Once upon a time, men in white coats invented email. Maybe it was pimply faced programmers sipping Jolt Cola, eating pizza and never seeing sunlight. Whichever is the real origin story, some decades later, email moved from the exclusive domain of universities and government offices into the hands of the rest of us. [Marking 25 years of the internet in Australia]

Early adopters used a personal computer to access a mailbox somewhere, often one provided by their Internet Service Provider (ISP). Mail stayed briefly in the mailbox until it was collected and then it lived on the PC until it was deleted (perhaps never) or until the PC died.

That model served us well for a long time, but relied on the fact that we only ever used one PC and mostly that PC lived in the office or at home.

We have moved into the mobile era and, like it or not, willingly or not, we now use multiple devices - perhaps a mobile phone, a tablet and a laptop - to check mail. The model of having all the mail in one spot works, sort of. We read new mail on the tablet and phone but we leave mail in the mailbox until we access it and download it on the laptop. Well that’s what I’ve been doing for some years.

I am not much of a road warrior. I don’t need full and continuous access to my mail where ever I am and regardless of whichever device is at hand. On the occasional day trip with tablet and phone in hand, I can read and respond to new mail. The big catch-up happens when I return to the office.

I can see a time for me when this will not be efficient. I’m sure many of you have already faced this issue. Some have resolved it. Others are still looking for a solution.

For a person in the technology business, this may seem like a major admission. In my defence, let me say that my technological expertise extends more to back end development (databases and applications) and niche activities like search engine watching. Email has always just been a tool and not really a very exciting one, so it hasn’t really given me a reason to dig too deeply.

What sparks the current interest? There have been three client cases recently, each with quite different requirements, where I haven’t really been able to devise a suitable solution. My frustration is not that I can’t sell a solution. It is that I can’t help my clients.

What is the solution? Not my current method that’s for sure.

Recently I tried leaving the mail in the mailbox for up to 30 days, even when I have downloaded it to the PC. So far, this is just getting confusing and shows no sign of being a good solution for me.

I think the solution is to have a specialised mailserver with adequate storage. All mail is left on the server and local devices (phone, tablet and laptop) all synchronise with the server. For some this solution has been apparent for years.

The dilemma now is do I use a cloud based mailserver or do I need to dedicate a device in the corner of the office for this task.

Both options have advantages and disadvantages. Issues like security, amount of storage required, access to the server all need to be considered and resolved.

For now the jury (me) is still out. I know a change is needed. I’m just not sure what the change will be.

Photo Credit: xJason.Rogersx via Compfight cc