Big Tech
Big tech bad. Inspiration to write low. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Tech.
Solutions with the Big Tech feature: Gmail for business, M365 Mail and Microsoft Word
Microsoft offers email for business as part of its Microsoft 365 line of services.
Esc Collective recommends against using Microsoft 365 for email in your business, for multiple reasons:
- Microsoft is based in the US, and is obliged to follow any court orders or presidential executive orders. Also if that involves violating international law, exposing your personal data or company secrets, or stopping business critical services without prior notice. This was painfully demonstrated when Microsoft cut its email services to a staff member of the International Criminal Court after the US president sanctioned the ICC due to an ongoing procedure against Israeli politicians.
- Big tech companies such as Microsoft do not respect EU regulations such as those for privacy - the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). While European politicians still pretend the EU-US data privacy framework (DPF) is in place, anyone reading the news about US politics concludes the DPF is defunct. This means any services provided by US companies, even when hosted in Europe, are no longer compliant with GDPR.
- Microsoft has built its business on vendor lock-in, and does not hesitate to use its monopolist position to raise prices or discontinue functionalities critical for some businesses.
- Microsoft has strong ties to the increasingly hostile regime of Donald Trump
While Microsoft 365 offers a very complete set of services and sports "enterprise grade security", properly managing a M365 tenant and keeping it secure is a hard task for small and medium sized companies. Microsoft products are built with enterprises in mind, their architecture and administrative tools are not made for companies with limited IT staff and budgets. Also the listed threats on privacy, business continuity and business ethics far outweigh the advantages the Microsoft solutions might offer.
Home page: https://www.office.com/
Do you use M365 Mail in your business? We can help you switch to one of the viable alternatives.
Features of M365 Mail
Calendar
Calendar functionality enables efficient scheduling and time management for teams and organizations. Essential for European businesses that need to coordinate across different time zones and maintain compliance with local working hour regulations.
Solutions with the Calendar feature: Gmail for business, Tuta Mail, M365 Mail, Proton Mail and Mailfence
IMAP
IMAP stands for Internet Message Access Protocol. This is a communication protocol used to synchronize email in between a server and one (or multiple) clients such as a laptop or a smartphone. IMAP is an open standard, which means that email services using IMAP support basically any email client you would like to use.
Solutions with the IMAP feature: Gmail for business, M365 Mail, Transip E-mail and Mailfence
SMTP
SMTP stands for Simple Mail Transfer Protocol. This is a communication protocol used to send email over the internet. SMTP is an open standard, which means that email services using SMTP support basically any email client you would like to use.
Solutions with the SMTP feature: Gmail for business, M365 Mail, Transip E-mail and Mailfence
US based
Companies which have their headquarters in the United States fall under US jurisdiction, in other words they are obliged to follow US law, US court orders and even US presidential orders. This creates a major risk for non-US companies and individuals if democratic, human rights or privacy values are no longer respected by the US.
Solutions with the US based feature: Microsoft Word, Gmail for business and M365 Mail
Alternatives to M365 Mail in the email provider category:
Tuta Mail
Tuta Mail is an email solution focused on security through quantum-safe encryption. Their service includes a calendar and many business grade functionalities.
- EU based
- Encryption
- Calendar
- Free plan
Proton Mail
Proton Mail is an email solution focused on privacy and freedom. Their email solution includes calendar, and Proton also has solutions for documents, VPN and password management.
- Switzerland based
- Encryption
- Calendar
- Free plan
Transip E-mail
Transip E-mail is a great solution for those businesses that only want to send email and don't need all the extra's.
- EU based
- IMAP
- SMTP
- Just email
Mailfence
Mailfence is a secure and private email solution providing calendar, chat, documents and advanced user management.
- EU based
- Encryption
- Calendar
- Free plan
- IMAP
- SMTP