Summary
Whilst we appreciate that changing to a new piece of software involves a bit of upheaval and re-learning, but we would like to present our reasons for recommending our own mail apps and not supporting 3rd party mail apps like Outlook.
In a nutshell, we have admin control over your email account which means we can help with configuration, access and security. Whereas when using a 3rd party mail app through the IMAP protocol is completely outside of our control. There are also many operational benefits for the council to using our native solution.
Therefore, we we provide details for how you can connect other mail apps, but by doing so you opt out of our support.
Rationale for using Zoho Mail
Support
We have built up extensive knowledge of how to effectively use the mail system we provide and can support you with setting it up and using it day-to-day. So, when you email us with an issue you get our gold-standard rapid support. Conversely, we have knowledge of Outlook and other mail systems, but as there are so many different versions and configurations, it's impossible for us to deal with every unique scenario. 90% of the issues raised with our email system are from connection issues with other mail apps. Therefore, it is not viable for us to support them.
Compliance
With Zoho Mail you can set up domain-level disclaimers and signatures so that every piece of communication that's sent out from the council contains the correct legal information. However, if you use a separate mail app then that clerk/councillor can set their signature to be anything they like, which won't be consistent. This gives an amateurish outward appearance to your council communications. Having "Sent by iPhone" as your signature is a great advert for Apple, but not great for your compliance.
Security
Our Zoho Mail system includes the latest security features to ensure your mail account is protected and you are the only one who can get access. This isn't the case for a 3rd party mail app like Outlook, Thunderbird or Apple Mail as the security is dependent on the individual computer/tablet/phone you're using.
Excellent Apps
Zoho Mail comes with a range of desktop and mobile apps so you can remain connected whatever device you're using. Whilst this means you have a separate app for your council work, that's actually a good thing. It's good to separate your work and personal life. And if you're a clerk with multiple councils, all our apps support multiple accounts, so you can easily switch between them.
Productivity Apps
Our Mail service includes To Do lists, shared calendars, notes, contacts, folder management and filters/rules.
If you use Outlook or any other mail app through IMAP, your contacts and folders will not sync up to the main account. So if your computer breaks or Outlook corrupts, we will not be able to recover your contacts or folders.
Access to Shared Mailboxes
This is an easy one to explain, if you've been given access to a Shared Mailbox, you can't view that through IMAP.