Email is one of the oldest services on the internet, predating the Web by nearly twenty years. In that time, it hasn’t really changed all that much; messages still consist of a body, to, from, cc and bcc fields. Sure, there are bells and whistles that have been added, but as a tool, it’s been consistent, universal and easy to use.
If there’s one element of email that can safely be relegated to the dustbin of history, it’s using desktop email clients.
This may sound controversial. For years, web-based interfaces lacked a lot of powerful productivity features, including address books, built-in chat, animated GIFs, etc. But modern email clients have caught up.
Here’s why you should consider making the switch:
Consistency across devices: If you’re using Outlook for Windows on a desktop and Apple Mail on your laptop, and Spark (or a native app) on your Android tablet, you’re getting three very different interfaces. Keeping your mail web-based skirts this inconsistency.
While mobile websites typically have different interfaces than their desktop and laptop counterparts, most web-based email services offer mobile apps for iOS and Android-based phones.
Cloud-based storage: While Moore’s law is still in effect for hard drives, the rise of faster solid state drives (SSDs) has meant personal devices tend to have smaller and more expensive storage capacities. Using a cloud-based service like Gmail provides larger amounts of storage at a fraction of the price that can maintain large archives of emails and attachments none of the hassle.
Security: While no email solution is 100% secure, a web-based email interface helps keep malicious messages and attachments further away from your device, and can filter them out without needing to be downloaded to your computer. As emails are one of the primary vectors for cyberattack, keeping more of a buffer between malware-ridden attachments and your device is a more secure approach.
Considering scrapping your desktop email client? Nodal can help! Contact us today.