Thread: Is Outlook Really the Right Email Solution for Your Small Accounting Firm?

It's 4:30 - and you decide you want your wife to buy some wine for dinner. You write "Pick up wine" on a piece of paper, roll it up, attach it to one of your pigeons, and send him flying out the window toward home. There.

OK, maybe that's a little harsh - but if you use Microsoft Outlook to check your email, well, it's pretty likely that you're really not far off from messaging by homing pigeon. It's really that out of date.

Let me show you how to easily save up to 10 hours of productivity per month by simply switching from Outlook to a web-based email service like Gmail.

Problems with Outlook

In the computer timeline, Outlook is very old. The technology is simply outdated; the program simply wasn't built to handle a high volume of messages and the size of today's email attachments.

Here are some problems you might have with Outlook that drain your productivity:

• Your messages pile up - you spend time organizing them into folders but you're always behind. (est. time lost - 1 hr/wk)
• The search function is slow and cumbersome - and the results are often so unhelpful that you still waste time sifting through messages. (est. time lost - .5 hr/wk)
• You can't see appointments on your calendar with your iPhone or other mobile device. (est. time lost - .5 hr/wk)
• You get annoying error messages - like "Cannot Connect to Server." These come from problems configuring Outlook and they hinder sending and receiving emails. (est. time lost - .5 hr/mo)
• You struggle with initial setup and reconfiguration challenges. If you're not a techie, making sure your settings are correct and updated is frustrating and time-consuming. (est. time lost - 1 hr/mo)

A Better Solution

You are now able to send and receive email using your own domain name through the Gmail interface using an obscure free service called "Google Apps". Gmail is 100% web-based, and this saves you time, money, and frustration...

Less Expensive: If you use Outlook, you're most likely paying for IT support, Exchange hosting, or email accounts through GoDaddy or another domain registrar. In contrast, Gmail is absolutely free.

Easier: With Gmail and other Web-based email solutions, your inbox looks the same no matter where you access it - and you can do so from any computer or mobile device with an Internet connection. Plus, the outstanding search feature allows you to quickly find any email in seconds. Much better than sorting in Outlook.

And because the software is all online - "in the cloud" - you don't wrestle with installing software or keeping track of updates.

Saves Time: Gmail saves time, too, with keyboard shortcuts. These allow you to compose, answer, and organize your email without ever having to take your hands off the keyboard.

Furthermore, Gmail groups emails into conversations. Instead of getting a new email each time someone replies to a message, all replies are displayed with the original thread. This cuts way down on the number of messages to wade through in your inbox.

Safer: Gmail is backed up on fully redundant servers. If a virus infects your computer, if a hurricane strikes your office, if any disaster compromises your computer - your email remains perfectly secure.

Google Haters Exclusionary Clause

Some people just don't like Google. Fair enough. There are alternative pay to-play-web-based Email solutions. I just like Google Apps because it's free (meaning Ad Driven). Personally I see the Google privacy complaints as "non-issues". Yes... Google does target ads to Gmail users based on the email they receive. If you start getting order confirmations from home depot you will see an increase of display ads for lawn mowers and power tools. But Email is by it's very nature not secure. You should never Email anything that you consider confidential. Email passes through too many different mail servers to be considered secure even if it's encrypted. Use encrypted file transfer only for confidential information (this goes straight from server to server).

Besides, Google is probably tracking a large portion of your web activity whether you use GMail or not (using cookies and Google Analytics). Google's not alone in this game, BTW... there are a lot of companies besides Google in that game, many of whom are much less scrupulous than Google in regards to what they do with your information. Abandon all hope of privacy ye fellow internet geeks. Even if you have 3rd party tracking blocked on your browser your ISP knows all. The internet is a public place. Think of it as a mall. If you want to slip off to hot-topic, fine. But you can pretty much bet someone saw you go in.

Privacy is just not for the wired. :-\

The way I figure it a large portion of the web is ad-driven; Gmail included. If you've got to see ads they might as well be properly targeted ads, so I just don't sweat it. I'd rather see ads for power tools and bicycles than ads for credit consolidation and Viagra, anyway.

In Conclusion

Consider taking advantage of current technology. Reconsider using Outlook - an old email solution - and consider a Web-based email service. When you do, you increase productivity and eliminate time-consuming and frustrating problems.

If this works as advertised it could be a real lifesaver. It's too bad we don't have a "General" forum to post it in.

Corrupt PST files are a huge problem. They can be real game-enders. That's another reason I don't like outlook. Give Google Apps a long hard look.