Cloud-based email vs on-premise email: Which is more secure?
Emails are one of the most critical communication channels used by businesses today. With the increasing amount of data exchanged through emails, security has become a significant concern for organizations. Companies have two options when it comes to email security – cloud-based email or on-premise email. This blog post provides a factual, unbiased comparison between cloud-based email and on-premise email in terms of security.
What is cloud-based email?
Cloud-based email refers to email services that are hosted by a third-party provider. The email service provider manages the email infrastructure and delivers email services over the internet. The email service provider is responsible for securing the email infrastructure and ensuring that emails are transmitted securely from the sender to the receiver.
What is on-premise email?
On-premise email refers to email services that are hosted on the company's own servers. The organization manages the email infrastructure and delivers email services through their own servers. The organization is responsible for securing the email infrastructure and ensuring that emails are transmitted securely from the sender to the receiver.
Comparison of security features
Data Security
Cloud-based email: Cloud-based email services provide encryption for data transmitted between the sender and the receiver. Email service providers also provide secure data centers, which are regularly audited for compliance with industry standards like SOC 2, GDPR, and HIPAA.
On-premise email: On-premise email services provide encryption for data transmitted between the sender and the receiver. The organization is responsible for managing the security of their own data centers and ensuring compliance with industry standards.
Email Security
Cloud-based email: Email service providers typically provide advanced spam filtering, anti-virus protection, and malware protection. They also provide continuous monitoring for suspicious activities, and some services include advanced threat protection like email impersonation protection.
On-premise email: Organizations must implement their own spam filtering, anti-virus protection, and malware protection. The organization is also responsible for detecting suspicious activities and implementing advanced threat protection.
Accessibility and Uptime
Cloud-based email: Cloud-based email services are designed to be highly accessible and typically provide high uptime. Service level agreements (SLAs) guarantee uptime of 99.9% or higher. Additionally, cloud-based email services are designed to be accessible from any device with an internet connection.
On-premise email: The organization is responsible for ensuring the uptime of their own servers. Uptime can be affected by various factors such as power outages, network issues, and equipment failures. Accessibility is also limited to the devices connected to the organization's network.
Conclusion
Both cloud-based email and on-premise email have pros and cons in terms of security. While cloud-based email provides ease of use, high accessibility and uptime, and advanced security features like anti-virus protection and spam filtering, on-premise email offers complete control over email security and data privacy. Ultimately, the choice between the two will depend on the specific needs and resources of the organization.
We hope this comparison has been helpful to you. For more information on cloud security, check out our other blog posts or reach out to us at [insert contact details].
References
- Microsoft. (n.d.). What is Office 365 security and compliance?. https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/office365/securitycompliance/what-is-office-365-security
- Forcepoint. (n.d.). Cloud vs on-premises security: Why it’s not an Either/Or decision. https://www.forcepoint.com/cyber-edu/cloud-vs-premises-security-why-its-not-eitheror-decision