A professional email is the one that has your business name in it. For example someone@alfacomputergroup.com is a professional email rather having someone@yahoo.com. There are many ways you can setup a professional email and we can help you. You can use a hosted or onsite email systems. Show customers you mean business with memorable email addresses that look professional and promote your company. Create unlimited addresses – from yourname@ to sales@ or support@ – that are delivered directly to your primary inbox. There are difference between email inbox and aliases. You can have 100’s of aliases going into 1 primary email account inbox. With Alpha Computer Group’s hosted email including Microsoft Office 365 and Exchange or on premise email servers – linux or windows, you will experience a clean, fast email with powerful features matching or superior to those found in desktop email clients or web clients including gmail. Take control of your Inbox. With our unified email and document sharing your business can create, edit and collaborate on text, presentation and spreadsheet documents using the most sophisticated online editors. Work faster and improve productivity with Alpha Computer Group’s online office. Set up email for your business fast with a step-by-step setup wizard. Easily manage email policies, groups, mailbox quota and more using an extensive Control Panel. We strive to be a stand out company in terms of respecting user data and privacy. We do not display ads, even in our free plans. Your email exchanges are never scanned for keywords.

Hosted E-Mail Benefits

Hosted Microsoft Office 365

Get everything you need to run your business anytime, anywhere. With Microsoft Office 365 from Alpha Computer Group there’s no easier way for your small business to stay connected and get more done.

All Plans Include
Unlimited addresses delivered to the same inbox
Expert 24/7 support
99.9% guaranteed uptime and reliability
Outlook web application
Shared online calendars
World-class data security and spam filtering

At Alpha Computer Group we can help guide you through the various types of business email service. Here are the 4 major email technologies in the market.

POP3

Its full name is post office protocol 3, but everyone simply calls it POP3. With a POP3 email service, your email messages are downloaded to your computer and then usually deleted from your central email server. If you use POP3 to receive business email, you’re usually restricted to using one computer for your email. (Each person can have their own email account, but everyone will be restricted to their own computer.) Most email addresses that come as part of your internet connection package are POP3 accounts.

 

IMAP

IMAP stands for internet message access protocol. It’s an alternative to POP3 which keeps messages stored on a central business email server, along with information about whether each message has been read or replied to. With IMAP, you can log in from any computer and see your whole inbox, complete with the status of messages – so you can see which you’ve read, which you’ve replied to, and so on. IMAP is a good way to add extra flexibility to your business email. It’s a well-established technology and you’ll find many entry-level email services (like those from web hosting companies) will include IMAP as standard.

 

Microsoft Exchange

Exchange is a proprietary email system created by Microsoft. In the past you had to install Exchange onto your own email server in order to use it, putting it out of reach of most small companies. However, it can now be bought online as a monthly service. It’s often called Hosted Exchange or Exchange Online and is really a form of cloud computing. Like IMAP, Exchange stores messages centrally, so you can log in from different places. But it also offers lots of extra functions, including centrally stored calendars, task and contact lists. You need Microsoft’s business email software – Outlook – in order to use Exchange to its full potential. However, many businesses find the additional functions are worth having. And services like Microsoft’s Business Productivity Online Suite often include the software, which can be more cost-effective.

 

Webmail or HTTP/HTTPS

As the name suggests, webmail services require you to use a web browser (like Internet Explorer or Firefox) to log in and access your business email. Some people call them HTTP email services. Many free business email services – including Hotmail, Yahoo Mail and Google Mail – are webmail services. To send or receive email, you visit a specific website and log in with your username and password. Webmail is convenient because you can log in from anywhere. However, it’s useless unless you’re connected to the internet, meaning most companies prefer to use another business email service which also offers webmail as an option. For instance, Microsoft Exchange includes a webmail interface, so you can check your business email if you’re not at your own computer. So do many of the IMAP and POP3-based services available. Choosing the right system means understanding your security, mobility, and cost requirements — then choosing to either host your email online or on-site.

Email on your mobile

These days, it’s not enough to send and receive email from your computer. Many people want to get email on their mobile devices too.

Usually, it’s no problem. Most mobile phones and tablet devices can connect to POP3 and IMAP services easily. Many also work with Microsoft Exchange – and webmail services offer special sites for people using mobile devices.

 

How important is email to your business?

Email is more than just a way to send messages and files. It’s often considered the lifeline of your business and can be the primary means of communicating both internally and with customers and clients. Choosing the right type of email solution can have a big impact on your business. Read on for more about your choices.

Selecting and implementing business email

Step 1: Assess your mobility and security needs

Determining your mobility needs will help you find the protocol (the language your email uses) that is the best option for your business. For most small businesses, your options are webmail, POP3 or IMAP (or webmail in combination with POP or IMAP). In a nutshell, POP3 passes messages from the server through to your desktop client and IMAP maintains duplicate inboxes on the server, your desktop and your mobile device. The right solution will allow your team to easily access email from wherever they need to. The following will help you pick which one makes sense for how you work.

Determining your email security needs is an important step in selecting an email service for your business. Email security depends on the email server security. If this is a major concern, then hosting your own email is the most straightforward approach, though there are other options available.

How do you usually check your email?

From only one computer (e.g. your work machine)
Our recommendation: POP3. POP3 gives you fast email delivery to your work machine and will make it easy to set up email accounts on employee machines.

Primarily from your work computer but sometimes remotely
Our recommendation: POP3 and webmail. POP3 will give you fast email delivery to your work machine, while webmail gives you the ability to check it remotely when you’re away from your desk. Most email providers offer both webmail as well as POP3 support.

From different computers and your mobile device
Our recommendation: IMAP and webmail. By using IMAP, you’ll ensure that your inboxes will stay in sync and that you aren’t missing important messages when checking email in multiple locations.

Step 2: Choose a provider

Search the term “email providers” and you’ll probably find too many to count. But your choices basically come down to: free, paid or do-it-yourself (DIY). Here’s a rundown of what to consider for each:

Provider Type: Free email (e.g. Gmail, Yahoo!)
Technical skill level: Novice

What you’ll want:

POP3 or IMAP
Good spam and virus controls
Custom domain support (@yourbusinessname.com)

Tip: Pay close attention to things like mailbox size and attachment limits to make sure your email system doesn’t cause more problems than it solves.

Provider Type: Paid (e.g. Internet Service Provider (ISP), Register.com, Gmail for Business)
Technical skill level: Novice

What you’ll want:

POP3 or IMAP
Uptime % in service level agreement (SLA)
Customer and technical support
Spam and virus controls

Tip: Before signing up for a service, check that the provider is compatible with the email applications you plan on using (e.g. Outlook, Apple Mail, Thunderbird, etc.)

Provider Type: Do-It-Yourself
Technical skill level: Moderate to Expert

You’ll need several things:

A broadband Internet connection
A mail server and software (make sure it’s compatible with your operating system)
DNS (domain name system) information and public IP address
A person who knows what to do with all of it

Additional Considerations

Maximize your contract
Ask about the additional services and support that are included along with your email hosting, such as organization and archive storage.

How much does having your own domain matter?
Business email addresses are an important part of your identity. Because of this, even if they don’t have a website, many businesses choose email addresses that end with their own domain (@yourbusinessname.com). Having your business name as a part of your email address is an easy way to help your business gain credibility and to help customers and associates quickly identify your messages.

Check on supported email clients
Make sure any potential providers support the email client you plan on using before signing a contract.

COMPARISON OF EMAIL SERVER SYSTEMS:

Feature comparison

Radif	Server OS support			Features											Storage			Users
Mail server	Linux/Unix	Windows	Mac	SMTP	POP3	IMAP	IMAP IDLE	SMTP over TLS	POP over TLS	IPv6	NNTP	SSL	Webmail	ActiveSync	Database	Filesystem	Other	License
agorum core	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	?	No	No	?	No	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	GPLv2
Apache James	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes	No	ASLv2
Atmail	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Proprietary (100 user/30 day demo)
Axigen	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes	Ajax & Basic	Yes	No	No	Yes	Proprietary (free version: email 100 users / calendar 5 users)
Blue Mind	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	AGPLv3
Citadel	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	GPLv3
CommuniGate Pro	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Proprietary (Free for up to 5 users)
Courier Mail Server	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	Yes	Yes	No	No	maildir	No	GPLv3
Cyrus IMAP	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes (indexes)	Yes	Yes	4-clause BSD
DBMail	Yes	via Cygwin	Yes	Postfix, Exim, Sendmail, qmail	Yes	Yes	Yes	Postfix, Exim, Sendmail, qmail	Yes	Yes	?	Yes	No	No	PostgreSQL, MySQL, SQLite	No	No	GPLv2
Digital Integration iMail5	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	No	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Proprietary
Dovecot	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	Yes	maildir, mbox, dbox	No	Mixed: MIT and LGPL 2.1
Eudora Internet Mail Server	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	No	No	?	No	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	Proprietary
EVO Mail Server	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	Yes	Proprietary (unlimited users/15 days full features trial)
Exim	Yes	Yes (via Cygwin)	Yes	Yes	Dovecot, UW IMAP	Dovecot, UW IMAP	Dovecot, UW IMAP	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes	No	GPLv2+
FirstClass	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	Yes	Yes	?	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Proprietary
Gordano Messaging Suite	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	Yes	Yes	?	No	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Proprietary
GroupWise	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	Yes	Yes	?	?	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	Proprietary
Haraka	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	MIT
Hexamail Server	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	Yes	Yes	?	No	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes	No	Proprietary
hMailServer	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	V 5.0	V 5.0	Yes	No	V 5.0	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	GNU AGPL (previously proprietary)
IBM Lotus Domino	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	Yes	Yes	?	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	Proprietary
IceWarp Mail Server	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Proprietary
IndiMail	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	GPLv3
Ipswitch IMail Server	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	Yes	Yes	?	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	Proprietary
iRedMail	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	Under GPLv2
JMail	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Proprietary
Kerio Connect	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Proprietary
Kolab	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	GPLv3
MagicMail	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	Yes	Yes	?	No	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Proprietary
Mailismus	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	No	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes	No	Proprietary (28-day free demo)
Mailsite	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	Yes	Yes	?	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Proprietary
Mailtraq	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Proprietary
masqmail	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	GPL
MDaemon Mail Server	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Proprietary
Mercury Mail Transport System	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	Yes	Yes	?	No	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes	No	Proprietary donationware
Microsoft Exchange Server	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes (2007 sp1 onwards)	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	ESE only	Yes (up to 2003 only)	Yes	Proprietary
Mirapoint	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	Yes	Yes	?	No	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Proprietary
Momentum	Yes	No	No	Yes	No	No	No	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes	No	Proprietary
NetMail	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	Yes	Yes	?	?	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	Proprietary
OBM Groupware	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	AGPLv3
OpenSMTPD	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	possible through custom backends	Yes	No	ISC
Open-Xchange	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	Yes	Yes	?	?	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	Proprietary/SaaS, with open-source parts
Oracle Communications Messaging Server	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	Yes	Yes	?	No	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No	Proprietary
Postfix	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Dovecot, UW IMAP	Dovecot, UW IMAP	Dovecot, UW IMAP	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	IBM Public License
qmail	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Dovecot, UW IMAP	Dovecot, UW IMAP	No	Dovecot, UW IMAP	via Qsmtp	?	No	No	No	(cdb)	Yes	No	Public domain
Qpopper	Yes	via Cygwin	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	No	Yes	?	No	Yes	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	BSD-style, GPL-incompatible
Sendmail	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Dovecot, UW IMAP	Dovecot, UW IMAP	Dovecot, UW IMAP	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	?	Yes	?	Sendmail License
SparkEngine	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	Yes	No	?	No	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Proprietary
SurgeMail	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Proprietary (free for up to 5 users)
Synovel Collabsuite	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	Yes	Yes	?	?	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	?	Proprietary with OSS parts, Freeware and paid editions
UW IMAP	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	?	No	Yes	WebPine	No	Yes (Indexes)	Yes	No	Apache License 2.0
WinGate	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes	No	Proprietary
Xeams	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	Yes	Yes	?	No	Yes	No	No	No	Yes	No	Freeware with support option
Zarafa	Yes	No	No	External	Yes	Yes	Yes	External	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	AGPLv3, free and paid editions
Zimbra	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	ZPL and proprietary editions
MailEnable	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Proprietary

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Contact Alpha Computer Group for all of your hosted and on premise business email @ (877) 608 – 8647