We’ve come a long way from carrier pigeons and the pony express (and Yahoo mail, depending on who you ask). And though many would argue that owl post is the ideal form of communication, in the business world, email is king. Surveys have shown that workers frequently spend up three hours a day wrangling their overflowing inboxes — receiving an average of 90 emails, and sending an average of 40. That is a lot.
With business email all but unavoidable, finding a way to maximize efficiency and boost productivity is a necessity. That’s why it’s important to take a look at your current email platform, and make sure it’s right for you. Does it create more problems than it’s worth — fitting into your business like a rock in a gear train? Or does it dovetail nicely with your internal machine, enhancing rather than detracting? More than likely, your situation falls somewhere in the middle.
We’re not going to lie: when it comes to email software, we do play favorites. Though there are a number of available options out there, there are two that have risen to the top — the platforms our clients have long-since felt the most benefits from.
Let’s take a look at the advantages that Office 365 and G-Suite might have to offer you as well.
24/7? 365.
In a head-to-head comparison, the 800 lb. gorilla that is Microsoft comes roaring out of the gate with a near unparalleled advantage: the Enterprise tier of Office 365 isn’t just one app. It’s twelve. More than being a bundle of robust professional tools, Office 365 empowers teamwork as the core of your company’s collaboration hub. With all your business fundamentals consolidated beneath the 365 umbrella, you have access to not just its extensive integrative capabilities, but its cloud functionalities as well. With everything you need in the cloud, your work is always at your fingertips — ready when you are. With 365, you don’t go to the office; your office comes to you.
But even if you were mulling 365’s perks simply for Outlook — and let us tell you, that outlook is looking good — you’d still come out a fair bit ahead of the competition. With your email, calendar, contacts, and tasks all in one place, your day-to-day necessities are never far from hand.
On top of that, users get up to 1TB of storage space for their files (depending on your plan), as well as file sharing, file editing, file collaboration, multi-party voice and video conferencing, meeting invites and team management, instant messaging, team chat, an internal social network, custom company domain addresses, spam and data loss prevention, and honestly probably a partridge in a pear tree as well. To start with.
It’s a lot, but if you use more than one Microsoft app — from Excel, the software that changed the modern economy, to the treasure trove of organization tools that is OneNote — it’s everything you need. Office 365 isn’t just hosted email; it’s one of the most intelligent ways to stay organized in a 24/7 business landscape.
Sweet, Sweet G-Suite
Google’s answer to Office 365 is G-Suite, and it’s a pretty persuasive rebuttal. If your company thrives in the cloud, where simplicity and ease-of-access reign supreme, look no further than G-Suite.
It’s no secret that Google changed the game when it launched Gmail in 2004. As a consumer email host, it has no equal when it comes to security, privacy, and availability. With its Enterprise-grade suite of apps, Google has taken the same service that more than 1.4 billion users have fallen in love with, and built it into a powerful communication and collaboration solution for organizations looking to go lean or be more agile. Though its familiarity to your workers — no training needed, thank you — is one of its biggest draws, there’s so much else that makes it dreamworthy (particularly for a small business).
Unlike other hosts which might have upwards of a dozen different tiers to choose from (Microsoft isn’t far from mind here), with G-Suite there are only 3: Basic ($5/user/month), Business ($10/user/month), and Enterprise ($25/user/month). Whereas Basic comes with a relatively small 30GB of storage, Business and Enterprise will have you feel like you should be laughing all the way to the bank, with… unlimited storage. Yes, unlimited — and not just for email, but for its entire enhanced office suite.
Stay connected with video and voice conferencing, secure team messaging, and shared calendars. Work from anywhere you do (or don’t) have internet access with documents, spreadsheets, and presentations — they’ll sync once you’re back online. In addition, business users get a low-code app development environment, smart search across the entire suite of apps, 24/7 support by phone, email, and online, security and administration controls, the ability to archive and set retention policies for emails and chats, and — for companies required to retain particular documents, per state and federal archive compliance laws — basic eDiscovery for emails, chats, and files. (Enterprise comes with a much wider array of eDiscovery tools.)
So which is right for you?
The Verdict
Really, it depends. And if this is a question you’re asking yourself right now, we’d love to figure that out with you.
G-Suite is particularly well suited for small businesses, considering the flexibility it provides. But even if you have your heart set on Outlook, and still want to use Google as your host, you can! Gmail is compatible with your existing interface.
If your company needs the larger bundle of apps that Office 365 has, then you may want to consider turning to Microsoft for your email host instead. This is especially true if you’re a medium-large enterprise.
Either way, just remember: no matter which email hosting platform you go with, it should work for you — not the other way around.
Contact JNT TEK today for help choosing the best email hosting platform for your business.
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