Many free online email options are available nowadays, giving no reason to purchase email software. Outlook.com is one such example, for iteration of Microsoft's Hotmail online email solution. Any small business will benefit from its convenient, cost-free access to email and collaboration tools. Companies are allowed to use their website in their email address free of charge, eliminating requirements for an in-house mail server. This will be a big saving for a small company.
Security
Email software has to be updated, maintained or patched at own cost. Terms and conditions of Gmail should be considered. Posting, displaying and submitting content give Google a worldwide, perpetual, royalty-free and non-exclusive license to adapt, modify, publish, translate, publicly perform, publicly display and distribute any Content submitted, posted or displayed the services.
According to above statement, added content to a Gmail email becomes Google property. Probability is there to expose provided content seem to be next to none, but it is a business with free email and if any user doesn't want to follow these terms and conditions, it is better to take responsibility on its own.
Contractual Obligations
Taking responsibility is not the perfect solution. Solutions like Office 365, better than Outlook.com offering terms and conditions preferred by the user depends on the line of business, these might not be the solutions can simply use as they are in a cloud. For non-classified users following agreements are made by United States Department of Defense (DoD) are:
Office 365 treat as a paid alternative will come in the category of open to debate, it is kind of checking agreements signed by a user at starting of signing a contract and clarifying not just be DoD prefer email clients to cloud solutions.
Compliance
Using cloud email another key area can be compliance. Depending on industry used by the user has a number of standards need to follow some legal business operations. One example is Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act compliance or known as HIPPA compliance.
HIPPA is applicable to healthcare insurance coverage during a change of jobs. Email usage would be covered. While considering it, healthcare insurance coverage maintenance requires moving patient health records by email. If email is not safe, then there is probability to fall in wrong hands. Resultant, provisions are added to safeguard the information of patient by electronic means.
Standards of HIPPA mainly for email covers like encryption and access. A company follows standards is subject to audits. Email used in an environment maintained by HIPPA support TLS and SSL, but services like Gmail support SSL while accessing websites and TLS is supported for inbound email transport, it proved that they are not HIPPA complaint. Companies are required by HIPPA which have a ‘Business Associate Agreement' signed with an entrepreneur. A user will not just get from email service provider- set terms by them, not by the user.
Conclusion
Industry standards dictate the exact method of using email by a user. Email solutions like Gmail, Yahoo, and Outlook probably providing security to a bulk of business users according to requirements. Email usage would not be covered by business agreements. Many companies provide email solutions, engaged in helping their customers to meet standards of their industries. It has to be investigated that most famous web-based email solutions meet those requirements are free. User's job is to find appropriate standards applicable to specific business.