As an invention, Email probably ranks close to the development of alphabets. We may DM and tweet to our heart's content but it would be wrong to say that these shortcuts have been sired by the humble email to a certain extent. It has revolutionized communications though it may also have sounded the death knell for the art of letter writing. But that's technology.

What is a mail server?

A mail server (or email server) is a computer system that sends and receives emails. In many cases, web servers and mail servers are combined in a single machine. However, large ISPs and public email services (such as Gmail, Zimbra, etc) use dedicated hardware for sending and receiving emails.

For a computer system to function as a mail server, it must include mail server software either on-premise or on a cloud system. This software allows the system administrator to create and manage email accounts for any domains hosted on the server.

What does a mail server do?

Each email message is nothing but a text file plus the attachments. Just like all data through the internet, an email is also broken into smaller packets. When the sender clicks the send button, all the packets are uploaded to a central computer (the email server) that hosts the email service.

The email service then relays these packets through the internet to the server which holds the email service of the recipient. The mail server of the recipient looks for his email address, locates it and places the email within the inbox. The email client reassembles the packets into a complete mail. The recipient logs into his account and downloads the email.

Common mistakes to avoid when choosing a Mail server

• Consider your strategy: Email hosting can be of two types - Cloud hosting and On-Premise hosting. Cloud hosting has advantages like users can access the data from anywhere, as all the data is being securely stored in the cloud and you do not have to purchase servers or hardware, which can be a substantial up-front cost or pay for power and space while On-Premise hosting has advantages like it allows full control of the servers and environment and you have to make a one-time investment on servers which will be a one-time capital and operational cost. Choose your mail server according to your preference.
• Rank the features you need: With email, companies can send out their messages to their associates, business partners, employees and others associated with their business speedily and conveniently. Whenever you choose an established and reputed email hosting service, you can expect to remain in full control of all your email related operations. It is technically not possible that you will get whatever features you require from your mail server. So, you should rank the features according to your priority and choose the mail server which gives you the most required features i.e., if you want a particular feature to be present in your mail server then you may compromise on a feature that you don’t need according to your business needs and choose your mail server accordingly.
• Compatibility with Your Business Communication Needs: As the business grows, your email competency must also grow to keep pace with the increased communication demands of the expanding business. Productivity cannot be allowed to take a back seat which means you must have access to a powerful, flexible and scalable email hosting solution that is feature-rich. Your employees must be ready to access folders, calendars, contacts without much effort.
• Storage Facilities: One of the most frustrating experiences that most businesses experience is finding their mailbox full at the beginning of every working day. A mailbox full of messages can affect productivity adversely as your employees will have to go through the tedious process of sorting and deleting messages so that fresh messages can flow unhindered.
• Quality of Support and Service: The email hosting solutions you choose for your business must be up and running optimally so that your business does not suffer the embarrassment and agony of downtimes. This can affect your reputation adversely besides costing your organization many dollars in maintenance. It is sensible to settle on email hosting services that guarantee optimum uptime backed by SLA.

We can summarize that the email hosting service you choose must be capable of growing with your business. The features and tools offered must be advanced enough to deliver email hosting services of the best kind. A reputed email hosting service is capable of handling all of your business communication requirements with the very best level of efficiency. Zimbra is a mail server that has almost all the above-mentioned features.

Contact us to learn what Zimbra services might look like for your organization in both cloud and on-premise hosting options. Allow our representative to either call you in 24 hours or e-mail you for more details about our services - Click Here