An Introduction to eMail


eMail (electronic mail) is an under-rated technology within the eCommerce kitbag. It is the Internet's version of the postal service.  Using the Internet, it provides the ability to send a message, reply to a message, send a file created in another program and/or even send the same message to a group of people.

Some benefits of eMail are:

• Speed - a message can be sent from Wales to Australia in a matter of seconds.
• Cost - eMails are cheap. You are usually only charged for the telephone call time (local call rate) for sending the message into the Internet, and not the cost associated with transferring the message across the Internet.
• Flexibility - it is easy to send duplicates of your messages to other people or groups for the cost of a single message.
• Record keeping - messages sent and received can be easily stored for future reference.

In order to use eMail, you will need Internet access arranged through an Internet Service Provider (ISP), who will allocate you one or a number of eMail accounts. To be able to retrieve and send mail from these addresses, a user will need what is known as eMail client software and your ISP usually provides this although nowadays most computers come with it pre-installed.