SynApps The Open Source and Gadget blog

Recently, Randall Stross wrote this article, "Can't Open Your E-Mailbox? Good Luck," which appeared in the New York Times. You and I know plenty of people who rely on Gmail but now I really have to stop and think, ‘Are they crazy?’

I don’t know many people – um, actually anyone – who can tolerate an unexpected disruption to their email that might last several days. Think about it … can you afford that? (I know at first, the idea seems kind of attractive.)

“You get what you pay for” comes to mind. ‘Free’ can turn out to be very costly if your business is interrupted.

Now, let me make a counter proposal. Doesn’t it totally make sense to rely on the service provider who takes care of your website and has done so reliably for years, to trust with your email service? Face it, you’re not paying a lot to host your website and it’s typically not something you worry a whole lot about maintaining these days either.

I know when my email seems to have a problem, I want to get in touch with someone to see what is going on. So, thanks for the offer Google but for me the best deal around is to purchase my email (and maybe add-on collaboration services – shared calendars, documents, mobile push support) from my preferred service provider. Based on experience, I can expect high-quality service and customer support at a reasonable price.

Free is simply unaffordable for me knowing that I need to keep my business operating smoothly. Of course, you’ll be using our Open-Xchange software if you happen to choose any of the following – 1&1 Internet in the U.S., U.K. or Germany or Network Solutions in the U.S., OVH in France, or Hostpoint in Switzerland.

Can you afford any less?