It’s true that email is so commonly used around the world that the majority of people don’t consider how it even works. However, it’s imperative that you understand the concept even minimally because it can provide you with a substantial advantage when it comes time to optimize email access on your mobile devices. We’re going to discuss how emails work, the two major messaging exchange protocols, and compare and contrast the two.
The first protocol is POP, or Post Office Protocol. Your imagination might immediately jump to “snail mail,” a standard term for sending messages through the normal mail system. POP works by downloading messages to your device through your installed email client. These messages are then deleted from the e-mail server. This keeps you from downloading equivalent messages to your other devices. This means that if you wanted to see your email on a desktop, you’d then be unable to because some of the messages live on your smartphone.
This is why the well-liked and preferred method of handling multi-device email is IMAP, or Internet Message Access Protocol. Compared to the way POP handles your email messages, IMAP actually keeps the messages stored inside of the e-mail server instead of downloading them onto the device or your phone. Basically, whenever you perform any action with a message in your inbox, you’re performing that message directly on the mail server. Any email clients that you simply use will see the changes as they happen. Naturally, this is often the simplest way to experience email, as your messages will always be in sync.
Most modern email solutions use IMAP, with it becoming the default for some email companies. Some of the solutions that support IMAP include Google’s Gmail, Microsoft Outlook, Mozilla’s Thunderbird, and Apple’s iCloud mail. Depending on your business communication solutions, you’ll want to discuss this with your service provider to make sure that your email access protocol is the best option for you.
This is especially important if your business requires the utilization of multiple devices. For example, most employees have a smartphone, but they also may need a laptop or tablet that they use for work purposes. If these devices don’t have unified access to company information, you can encounter miscommunications that end up in a loss of productivity. Therefore, you should take the time to make sure that your business is using email as effectively as possible.
Does your business need assistance or want to learn how to integrate IMAP onto your staff’s mobile devices? Reach out to MyTek today at 623-312-2440.