When it comes to selecting email systems, organizations are mostly confused between POP and Exchange and unable to take a decision. To make things easy for you, we have compared both email systems and mentioned the advantages and disadvantages associated with them.

What Is a POP Email System?

POP stands for Post Office Protocol. It is also known as POP3. POP3 is one of the oldest email protocols that were adopted universally after the Internet became mainstream in the early 1990s. The POP3 email system is simple. You have Internet-based email service and your email client connects to the email server to download the emails. Once emails are downloaded to your computer, emails from the server are deleted.

Advantages of POP Email

· Since emails are downloaded to your computer, you can access emails even when not connected to the Internet.

· You can create emails even when not connected to the Internet. The emails are stored in a folder and you can edit them until they are not sent by the email client. Once your computer is connected to the Internet, the email client springs into action and sends all emails in the hold folder.

· All emails are stored on your computer and you need to connect to the Internet only to download new emails and send emails.

· There are no advertisements popping up on the screen when you read emails in Offline mode.

· Opening attachments are relatively easy and faster as files are stored on your computer.

· There is no limitation on the size of the mailbox as the emails reside on your computer.

Disadvantages of POP Email

· Email folders can become corrupt and there is a hidden risk of losing data. If the hard drive fails, the emails are lost forever.

· Since email messages are stored on your computer, anyone who has access to your computer can also access your emails.

· Messages are generally stored on C: drive. Emails storage eats hard drive space which may cause space constraints in the near future.

This is only the first part of the comparison between POP and Exchange. Now, let’s learn about the Exchange email system in detail.

What Is Exchange Email System?

The exchange also knows Microsoft Exchange is a proprietary email system developed by Microsoft. It is a proprietary email system so you need to buy licenses to use it. Microsoft Exchange is marketed as an Enterprise-Level email management system that makes communication and collaboration easy amongst employees.

Unlike POP3, Microsoft Exchange offers several features like shared files, shared storage, emails and shared calendars. It also offers native integration with other Microsoft products like MS-Office, SharePoint and Office 365. Microsoft Exchange is seen as a competitor to Google Apps that makes collaboration and communication easy and cost-effective to small and medium-sized businesses.

Advantages of Microsoft Exchange

· Email Syncing in Microsoft Exchange is different than POP mail system. In Microsoft Exchange, a copy of the email is downloaded to your computer while an original copy of email resides on the server.

· Exchange support folder system to organize emails.

· Sent messages are also stored on the server.

· Collaboration features allow team members to share resources like calendars and documents.

· Majority of mobile email clients support Exchange server.

· Emails can be unsent if sent within the server’s domain.

Disadvantages of Microsoft Exchange

· Some business organization might not be able to afford Microsoft Exchange licenses.

· Not all desktop clients work well with Exchange servers.

· When you are connecting to Exchange Server, the organization has control over your mobile device. In simple words, the administrator of Microsoft Exchange can see the emails received and sent from your account.

· Microsoft Exchange must be implemented before using and the implementation can be a bit difficult for some organizations.

· Microsoft introduces newer versions of Exchange software. You may face syncing issues due to different Exchange versions.

· You have to keep your Exchange server updated for optimal protection of your email communication.

· Account setup in Exchange can be difficult for some users.

The comparison between POP and Exchange should help you decide which email system is right for your organization.