POP, IMAP and Exchange demystified

Amanda Gonzalez writes.

As published in Nine MSN's Money and Flying Solo.

You’ve heard the terminology. And you most likely use one. But what does POP, IMAP and Exchange really mean, and how do you know if you’re using the best match to your needs?

Quite simply:

POP allows you to download emails in your inbox folder from the server to an application (such as Outlook), generally on to one device, such as your laptop.

IMAP allows you to download emails from your inbox and subfolders on to multiple devices, such as your desktop and your phone, and will sync between each.

Exchange allows you to fully synchronise your inbox and subfolders, calendar, contacts, tasks and public folders over multiple devices, such as your desktop, netbook and phone.

So now you know the basics, here’s a little more info to help you decide which your best match is:

POP

If you only want access to your email from one device, such as your desktop, then POP is a good option.

If you choose to leave a copy of your email on the server, you can download your inbox to multiple devices, but POP does not sync between each. So the emails you clean out on your desktop are not cleaned out on your phone, potentially causing confusion – and frustration. If you do want use multiple devices, IMAP could be for you.

POP does not sync your calendar or your contacts.

POP is free.

IMAP

A more sophisticated protocol than POP, IMAP is for you if you only need to sync your inbox and subfolders between multiple devices. Think your desktop, your netbook, and your phone.

IMAP does not sync your calendar or your contacts.

IMAP is free.

Exchange

Although not strictly a protocol, Exchange is by far the most robust of the three.

Unlike POP and IMAP, you can also synchronise your calendar and contacts over multiple devices. Examples include:

• The appointment you create on your desktop with phone and address details is on your phone when you’re lost on the road


• The email you draft on your netbook when you wait for your client to arrive will be waiting for you patiently on your desktop back in the office


• The contact details of a referral you entered into your contacts on your phone will be in your contacts on your desktop, ready to send them a postcard tomorrow

To reap the full benefits of this system, you need to use Outlook as your email client.

Microsoft Exchange is not free.

Exchange itself is served in two flavours:

Hosted Exchange
Ideal for the small to medium business, hosted Exchange means someone else is purchasing and maintaining your Exchange server – all you need to pay for is each email account. Not the server maintenance guy. Or the software upgrades. Or the backups.

Expect to pay around $30 per month for a good hosted Exchange provider.

Using Microsoft Exchange as its protocol, Google Sync provides a similar offering to Hosted Exchange using the Google Apps suite. It’s still in Beta, so there are known limitations, but this could be a good solution for Google Apps diehards. Google Sync is free.

Exchange Server
This is perfect for the big end of town, with loads of users, loads of customisation – and loads of capital. Essentially, YOU have a server in-house, with full responsibility of associated costs, such as maintenance, security and stability.

So whether you check your email once per day from the one computer, or if you’re after the freedom and mobility to run your business from anywhere, there’s an email protocol for you.

Which do you prefer?