Getting on and Staying On

Email – getting on and staying on

Email is now such a central communications tool that the most common request from business managers is: "How do I get my work emails any time, anywhere?”

Providing an answer is easier than ever with options which include:
• Using an Internet Browser on your own PC or laptop at home, at an Internet cafe or in a hotel. You can do this anywhere in the world but the downside is that it may not give you the same accessibility to attachments.
• Via a laptop linked to a fixed ADSL line at home or in a hotel
• Installing a 3G network card on your laptop for higher speeds across the mobile phone network.
• With WiFi – wireless connections via radio signals over distances of a few hundred feet - you can connect handheld devices or laptops for a fee at a growing number of Hotspots nationally
• Via a mobile phone providing 'always on, always connected' wireless access to corporate email, calendar tasks and contacts. Attachments can be viewed and modified to a limited degreee
• Using a PDA which can be synchronised to your desktop.

However, while availability 24/7/365 obviously improves overall communication, emails should always be considered in an even wider business context. It is vital to understand how the use of email fits into the way your business is run.

Every company uses email it in its own individual way and some even base the whole of their operations on email.

Dependence on emails has grown without companies giving sufficient thought to what would happen if their email system was suddenly not available.

Many companies have shifted to taking orders by email because it offers far greater flexibility than a fax. If they lose email access at their premises, customers will only find out when the order does not arrive. A simple system of automatic reply when an order is received will plug the gap and make the company look more professional.

Just imagine the damage a day without email could cause, then consider the implications of a weeks's gap or even longer.

While there is general awareness of the dangers of virus attack, there is often very little understanding that the inadequacy of a company's own computer systems could be just as instrumental in killing off email access.

The increasing integration of email into business organisation needs commensurate backroom investment to ensure that email is constantly delivered.
The best way to avoid catastrophe is to have an objective risk assessment to find out where the weaknesses lie and take pre-emptive steps to remedy them.

The solution could involve introducing multiple lines to an Internet Service Provider, changing to a server that will cope more comfortably with high email traffic or installing fault tolerant features which ensure there is immediate fallback if a component fails.

An assessment based on business understanding plus technical knowledge will establish how much of a budget is required to protect email delivery. The cost will be minimal weighed against the likelihood of major damage if your company cannot receive or send emails.