Choosing IMAP vs POP

Why choosing the right email protocol can make a difference in your business

In technology, it's customary for progress and tradition to clash. Often the stakes are high. Email is no exception. 

On the side of tradition there is the POP3 protocol, an old but reliable way of delivering email. It is still the most common protocol. But it has inherent flaws, and those flaws are compelling many organizations to look for better ways to handle and organize their email – ways that simplify, save money and reduce the time it takes to organize the many messages coming across the typical desk at the typical company. One alternative that's gaining an increasing amount of attention is IMAP, or Internet Message Access Protocol. 

IMAP is a client email protocol with a sophisticated but easy to use capacity to share, organize, and enable flexible access to multiple users. To an increasing number of organizations IMAP is the next step in email. 

Basic differences
To understand the advantages of IMAP, it's necessary to know the way email is sent and stored. When Jane the sales manager sends an email to Sam the salesman, it goes from Jane's mail client on her computer to a sending SMTP server, a computer connected to the Internet that's dedicated to storing and forwarding email. SMTP servers work in conjunction with POP3 or IMAP. Once the mail is sent, it's the job of the sending SMTP server to deliver the message to Sam's receiving SMTP server or queue that message in case the receiving server is unavailable. Once the SMTP server accepts the message it is then forwarded to the appropriate mailbox. There are two ways to handle the final delivery. This is where IMAP and POP3 differ significantly.

Even after Sam reads the email, IMAP makes sure it stays on the server. POP3, however, downloads all waiting messages to Sam's desktop computer, deleting everything from the server. 

So in practical terms, what is the difference? Why are companies switching to IMAP? It's a matter of simplification, organization and flexibility. As email becomes more of a contact-management and organization tool it becomes essential to make sure it is stored and organized in ways that make sense.

Seamless cooperation
Let's go back to Jane and Sam. As we noted, if Sam is using IMAP, his email stays on the server. Now he can go back and view all his messages from Jane and anybody else from any computer at any location – from the airport, from his desk at work, or from his house while he's watching the game. But if he's using POP3, his downloaded email is stuck in his computer at work. It's unavailable, unless he's sitting at his desk.  

To be fair, it is possible to leave mail on the server when using a POP3 client. But there is no concurrent ability to share or create folders on the server – which means you still need to deal with CCing messages and all the mess that entails. And IMAP's ability to allow the creation of folders provides more power and flexibility in business processes as well.

IMAP also allows businesses to better utilize their bandwidth by providing a client mail program with an outline of complex MIME messages without requiring's client for viewing.    

Concrete differences
  To give a concrete example of how IMAP can make life easier, let's again consider Jane and Sam. One particular day they receive in their email inbox a bid from a prospect to buy their new widgets for $15 per 1,000. Jane writes back and says they are interested, but only at $17.50 each. Jane then goes into a meeting. Sam, on a trip, logs in from a computer across the country, sees the offer, sees that it has been read and replied to, and so he then opens the body of the reply to see what Jane proposed and where the deal stands. Sam now knows everything. The communication is seamless. If this exchange had taken place on a POP3 account, Sam would have seen the original offering from the client but would not have seen that it had been read, or replied to, and would not have seen the content of the reply. Or he would still, to this day, be wading through a convoluted list of "CC" messages.  

The lesson: The ability to see a record of email activity from any computer is often as important as the availability of the messages themselves, both in sharing mailboxes and in individual use. IMAP offers this. POP3 does not.   

Additional advantages
With POP3 the responsibility for backup is on you. With IMAP the email host provider handles backup, though you can also do it if you wish. Thus, businesses that use POP3 must constantly ask themselves: Do we have the resources to back up our email daily? There is also the matter of security. If an employee leaves he or she can, because of the way POP 3 works, delete all the emails in their computer – which can be a problem. Not so with IMAP, since messages are backed up by your email host provider.

The logic of IMAP's displayed record of email activity, called "flagging," extends to the ability to tailor accounts by creating folders to organize and store email of various types and importance. Through the capacity to create folders, one can organize incoming and outgoing messages very specifically. E-mails from, or sent to, particular addresses or sets of addresses can be automatically funneled into custom folders. In this way one can keep email from different projects, interests, organizations or relationships separate, without creating separate email accounts. This eliminates another layer of complexity. Single email addresses may be used for multiple purposes.    

Bottom line
When client mail users switch from POP3 to IMAP they do not switch back. They love the flexibility, convenience, time savings and efficiency of IMAP. Conclusion: IMAP raises the bar for email and makes a bottom-line difference in business.   

Getting started
IMAP requires no additional hardware or software and you can begin using it today with your 42 email service. See this page for IMAP setup instructions.