According to US market research institute, Radicati, there are currently over 4.3 billion email accounts and 2.6 billion email users around the world. That’s a lot, and these numbers will only grow. It’s predicted that by 2019, the number of accounts will rise 26% and the number of users will rise 12%.
The magic of business email is that it crosses organizational boundaries – it is the lowest common denominator for all organizations. It enables external communication and is the primary way to remain connected with partners, customers and vendors outside of an organization.
Email is also a key component of the modern workplace, as it allows users to better adapt their working habits to the digital world. The fixed office hours aren’t the only time users can share business ideas or maintain communication. Thanks to email’s flexible nature and adaptation to the needs of today’s businesses, users can access their email wherever they are, on any device, at any time.
The Email Critics
But let’s look at both sides of business email. There are certainly those who view it as an “anti-productivity tool” and a drain on the workload. This is because it is being used at such a massive scale and for purposes it wasn’t originally intended for, and is a major reason why business chat systems are increasing in popularity for internal communications.
There are also those who would prefer not to feel pressure to check their email outside of work hours, though this is more a reflection on the nature of the modern business world then on the nature of email.
The number of business emails sent and received per user per day totals 122 emails per day. (Radicati) That’s a lot of email interaction for a single person, so it’s not difficult to see a critic’s perspective. There are certainly situations in which a company chat, a phone call, or a meeting would be better communication tools, especially as emails can get so easily buried and lost.
But ultimately it’s up to the sender to determine which communication tool is best for any given situation. This depends on the subject and the type of response desired. The communication medium can really make a difference in getting the response you need when you need it, and it’s all about making it easy for the recipient to get back to you. Chat may be best for quick, simple responses, but email still reigns when it comes to recaps, updates, informational exchanges, and most importantly, external communications. We can rely on practically every other outside party to have access to business email.
And despite the email critics, its use is definitely not declining. It is still a tremendously important platform. Businesses shouldn’t rely on email as their sole form of communication, especially internally, but despite its age, email continues to be the top form of communication for business – it’s essentially the standard. And it contributes significantly to a business’ success, taking care of more than just communicating back and forth. Ray Tomlinson, the man who implemented the very first email program on the ARPANET system, said, “In particular, it’s not strictly a work tool or strictly a personal thing. Everybody uses email in different ways, but they use it in a way they find works for them.”
Hosted Exchange
Microsoft Exchange has become the gold standard for business email. It increases productivity and successfully keeps people connected around the world. However, traditional Exchange is often out of reach for small businesses or organizations with limited resources due to high costs, hardware requirements, and management responsibilities.
Email is a critical business resource, and that’s why it’s important to make sure you have the best system in place. Enter Hosted Exchange.
Hosted Exchange is the best option for businesses that want to harness the power of an Exchange solution but don’t want to deal with the costs or hassles. This is becoming the preferred option for business email.
This solution is managed in the cloud by a provider like RapidScale – our Hosted Exchange solution is CloudMail. Hosting enables businesses of any size, in any industry, to take advantage of the major benefits of Microsoft Exchange. In general, Hosted Exchange removes the need for on-site Exchange servers and the associated management and maintenance. And consequently, this eliminates the need to spend huge amounts upfront on hardware and software.
As we’ve discussed, business email isn’t disappearing anytime soon, so why not move to a modern email platform? Learn more about RapidScale’s Hosted Exchange solution, and how it’s providing the benefits of cloud-based email to businesses today.
