mailbox, you can't create a professional e-mail address in your company's name: type x@entreprise.com. Alternatively, some people opt for a variant such as entreprise@yahoo.fr or gmail.com, hotmail.fr, etc., depending on the e-mail software.
In addition to damaging your image, this type of email deprives you of certain services. On professional social networks like Linkedin, for example, you can't create a company page. Two points that speak in favor of a professional mailbox.
Certified mail replaces registered mail
Receipt confirmation (e.g. hotmail) and read confirmation functions are not available on free mailboxes. They are on the best professional mailboxes. It's a way of proving, if need be :
- that the e-mail has been sent,
- that the e-mail has been notified as delivered.
Until now, the legal value of e-mail has been unclear. But the legal framework is evolving. Today, the best e-mail services, such as Legalbox, allow you to send certified e-mails. At a cost of 0.32c per item, their acknowledgement of receipt is equivalent to that of registered mail. This is both :
- faster: because the e-mail is sent instantaneously, compared with a delivery time of 1 to 2 days by the Post Office,
- less disruptive: since you send your certified e-mail from your computer. No need to go to the post office to pick up your mail,
- less expensive: since an acknowledgement of receipt from the Post Office is worth at least €1.15.
So there's no need to hesitate, for :
- simple accounting mailings such as reminders, invoices and estimates,
- more contentious mail, such as lawyer's letters and formal notices,
- basic HR mailings such as contracts, pay slips and certificates.
Acknowledgement of receipt: a tool to facilitate operations too
Finding out after the fact that your e-mail has not been delivered can cause you to fall behind schedule. If your mailbox alerts you immediately, this is avoided. What applies to classic e-mail also applies to other forms of written message (instant messages, SMS). There are professions in the field where employees need to be able to communicate quickly and easily. Mobile communication has become a major challenge, and Team on the run is the answer. Users know if their message has been received and read. They can send each other web links, files stored on their phones or in the cloud if they use Drive or Dropbox, for example. Everyone has access to their own contacts and data, and the geolocation function enables tasks to be distributed quickly and more judiciously.
We often imagine that the Internet will be available everywhere. However, some areas are still poorly equipped, both in terms of connection and network coverage. And yet, in certain professions, it's essential for people to be able to reach each other. Team on the run makes it possible to mobilize other channels. Its voice-over-IP function is available via wired or IP-compatible networks. Its walkie-talkie is ideal whenever range permits. On a common frequency, it enables several people to communicate easily.
Professional mailboxes: the safest and most practical mailboxes for your employees
Enhanced virus protection for corporate mailboxes
E-mails, chats and SMS represent a business risk: pirated, they're just as much information in the wild. Software like BitDefender secures your messages. Once encrypted, bots can no longer scan them. Antivirus scans your attachments. Malware and phishing attempts are detected upstream. Protection covers your cloud as well as your local servers, including your employees' workstations and business phones.
Spam: the daily battle in inboxes
Although most spam is filtered upstream, some still slips through the net. That's 12 spam messages a day polluting your employees' inboxes. Time is wasted sorting them, and there's a real risk of missing out on important mail, drowned in the mass. Professional messaging systems are redoubling their efforts to protect you.
Less saturated mailboxes with more storage space
With a free messaging service (like hotmail.fr, a free mailbox), you quickly reach the saturation limit. If you've kept emails with heavy attachments, your mailbox is on stand-by. You won't receive anything more on it, until you empty it. Today, employees spend more than a quarter of their day sorting through their mailboxes. An enormous amount of time for a task that is anything but productive.
If you can make do with a free mailbox for your business today, you're depriving yourself of a whole range of useful functions. Whether for image, legal or operational reasons, pro webmail offers real advantages. It's up to you to identify your priorities.
Article translated from French