Microsoft recently ended free email service support for custom domains, the mainstay for many Small and Medium Business Enterprises. Google buried Google Apps free edition, a similar business email application back in December 2012. So with Microsoft and Google having turned their backs, what option remains for these SMEs?
Enter zoho.com
Zoho recently announced its offer of free business class email hosting open to individuals and businesses. Under this email hosting plan, business owners can start hosting their emails, along with their custom domains, at no cost and without any advertisements to distract them.
This free offer is subject to a limit of 10 mailboxes per domain. However, business owners can extend the free user limit to 25 users by simply referring other customers to Zoho Mail. The two-way referral incentive program also benefits the new Zoho Mail user by providing them an additional five bonus free user accounts.
“Free email and ad-free email historically haven’t gone together. This changes with Zoho Mail,” said Raju Vegesna, Zoho evangelist. “At a time when companies — including the ones with deep pockets — have ended the support of free email service for businesses, we found it even more important to stick to our guns and extend the coverage of our free email plan. There is no catch or fine print here. When we say free and ad-free, we really mean it. At Zoho, we are committed to helping entrepreneurs and small businesses get started by providing an email solution that will grow with them as they expand their business.”
Zoho Mail: Hosted Email for Businesses
Zoho Mail is a powerful email hosting service that caters to businesses of all sizes yet is simple to set up and manage. It respects the privacy of business users and offers a feature rich, secure email solution.
Integrated Suite – The Zoho Mail Suite comes pre-integrated with complementary applications such as Calendar, Contacts, Tasks, Notes and Chat, providing a comprehensive suite of applications for businesses. The suite also includes Zoho Docs, a powerful document management system with an integrated office suite that also syncs a user’s documents across devices.
Privacy and Security – Not in the business of serving ads, all of Zoho’s online application plans — including the free plan — are completely ad-free. Users’ activity is never tracked and emails are not scanned to serve ads, thereby respecting our users’ data and privacy. Zoho Mail also includes anti-spam and anti-virus features, offering these built-in safeguards within the application. With an option to enable two-factor authentication, users can further secure their access to the system with their mobile phones.
Mobile – Emails hosted on Zoho Mail can be accessed through email apps from any mobile device using standard protocols like IMAP and POP. Zoho Mail also supports Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync for push email. Alternatively, users can manage their email through smartphone- and tablet-optimized web apps from their mobile devices.
Pricing and Availability
Businesses can sign up and subscribe to Zoho Mail Free, Standard or Premium editions at https://www.zoho.com/mail/zohomail-pricing.html.