What should I know about a hosting company’s email servers before buying?
Ask what email service the company runs, how many customers rely on it, and how problems are handled. Check whether its mail is being blocked or marked as junk, who looks after it, and whether customers hold any promises about delivery. Test it yourself.
Begin by listing what is actually running. Is the email on the company’s own servers, rented from a larger provider, or a mix? Who has the administrator access? An old server nobody fully understands is a risk even if it works today. Ask when it was last updated and who did it.
Then check how mail is treated by the outside world. A hosting company whose servers send junk, even by accident, can end up on block lists, and every customer on that server suffers. Ask for complaints and support tickets about missing or bounced messages, and send a few test messages to different providers. If customers send marketing email, ask how they confirm permission from recipients; your lawyer can explain the consent rules.
Finally, ask what customers were promised. Look at plans, contracts and support replies for statements about delivery, storage and backups. Moving customers to a different system is a big job, so ask what the seller has already planned or tried. Do not forget the human side: ask who answers when a customer says their mail has stopped. If that person is the owner, plan for that support from day one, with a clear escalation path and written steps for the common faults.
Key takeaways
- List which email systems the company runs itself and which it rents.
- Review complaints about bounced or missing messages, and send your own tests.
- Read what customers were promised about delivery and backups.
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Sources
This answer is checked against primary sources. Links were last confirmed on the dates shown.
- 01Canadian Centre for Cyber SecurityGovernmentBaseline cyber security controls for small and medium organizations
- 02Business Development Bank of CanadaGovernmentHow to conduct due diligence when buying a business
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