The History Of Email And Its Significance To Business

History of Email

Email has always been one of the most important means of communications and it always will be. After all, the field of technology is not known for being predictable. There will always be a new product, an idea, a concept, a trend, and innovation which strikes a chord with the consumer and leaves a mark.

One such innovation was the introduction of the world wide web in 1991. Although the internet did come into existence long before, it was only opened for public use in 1991.

Email was another such pathfinding innovation, although it was more of a by-product of the world wide web. It was a new means of communication. Naturally, businesses saw its potential and it wasn’t long before email became the de facto method of communication.

That still hasn’t changed and chances are it may never change. But what is it that keeps email an irreplaceable means of communications?

Significance of Email in Business

According to a report by Radicati, as of this year, the number of emails sent and received on a daily basis in business and consumer circles is about 215.3 billion and it is expected to reach 257.7 billion by 2020.

Another report by Expandedramblings states than an average office worker receives around 121 emails each day.

With more and more professionals moving to mobile devices and tablets, it should come as no surprise that around 35% of business professionals check email on a mobile device.

For consumers, emails are simply an alternate means of communication with their friends and family; however, enterprises have various reasons for using email for their day to day work. Some of the reasons include:

Privacy & Confidentiality

Email allows business professionals private, one-to-one communication. The two involved parties can keep exchanging their notes and messages in a private and confidential format unless they decide to involve someone. Email gave new meaning to confidentiality.

Security

With the help of secure protocols, email could be seen as a secure means of communication. Unlike consumer-oriented email services with restricted access to security functions, companies have the ability to control and define their email security features.

Internal communication

Email became the primary means of internal communication among organizations from the time of its inception. All employees within a company, to this day, are expected to use emails for any formal coversation they need to have with any of their colleagues. Email is used for processing most work-related requests.

Workgroups

Companies further break down internal communications by creating multiple workgroups for separate departments. This helps in sending group emails such as announcements for specific group(s).

Alternative to physical copies

Email is not just an alternate means of communication but an alternative to exchanging important physical documents. Conversations exchanged between a company and their business clients or consumers can be used as proof in a court of law.

Conclusion

There is a multitude of reasons why businesses deem email as an essential tool. Aside from the written content, email allows you to attach important media like documents and spreadsheets. In the case of disaster recovery, emails are also an important part of the recovery process and they are an important factor in business continuity planning.

Author: CloudSecureTech

Happily providing insights and thought leadership for businesses to understand technology and cybersecurity! We help you leverage the best IT and technology services providers who you can trust.

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