Bazaar Systems - Email Systems

Email Systems

Years of Experience

Staff at Bazaar Systems have been designing and implementing Email systems for nearly 20 years. Starting with MS mail and CCmail, through X400 systems, and Exchange.

Below are some things to think about if your are contemplating changing your email system, but the best thing you can do is contact Bazaar Systems.

Groupware

Most modern businesses have integrated their email system into a Groupware package like MS Exchange or Lotus Notes. This gives them Calendar and "To do" lists as well as the email and directory functions. A good Groupware package may also integrate Instant Messaging services allowing employees knowledge of who is at their keyboard and available to answer a short note.

Email Technologies

Email systems come in two flavours: Client/Servers and Web Access.

Client/Server

Every desktop has a Client. Even people with Domestic PCs have clients; usually Outlook Express which comes free with Microsoft Operating systems.

Every Client needs a server: domestic clients such as Outlook Express will use a Server provided by their Internet Service Provider. This is a simple email service that might also supply a news feed.

The ISP server model is fine for domestic users and small companies, but it has two drawbacks for the larger enterprise:

The ISP will only supply a limited number of mailboxes as part of the Internet connection, beyond that they start charging.
All the mailboxes are on ISP servers. Not very secure, as most ISP employees can read your mail.

So if you need more than half a dozen mailboxes or are concerned with Security, you probably need your own mail server. Once established your own mail server can be connected to the Internet where mail can be delivered directly to it from the sender - bypassing your ISP. Most large companies use this technique.

Once you have your own mail server, you have a number of options like adding groupware and directory functions to it, although this will probably require an upgrade to your clients. For instance a move from Outlook Express to Outlook proper.

Web Access

Everybody is familiar with the Hotmail email service, and Google and Yahoo both have competing offerings. However it is wrong to believe these systems don't have client software - they do: it's just that the email clients are sitting right next to the email servers, and are accessed via a Web Browser. This can have a number of advantages in that the client software is far more easy to support. On the other hand a company would need very robust internal networks as the data flowing between a Browser and an Email client is far more than it is between the email client and the server.

Another disadvantage of Web access is remote working.To use Web Access email you have to be attached to the network to do any work at all with your email. With your own Client you can read mail and even create mail offline: when you next connect to the network any mail you have created will be sent and you will receive any mail that has been waiting for you since you disconnected from the network.

Nothing Black and White

Of course, technology moves on. It is possible now to get Java-based clients that run within your Web browser, thus allowing a web access client to work offline.

If all this is confusing contact us.

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