If you’re in the process of getting a new business up and running, you’ll no doubt have a million balls up in the air right now. While choosing a software platform for your email app may not seem high on the list of priorities at the moment, it can make more of a difference than you think. From streamlining your systems to promoting better team collaboration, the platform you use can have a profound effect on the day-to-day running of your business.
Read on for our pick of the best platforms that can help support your startup and, when the time is right, take it to the next level.
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Spike
For an innovative, feature-rich take on an email platform, look no further than Spike. This client combines the best bits of instant messaging with the tools you’d expect to have access to on a ‘traditional’ email platform. The result is uncluttered threads that are easy to follow and read and can help your team to collaborate well from the off.
This free webmail option combines email, group chat, video chat, and calendar using an intuitive interface. It’s perfect for a startup, and not just because it’s free to use! The platform can grow with your business, as well as integrate with most other email apps, so you can access all of your messages in one place.
Microsoft Outlook
Arriving on the scene as part of Windows 97, Microsoft Outlook is probably the best known of the traditional email platforms and remains widely used. For startups, there’s a free basic version, but you can upgrade when your business is ready for the next step: business plans start at $5 per user per month.
Perks of this platform include the integrated calendar tools and the ‘focused’ email feature, which allows you to instantly see the most important incoming messages while less urgent emails are siphoned off and held in a separate screen area. As well as being able to integrate with other Microsoft apps and tools, Outlook boasts great enterprise-end encryption, helping to give you peace of mind that your data is being kept safe.
Gmail
With its fast and free webmail interface, Gmail from Google is worth considering as a contender. Its benefits include plenty of free storage and easy integration – as you’d expect – with Google Drive. It’s also easy to use, and you’ll be able to make the most of handy keyboard shortcuts.
It’s important to bear in mind, however, that migrating or accessing messages from non-Gmail sources, such as Yahoo or iCloud, is tricky and could cause problems for the novice user. And you’ll also see a lot of onscreen ads that are based on the contents of your messages, which may be a significant downside.
Mailbird
This platform operates on Windows and is a sound choice for startups and one-person businesses. Users rate Mailbird for its ability to handle multiple email accounts – a unified inbox can be created that syncs from other accounts, making organizing and dealing with messages a breeze.
Custom themes and layouts are a nice touch, and the attachment search and snooze tools can save you valuable time while working. And talking about time-saving, Mailbird can integrate with a range of platforms that include Twitter, Facebook, and Whatsapp, so you can manage your startup’s social media presence from one handy dashboard.
Hiri
If your startup will be using the Mac OS, then Hiri could be the perfect software platform for your email account. Its design is sleek and clutter-free, and the suite incorporates a calendar, reminder, and to-do list tools as well as email. Users can make the most of the offline mode if they would like extra privacy.
Great for businesses from startups to large enterprises, Hiri will let you sync all calendar events from Office 365 and Exchange for added convenience. Plus, users can easily transform messages into tasks with the handy drag and drop tool and send or forward actionable emails to team members for effective, slick delegation.
Mozilla Thunderbird
Thunderbird is a free, open-source app from Mozilla that’s easy to use and highly customizable. As a startup, security is doubtless a key concern: as well as phishing and tracking protection; this client also features an add-on for PGP encryption to keep the safety of data watertight.
What’s great about this option is that there are so many add-ons and extensions available that, once your business progresses from the startup stage, you can incorporate these to begin using the more sophisticated tools you need.
Other handy features of the platform include attachment reminders, a one-click address book, and smart folders, to easily sort out your messages and drafts.
Above are some of the key software platforms to consider for your startup’s email accounts. Taking some time to assess your options while keeping in mind the features and tools that will serve you best both now and in the near future will help to ensure that you pick the perfect client for the needs of your new enterprise.
