Email everywhere?

[Platypus]

Oooo ... the reply-from address isn't always Google, I can make it localcompany with some jiggery pokery

[Platypus]

Why not just get Google apps or similar to take over the email provision, and do everything through webmail?

Yeah, I'm heading that way ...

[Bunk]

Oooo ... the reply-from address isn't always Google, I can make it localcompany with some jiggery pokery

Yep, you should be able to add "Send mail as" accounts in the settings.

[VectraMan]

Why not just get Google apps or similar to take over the email provision, and do everything through webmail?

What do you get with Google apps for £33/user/year that you don't get with free GMail accounts?

[d000hg]

It's no longer free which is usually the price many people require

But presumably if they have an email domain, they are paying for that already. You can get email for free, but not email on your own domain (that I know of).

What do you get with Google apps for £33/user/year that you don't get with free GMail accounts?

A bunch more storage and the ability to connect it to your domain (MX records IIRC) so that Google IS your email, rather than having to forward stuff around.
Worth it in my mind, since Exchange hosting rather than regular email costs a few quid anyway.

[Pondlife]

Won't one of the problems with IMAP be that if one user deletes an email then it will get deleted on the server and from everyone else's devices?

Or is this not an issue with IMAP?

[VectraMan]

A bunch more storage and the ability to connect it to your domain (MX records IIRC) so that Google IS your email, rather than having to forward stuff around.
Worth it in my mind, since Exchange hosting rather than regular email costs a few quid anyway.

It's something like £20 for 3 years for my domain from NamesCo, and that includes forwarding 5 email addresses plus a catch-all. So a 5-person company can have email for £6.66 per year instead of £165.

It does mean there's an extra step in forwarding, but I've never noticed a delay.

[Platypus]

Yep, you should be able to add "Send mail as" accounts in the settings.

Here's how it seems to be working (posting by way of an update and in case anyone else ever finds this helpful).

I send email to fred@localcompany.co.uk and I've set up forwarding from fred@localcompany to localcompany@gmail.com

Now, if Fred replies to the message (using his Gmail app), it appears to come from the Gmail account, but of course Fred wants it to appear to have come from his company's domain as he doesn't want to admit to using free Gmail as his corporate email solution!

So I also set up in Gmail "Send Mail As" fred@localcompany.co.uk AND I configure it to use localcompany's SMTP server, then the reply from Fred does indeed indicate that it was sent from fred@localcompany.co.uk

[minestrone]

Outlook custom domains. Job done.

[VectraMan]

So I also set up in Gmail "Send Mail As" fred@localcompany.co.uk AND I configure it to use localcompany's SMTP server, then the reply from Fred does indeed indicate that it was sent from fred@localcompany.co.uk

What do you mean by "configure [Gmail] to use localcompany's SMTP server"? What is "Gmail" in that scenario - an app, the web interface?

If I send mail from my Android phone it sends as me@mydomain.com, not me.mydomain@gmail.com, so it all works. Same if I use Thunderbird on my PC, and same if I use the web interface.