For small to medium sized businesses in all fields and areas of specialization cutting costs and doing things at the lowest possible price is often a very good decision. It makes sense to choose low cost options in most areas of business, which can often include sharing services with other smaller businesses as part of a package. When it comes to bulk email, however, a dedicated SMTP server is really the only way to go.
Busy Times
While shared hosting solutions and packages often provide you with a low cost, highly attractive package at first glance there are some potential dangers and pitfalls to these services over a dedicated SMTP server.
The problem that many businesses discover is that when you are sharing a server with other companies that are also sending out bulk emails to customers, along with handling invoicing, billing, corporate email and the like, is that there are very slow delivery times. These peak use times cause backlogs in emails for everyone, often delaying delivery and increasing the risk of emails not arriving to your customers.
When you use a dedicated SMTP server you are the only person that is using that server. This means that you can schedule your bulk email at off-peak times or simply choose a package that will allow you to send everything you need without slowing down your email system.
Cyber Attack Issues
Unfortunately when you are sharing a server rather than using a dedicated SMTP server you have absolutely no control over what other companies are on that server. Some of those companies may be prime targets for hacking and cyber-attacks that could also boost your risk of problems.
Yet another concern is what other people on your shared server may be doing. If they are spamming then your corporate email address may also become one of those that is blacklisted and nothing you send will be delivered. With a dedicated SMTP server this is never an issue as your corporate email ID is the only email ID associated with the server and system.
While the price may be slightly higher for a dedicated SMTP server any business that is sending bulk emails or relies on emails for transactions needs to carefully weigh the value of this service. It is definitely an investment in your ability to do business without interruption.
