FASTMAIL for my small business?

Storesstores · 5 Jun 2006, 11:51 AM

I have a one man operation (myself)

I "MIGHT" expand and have a few other employees so I'd like to leave the room for expansion...

My domain is currently being hosted by AHCOMPUTERS.NET and I'm having a lot of problems with the email..I "AM" getting the emails on time BUT I need to keep logging back in as it appears that there server keeps getting interrupted.

I would like to have Fastmail host my domain (if thats possible)

I want to have a reliable service...

What are my best options?

P.S. I went to Godaddy.com and I copy and pasted all the registrant info as well as all the WHOIS Underlying Registry Data.

rmns2bseen · 5 Jun 2006, 12:22 PM

Based on what you've said, I'm not completely sure that FM would be the best solution for you, but that's just my opinion I guess (and no knock on FM). You might also want to look at Tuffmail and webmail.us before you decide to spend your money.

(edit) don't want to give a false impression, though: of course, FM can host your domain. I would just suggest that you do a little shopping around first

Storesstores · 5 Jun 2006, 12:40 PM

What are the differences in costs?

I have a million things going on...

If you can be a little more specific I'd really treasure the info!!!

rmns2bseen · 5 Jun 2006, 01:23 PM

Storesstores, my comments were based on the fact that, at its heart, FM isn't really oriented toward business email, but rather personal accounts...at least this has always been my impression. If you're thinking that your business may be expanding in the future, then you might want an account that features multi-user possibilities. The cost of this of course would depend on the number of individual mailboxes you would want to set up. Both Tuffmail and webmail.us offer free trial accounts, as far as I know, and I'd suggest you give them a try, at least.

the bishop · 5 Jun 2006, 01:39 PM

I'm beta testing gMail's services for small businesses right now and I must say its very stable and very well done (and it's gmail too) ...

you might try to sign up for that as well ... it's free as of right now ...

aussieboykie · 5 Jun 2006, 01:52 PM

A friend uses FM to support a small business that is geographically split between the UK and Australia. From memory I think he has about half a dozen employees. His experience has been very positive. He uses his company domain name in combination with a master (Enhanced) account. Incoming messages are routed to the relevant sub-account and a copy is retained on the master account. Sub-account mail clients are set up to BCC the master account so that a trail of outbound correspondence is maintained.

Regards, AB

Storesstores · 5 Jun 2006, 02:12 PM

like I said, I already have my domain...

name@businessname.com

I want to keep my domain and I want something reliable...

currently, my host allows me to add various emails..not sure how many..but I added sales@businessname.com

and

info@businessname.com

I need a host that will allow atleast a grand total of 3 email addresses...

the bishop · 5 Jun 2006, 04:17 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Storesstores
like I said, I already have my domain...

name@businessname.com

I want to keep my domain and I want something reliable...

currently, my host allows me to add various emails..not sure how many..but I added sales@businessname.com

and

info@businessname.com

I need a host that will allow atleast a grand total of 3 email addresses...

yes, so do I - and gMail business allows you to keep your domain, but use their gMail as your business email ... so if you emailed me at thebishop@myworkaddress.com, it goes to my business acct hosted by gMail ... it also had admin rights, etc. very cool concept.

I can have up to 25 accounts x 2gigs each with it.

weaver4 · 8 Jun 2006, 01:13 AM

I use fastmail for personal email. But for my small business I use webmail.us. Exceptional service.

asamir · 9 Jun 2006, 05:51 AM

I use webmail.us for business email. I used to use fastmail, but a two day outage several months ago persuaded me that they weren't geared for the needs of business users.
Fastmail:
Pros: good interface, fast, useful features
Cons: small company, support/responsiveness patchy. (They're down right this minute).

Webmail:
Pros: better support. Hosted at Rackspace, the most expensive and "best" hosting company.
Cons: interface sucks. slow to load emails, occasionally lets torrents of spam through for reasons unknown.

Business reliability is crucial to me. When FM goes for 6 months without any outages and has a fully replicated infrastructure I might consider going back. Until then, I'll stick with webmail.us.

Anthony

weaver4 · 10 Jun 2006, 11:19 PM

Hmm, I like webmail.us interface. What is it that you don't like?

William9 · 11 Jun 2006, 05:38 AM

I agree with asamir's opinion. I use FastMail for business/professional purposes and whenever there is an outage, I seriously reconsider my choice. I've decided that I can tolerate a rare, brief outage (e.g. less than an hour) because this seems to be part of e-mail services in general -- but the long outages are just not acceptible to me. I'm hoping the new replicated server set up will solve the FastMail outage problems. There are so many attractive features and services with FastMail, it's a shame that reliable access is becoming its Achilles heel. This is my opinion.

5 Jun 2006, 11:51 AM	#1
Storesstores Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 46	FASTMAIL for my small business? I have a one man operation (myself) I "MIGHT" expand and have a few other employees so I'd like to leave the room for expansion... My domain is currently being hosted by AHCOMPUTERS.NET and I'm having a lot of problems with the email..I "AM" getting the emails on time BUT I need to keep logging back in as it appears that there server keeps getting interrupted. I would like to have Fastmail host my domain (if thats possible) I want to have a reliable service... What are my best options? P.S. I went to Godaddy.com and I copy and pasted all the registrant info as well as all the WHOIS Underlying Registry Data.

5 Jun 2006, 12:22 PM	#2
rmns2bseen Master of the @ Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: USA Posts: 1,426	Based on what you've said, I'm not completely sure that FM would be the best solution for you, but that's just my opinion I guess (and no knock on FM). You might also want to look at Tuffmail and webmail.us before you decide to spend your money. (edit) don't want to give a false impression, though: of course, FM can host your domain. I would just suggest that you do a little shopping around first Last edited by rmns2bseen : 5 Jun 2006 at 12:33 PM.

9 Jun 2006, 05:51 AM	#10
asamir Junior Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Posts: 3	business email I use webmail.us for business email. I used to use fastmail, but a two day outage several months ago persuaded me that they weren't geared for the needs of business users. Fastmail: Pros: good interface, fast, useful features Cons: small company, support/responsiveness patchy. (They're down right this minute). Webmail: Pros: better support. Hosted at Rackspace, the most expensive and "best" hosting company. Cons: interface sucks. slow to load emails, occasionally lets torrents of spam through for reasons unknown. Business reliability is crucial to me. When FM goes for 6 months without any outages and has a fully replicated infrastructure I might consider going back. Until then, I'll stick with webmail.us. Anthony

5 Jun 2006, 12:40 PM	#3
Storesstores Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 46	What are the differences in costs? I have a million things going on... If you can be a little more specific I'd really treasure the info!!!

5 Jun 2006, 01:23 PM	#4
rmns2bseen Master of the @ Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: USA Posts: 1,426	Storesstores, my comments were based on the fact that, at its heart, FM isn't really oriented toward business email, but rather personal accounts...at least this has always been my impression. If you're thinking that your business may be expanding in the future, then you might want an account that features multi-user possibilities. The cost of this of course would depend on the number of individual mailboxes you would want to set up. Both Tuffmail and webmail.us offer free trial accounts, as far as I know, and I'd suggest you give them a try, at least.

5 Jun 2006, 01:39 PM	#5
the bishop Cornerstone of the Community Join Date: May 2005 Location: San Antonio, Texas Posts: 676	I'm beta testing gMail's services for small businesses right now and I must say its very stable and very well done (and it's gmail too) ... you might try to sign up for that as well ... it's free as of right now ...

5 Jun 2006, 01:52 PM	#6
aussieboykie Essential Contributor Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Sydney, Australia Posts: 475	A friend uses FM to support a small business that is geographically split between the UK and Australia. From memory I think he has about half a dozen employees. His experience has been very positive. He uses his company domain name in combination with a master (Enhanced) account. Incoming messages are routed to the relevant sub-account and a copy is retained on the master account. Sub-account mail clients are set up to BCC the master account so that a trail of outbound correspondence is maintained. Regards, AB

5 Jun 2006, 02:12 PM	#7
Storesstores Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 46	like I said, I already have my domain... name@businessname.com I want to keep my domain and I want something reliable... currently, my host allows me to add various emails..not sure how many..but I added sales@businessname.com and info@businessname.com I need a host that will allow atleast a grand total of 3 email addresses...

8 Jun 2006, 01:13 AM	#9
weaver4 Essential Contributor Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Raleigh, NC, USA Posts: 246	I use fastmail for personal email. But for my small business I use webmail.us. Exceptional service.

10 Jun 2006, 11:19 PM	#11
weaver4 Essential Contributor Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Raleigh, NC, USA Posts: 246	Hmm, I like webmail.us interface. What is it that you don't like?

11 Jun 2006, 05:38 AM	#12
William9 The "e" in e-mail Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: San Francisco Posts: 2,281	I agree with asamir's opinion. I use FastMail for business/professional purposes and whenever there is an outage, I seriously reconsider my choice. I've decided that I can tolerate a rare, brief outage (e.g. less than an hour) because this seems to be part of e-mail services in general -- but the long outages are just not acceptible to me. I'm hoping the new replicated server set up will solve the FastMail outage problems. There are so many attractive features and services with FastMail, it's a shame that reliable access is becoming its Achilles heel. This is my opinion.