In today’s digital world, email communication is crucial for client interactions. The method you choose for sending emails greatly influences the effectiveness and professionalism of your communication. You can send emails programmatically in two main ways: using the native Office 365 API or third-party services like SendGrid. This article explains why sending emails natively through Office 365 is a superior approach compared to third-party services that act on your behalf.
1. Authenticity and Trust
When emails are sent through Office 365’s native API, they originate directly from your domain, appearing in the recipient’s inbox as genuinely coming from you. This direct approach enhances trust, as clients recognize your domain, reducing the risk of emails being marked as spam or phishing attempts.
In contrast, emails sent through third-party services like SendGrid might be perceived as less authentic. Even though they can be configured to use your domain, the underlying IP addresses and headers might reveal that the emails were sent through an intermediary, potentially raising suspicion among recipients.
2. Deliverability and Spam Avoidance
Email deliverability is crucial for ensuring your messages reach your clients. Office 365 has robust mechanisms for managing deliverability, including established relationships with major email providers and continuous improvements to reduce spam flagging.
Third-party services, while reliable, sometimes face challenges with deliverability due to shared IP addresses and potential blacklisting from other users’ poor practices. This can lead to your emails being flagged as spam, impacting your communication effectiveness.
3. Integration with Sent Folder
A significant advantage of using the Office 365 API is that emails sent programmatically are stored in your Outlook Sent folder. This integration ensures that all your communications are documented and accessible in one place, providing a comprehensive view of your email history.
Third-party services typically do not offer this level of integration. Emails sent through SendGrid, for example, do not appear in your Outlook Sent folder, leading to fragmented records and potential difficulties in tracking past communications.
4. Security and Compliance
Office 365 offers robust security features, including encryption, multi-factor authentication, and compliance with various industry standards. When you send emails natively through Office 365, you leverage these built-in security measures, ensuring your communications are protected.
Third-party services may not offer the same level of security and compliance. While they often provide their own security measures, they might not integrate seamlessly with your existing infrastructure, potentially exposing you to additional risks.
5. Cost Efficiency
Using the Office 365 API can be more cost-effective in the long run. If you already have an Office 365 subscription, there are no additional costs for using the email API, as it is included in your plan. This integration can lead to significant savings compared to the subscription fees of third-party services like SendGrid.
6. Customization and Control
Office 365 API offers extensive customization options, allowing you to tailor your email functionalities to your specific needs. This control ensures that your emails align with your branding and communication strategies.
Third-party services, while customizable, often come with limitations or require additional configurations to match the flexibility offered by native Office 365 integrations.
Summary
In this era, sending emails natively via the Office 365 API offers numerous advantages over using third-party services like SendGrid. These benefits include enhanced authenticity, better deliverability, integration with your Outlook Sent folder, robust security, cost efficiency, and greater customization and control. By leveraging the Office 365 API, businesses can ensure their email communications are more reliable, secure, and aligned with their overall strategies.
Why ATO SmartDocs Uses the Office 365 API
ATO SmartDocs utilizes the Office 365 API for sending emails to ensure that all outgoing messages are securely transmitted, stored in the Outlook Sent folder for easy tracking, and perceived as authentic by recipients. This approach aligns with our commitment to providing reliable, secure, and professional communication solutions for our clients.
To know more about us, visit www.ATOSmartDocs.com.au and book a demo (Select “Book a Demo”).
Ron Drost | Chief Executive Officer | ATO SmartDocs
The pinnacle of Ron's achievements is the creation of ATO Smartdocs, a cutting-edge solution that epitomizes the culmination of his experience and expertise. ATO Smartdocs stands as a testament to Ron's vision of streamlining the handling of ATO documents through automation and secure delivery mechanisms. This platform has revolutionized the way accounting firms interact with ATO documents, making the process more efficient, secure, and reliable.
ATO SmartDocs helps firms all over Australia connect directly with the ATO servers and retrieve their ATO documents seamlessly with a 95% efficiency compared to manual processing. Secure delivery is achieved with 2FA/MFA on every ATO document, protecting the whole document, not just the TFN.
